MX-5 RF (Miata)
 

Want!

Change my mind!

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It's got a gaping hole in the roof. You won't be able to drive it in the rain.

ND2 will go down as probably the best ICE sports car ever made.

fantastic automobile.

Id take mine club spec with the normal soft top, but there really are no wrong answers here.

I don't like the screen on the dash, other than that, if you fit in it, it will be the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Oh yeah, their is a VERY limited choice of colors. White, red and shades of gray, or used to be


Sorry about the music, that is why I embedded it silent, hey, that did not work, okay, fixed it.
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One of my friends just bought a 2023 version. It is a decent looking, car and I just have to give Mazda credit, it is not a 3,500 pound swollen up car like so many manufacturers have "evolved" their car line into. Porsche is guilty of that, but they make incredible cars for a lot of money. Datsun aka Nissan certainly made the 240Z in to a heavy non sports car through the years.

No, the sound is there. So the top works and someone can play drums. That was a real winner.

They are small inside. Nimble. The 2019+ have a bit more zip. I just sold my nb. It was bigger inside (I’m 6’) but the new one sure was nice. Enjoy!

I've wanted one of those for years. I like the Subaru BRZ and the Toyota GR86 as well, but haven't driven any of them. I'd probably lean towards the Mazda.

GR86 seats 4. A yuge advantage plus it is a Toyota.

its a subaru.

and it has every version of subaru engine issues.

Not gonna change your mind. I had an '88 911 targa, then a '97 miata, then an '04 miata turbo, and now I have an '08 boxster S. If I didn't have the boxster, and I was in the market for a car, I'd be looking hard at a late model miata, and love the RF since I rarely go topless (despite exclusively driving topless cars since '99). I have to assume the RF is quieter and likely cooler than the regular 'vert, so that's the one that I'd want, but I'd get the best one that I could afford with the options that I wanted (which is how I've ended up with so many topless cars).

Miatas are a hoot. I'm 6'1" w/35" inseam, and I've never had a problem fitting in them. I did perform a little surgery on the seats in my miatas because the seats "look" sporty, but aren't, so I did a little well documented procedures which lowered my seating position and made the seats more supportive (called "foamectomy" in the miata world). Maybe the newer cars have better seats, they are A LOT newer than the miatas that I had.

I say test drive a couple and if you like it like I suspect you will, then go for it!

They are tiny..

One parked near my Cayman in the back 40 of the gym parking lot.. Whoever owned must have just picked it up.... still had the temp registration sticker... It was small compared to my car

Its a beautiful car to see in person, especially whatever color this one was.. some sort of ruby red metallic is the best was I can describe it...

I spied with my own eye that I would be cramped in it I'm 5'10 185#

Reminded me of TVR I looked at years ago... a car I could barely get into

The answer is always ‘Miata’. That’s a fact.

Great cars, heart says RF but brain says soft top. Its substantially lighter and can put a real roll bar in. No good roll bar options for RF that still lets you use the top. I think a stiffer suspension swap is in order but I get the joys of compliance and tall ride height especially for normalish tires.


Light weight cars just bring a different kind of joy missing in nearly all new cars.

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A Toyobaru!

I've toyed with the idea of replacing the fun car with a Miata, but unfortunately, I'm married. Even if we're just going for an overnight trip it's a big bag of clothes, plus a bag of makeup, medicines, whatever, her special pillow, and a large purse. Plus we usually load the dogs in the car on our way out of town. Drop them off at the kennel. No way to do that in a two seater.

That Guy was on to something. I miss the drama of my prior elise and exige, the cayman that replaced them is better in probably everyway..........but sheer thrill of tossing around is in a different realm in a light small moderate power car. Also a lot of joy in simple cars. I love me some modern porsche but they can get bent on needing a programmer to change the battery or rest the service indicator.

people will tell themselves all sorts of things to convince themselves they can't own a miata.

and all of them are silly/wrong.

I've heard a lot of folks talk about not fitting. I'm 6'1" and maxed out 20 years ago at 210-215#, and I fit fine. They are a bit smaller inside than my old '88 911, but even with a 35" inseam, I didn't run into any "fit" problems. I don't know how the ND compares to the NA and NB, but I'm guessing it's not much, if any smaller. The NA is almost the same size as an air-cooled 911 on the outside (frontal area, at least), but I do agree that a miata is smaller on the inside than the old air-cooled 911s.
Miata
Is
Always
The
Answer
It's right there in the name.
The suspension in my '97 was too soft, IMO. I understand the compliant suspension thing, but it was too compliant for me and the way that I drive. Not only was there a lot of roll in corners, but there was also a lot of dive under braking and a lot of squat under the meager acceleration. My '04 was an MSM so it had upgraded suspension (stiffer springs, bilsteins, and stiffer anti-roll bars). I felt like it had excellent suspension, stiffer than the '97, but not too stiff. When I had the '97, I upgraded the springs and shocks, and the springs were stiffer than they needed to be. It was still better than stock, but ideal would have been somewhere in the middle.

The latest versions are smaller inside. I felt cramped as was said earlier. Go take one for a rip. Great if you’re 5-10” or shorter.

I love the idea of a hard top convertible that retracts and I really wanted one but I'm 5' 11" with long legs and a short torso. The seats are too low and I have a terrible time getting a clear view of the 4 corners of the car (you can't raise the height of the seat). The storage capacity is minuscule. Sorry but nope.

Good to know. THat's a shame, I thought the older models were roomy enough to be comfortable. I used to commute with a buddy that was 6'3" and 275#. He "fit" but I doubt that he'd have been able to enjoy driving one.
My boxster came with the optional hard top. It was mostly in storage for the first 7 years that I had the car, but I've had the hard top on for the past 2.5 years, and have no desire to take it off. Most of my driving is on the Interstate, and it's nice that the hard top is nice and quiet. The soft top isn't loud, but it's not as quiet as the soft top. And I so rarely put the soft top down (generally only overcast or dusk or dawn, and probably not at highway speeds).

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Miata is about the same size as a 914, not big. Seem to recall the newest one is within like 100 pounds of the first one, something like that

Toyobaru is a sweet little GT. I think there is a spec racing series for those. You want a closed cockpit for going fast comfortably

Along with NA and NB Miatas I must point out that while not convertibles 1st gen MR2 is a great car with loads of leg room solid feel and go cart handling. Mine was a sunroof not the t top.

the 3rd gen MR2 is a great car too. even less practical than a miata, but all the better for it. the 1st gen mr2 is actually secretly quite a porker (2,600lbs?).

the only real issue with the 3rd gen MR2 is that they made less than 60,000 of them, so finding anyone who knows how they work, or modifying them with real quality parts like suspension is very tough to do. you are doing all your own R&D. whereas with the miata, no matter what your application, someone has already done it, and you can buy the parts from someone, with instructions etc. its so much easier to own and race a miata compared to an MR2, even if the MR2 might be quicker.

What timing. I’ve been perusing the local market for a late model RF but haven’t yet sat in one. Had an NC without issue. At 5’11” and 180 lbs, I suspect I’m on the cusp based on the description here.

I bought the wife a 380Sl. Its long gone but I still have a hoist in my garage to remove the 110 pound hard top. What a hassle!
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The attraction to me with the MX-5 is that I can enjoy top down driving but still park anywhere and have a hard top so I don't worry about a punk slicing the top open to look for spare change. If it rains while I'm out, no big deal. I don't have to deal with storing the hard top...