[EA]

Get a Miata. Best handling. Cheap. Good fuel economy. Vert. Has hard top option. Reliable.

[Tornado Baby]

Check insurance rates, too. They are high for sports cars and convertibles. We used to have one and paid a lot more because it was easy to steal, vandalize. It is best to rent one during perfect driving teams like right now, for specific trips. You can still get your macho on that way.

[Punxsyboy]

During the summer, the top is down until about 10 AM, after that, it stays closed until the sun goes down.

[JayVanderbilt]

Originally Posted by EA

Get a Miata. Best handling. Cheap. Good fuel economy. Vert. Has hard top option. Reliable.

Is it better than a Ford Mustang? They seem to cost about the same.

[EA]

Unless you get the gt350r, the Miata owns the mustang in every single way except straight line performance.

Miata will run circles around the Mustang on the track, down twisty back roads, around town, and in fuel economy.
They're great fun.

Mustangs will cost you a lot to fuel, and you'll probably crash it.

[SportyandMisty]

Mrs. SportandMisty and I disagree on this.

She's a convertible lover. She's currently driving a BMW 4-Series convertible hard top. She loves the top down in the summertime in the days. I dislike it -- it is far too hot for me. I'm OK with driving with the top down in the summer evenings.

Another option is a used VW EOS -- a hardtop convertible that has an integrated sunroof (talk about engineering overkill).

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by EA

Unless you get the gt350r, the Miata owns the mustang in every single way except straight line performance.

Miata will run circles around the Mustang on the track, down twisty back roads, around town, and in fuel economy.
They're great fun.

Mustangs will cost you a lot to fuel, and you'll probably crash it.

More importantly, the Miata is a very fun car to drive -- not quite a go cart, but very fun.

[OmegaSupreme]

Have one, nights are amazing

It's only too hot about 4 months of the year and too cold 2 months. So you have about 6 months of day driving minus windy days

[johninvegas]

Originally Posted by JayVanderbilt

Is it better than a Ford Mustang? They seem to cost about the same.

Depends on what you are looking for.

A sporty car with a still usable back seat and able to load a good amount of luggage/golf bags/yard sale stuff? Then get the Mustang.

A sports car less about getting from point A to point B than about the trip between, only need two seats and minimal trunk space (especially with the top down)? Then get the Miata.

[EA]

The mustang rear seat is only good for double amputees and small children.