By Nick Yost

Oh, how often it is that we enthusiasts rue the passing of so many simple driving pleasures.

Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that there is no reset button on the calendar that lets us erase our travel through time as if it were nothing more than miles accumulated on our car’s trip odometer

There is, however, a way for those of us hard-wired to the automotive adventure to slip back through the years and recapture, at least briefly, the simple joy of hopping into the car and taking a spin just for the fun of it.

Our time-travel ticket is the Miata. A light and lively two-seat roadster that Japanese manufacturer Mazda has been building for the last 20 years. It combines superb driving dynamics with the tactile pleasure of top-down motoring.

Introduced in 1989 to fill a gap left by the disappearance of reasonably affordable, rear-wheel-drive sports cars, the Miata was modeled in large part after the oft-admired Lotus Elan.

It is to Mazda’s everlasting credit that it has so carefully managed the Miata’s progression over the years that its core values have remained unchanged even as it has undergone inevitable modernization.

When the first one was introduced as a 1990 model, the Miata had only a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine that produced 116-horsepower and a slick, short-shift five-speed manual transmission.

It weighed 2,226 pounds, could scoot from a stop to 60 mph in under 9 seconds and returned a combined city/highway EPA rating of 24 mpg. The fabric top was so easy to operate that a passenger seated in the cabin could flip it into its hiding place. Base price: $13,800.

It quickly gained accolades as owners found that the fun factor was bolstered by a rock-solid reliability that had largely been absent in previous sports cars, particularly those of the most-popular British persuasion.

Today, after numerous evolutionary upgrades, the Miata is offered with a 2-liter, 167-horsepower, four cylinder engine and a choice of five-speed-manual, six-speed-manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

Its weight has grown to 2,480 pounds, but, equipped with the six-speed manual shifter, it can run from a stop to 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds. Amazingly, the combined EPA rating still stands at 24 mpg. Base price: $22,500.

While the roadster has undergone several styling updates over the years and an official in-house redesignation as the MX-5, the 2010 Miata is only about two inches longer than the original and its interior dimensions have grown only slightly to make the cabin more comfortable for six-footers.

Most important, as my recent week with a 2010 model demonstrated, all the charms of the original – stylish simplicity, supreme controllability, and excellent build quality -- remain wholly intact.

The engine is an eager, if not overpowering, participant in a spirited romp over the asphalt esses and the short-shift manual transmission remains an engaging partner.

The rack-and-pinion steering is instantly responsive and it communicates road conditions directly to the driver’s hands.

The independent suspension provides a firm, but comfortable, ride, and works flawlessly to keeps the rubber firmly on the road no matter the surface or the tightness of the bend.

Understeer and oversteer remain nearly a non-factor, thanks to a near-50/50 front-to-rear weight distribution.

The car provided for my test was a top-of-the-line Grand Touring Edition with most of the available options and a power retractable hard top.

Let’s talk about the roof. Like everything else about most Miatas, it performed flawlessly. Unlatch the top from the windshield, press a button and 12 seconds later the metal roof has locked itself into place without stealing space from the 5.3-cubic-foot trunk.

It removes almost every objection one might have about a convertible. It is watertight, durable for the life of the car and adds security and silence to the cabin.

The retractable hardtop is available on all models but the entry-level Miata and adds $2,640 to the Sport’s $23,500 base price, $2,060 to the Touring model’s $27,540 base, and $1,840 to the Grand Touring model’s $28,940 starting price.

But, as well as it works, PRHT would not be my choice.  My deep-seated intractability insists that a proper roadster be fitted with a soft top. The compromises required to make the retractable hard top work disrupt the Miata’s profile slightly and, to me, make the car look a bit like it has a bubble top.

I would also defer on the automatic transmission. Sports cars are about motoring, about driver interacting with machine in a harmonious partnership. The automatic transmission removes one of its most important elements.

That said, I must admit I enjoyed the climate control, power windows, cruise control, leather trim, premium sound system and other amenities that came with the car.

I also appreciated the abundance of safety features and the enhanced handling provided by the optional sport-tuned suspension and limited-slip differential.

All told, the price of this Grand touring edition came to $31,840, which I must say challenges any claim of easy affordability. The thing to remember, though, is that even the least expensive model offers the full measure of what a sports car is all about.

The Miata (excuse me, MX-5) is not the car for family chores, off-road adventures, winter-weather travel or jaunts to the big-box home-improvement store.

It is a strictly personal car, designed expressly for the buyer who believes that driving is a pleasure in itself and that getting there is at least half of the fun of any journey.

I’d take mine in British racing green if they still offered that color.

Read all of Nick Yost’s automotive news and reviews at http://www.examiner.com/x-2270-NY-Autos-Examiner