I not too long ago hung out in a 2021 MX-5 Mazda Miata RF — you already know, the one with the retractable hardtop. With the highest up, it cuts a pleasant determine — modern and aggressive, making plain the automotive’s sporting intentions. And sure, I liked it. It confirmed, but once more, my long-held opinion that I ought to personal one sometime.
However, as a lot as I really like the look of the RF, that’s not the Miata I’d purchase. I really like the MX-5’s mushy prime. I really like how rapidly I can drop it or pop it again up even whereas sitting within the driver’s seat. I like the truth that even with the highest up, it seems just like the convertible it’s. I additionally admire its simplicity and its added headroom. Whereas the hardtop is quieter when closed up, the mushy prime is quieter with the highest down (which is the way it ought to be pushed). The ragtop can be lighter, which ought to at the very least have a placebo impact when tossing this factor down dynamic roads.
Lastly, the mushy prime variations are cheaper. The Sport trim begins at $27,825 (together with $995 in vacation spot charges). The Miata RF doesn’t even provide a base Sport trim — which might be the one I’d get — however begins at Membership with an MSRP of $34,040. That’s a $2,755 premium over the soft-top Membership. Whereas the manual-equipped Membership additionally features a limited-slip differential that the Sport trim doesn’t, I don’t know if that function is sufficient to make me improve.
That stated, there are some actual benefits to the RF’s hardtop. Like I stated earlier, it’s quieter when closed. It’s additionally simpler to discover a snug temperature with the tin can sealed up — the mushy prime is hotter in the summertime, and colder within the winter. And along with wanting tremendous sharp with the exhausting prime closed, it additionally supplies extra safety. I believe, although, that somebody with the desire to slash the highest in all probability wouldn’t thoughts breaking a window, however alternatively, a window is cheaper to exchange.
Say you are shopping for a current-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata. Which prime do you get?
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— John Snyder (@jbeltzsnyder)
June 10, 2021
So, I ask you, expensive readers, which roof would you select for the current-generation Miata? I’ve positioned this ballot on Twitter, however you too can be at liberty to hold forth within the feedback for extra nuanced solutions, or anecdotes about your individual MX-5.
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