According to this tool, the five cars best suited to my needs were the Kia Niro Electric, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Mazda Miata, the Tesla Model 3, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Although I was tempted, I ruled out the Tesla because (a) it’s too expensive and (b) it has mediocre reliability. I eliminated the Kia and Hyundai because they didn’t earn top owner satisfaction marks. And the electric Mustang isn’t actually a sedan; like my Maxi Cooper, it’s an SUV. (I’m not sure why Consumer Reports recommended SUVs to me when I deliberately left them out of my search parameters.) That left one car: the Mazda Miata.

Here’s the thing: I’ve always been drawn to Miatas. I like how they look. They’re consistently highly-rated by both customers and professional reviewers alike. And they check all of the same boxes for me that the Mini Cooper does.

The Miata quickly soared to the top of my very short list. Also on that list were the Mini Cooper (which I still love despite its drawbacks) and the more-practical Subaru Outback (which is the unofficial state car of Oregon).

Here are comparison pages from Consumer Reports and Kelly Blue Book:

Looking at those stats, I think you can see why the Miata quickly became the only car I was seriously considering. The car’s only major downside was a middling road score. Reading the Consumer Reports review, I recognized that the reasons for this low road score — road noise and lack of space — didn’t bother me.

The MX-5’s sparkling combination of nimble fun and thriftiness has made it a favorite at our test track — and the current model holds to the standard.

The Miata is a completely impractical car. It seats two (tightly), it will barely haul a load of groceries, and it’s loud inside. Yet we’re smitten with this plucky ragtop.

There isn’t a better fun-per-dollar performance car on the market that delivers the Miata’s magic. After a long winter’s nap, the MX-5 will revive your senses the first spring day you drop the top and hit the curvy roads.

This Mazda is one of the last intimate driving experiences; you feel like part of the machine that’s melding with the road. The Miata’s steering gives immediate turn-in response, and the car remains playful and predictable even when pressing the limits of the tires.

I stopped looking at other models and began trying to find reasons not to buy a Miata. I couldn’t find any.

• Consumer Reports likes the Miata.

I’ve been wearing these boots almost daily for fifteen years, much to Kim’s chagrin. I’ll be sad if they’re ever discontinued.

So, my old shopping process was: Realize I need a new thneed, go to the store (or website), and buy the best match.

My new self-centered shopping process is:

1. Take time to decide exactly what I want in a thneed.
2. Search extensively to find potential matches. Buy one.
3. If the thneed works, great. If not, return it and buy something different. (I almost never have to return anything, though, if I’ve taken the time to list the features I want.)
4. When I learn a thneed is a perfect match, I buy it over and over.

Looking around my writing desk this morning, I see that most of the things I use every day have now been acquired through self-centered shopping. Here are a few of the tools I bought by searching for exactly what I wanted. These are tools that I buy (or plan to buy) repeatedly because they’re perfect for me.