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Took the Acura back to the dealership last night. The gas mileage wasn’t anywhere near what I was expecting, auto trans was slow/stupid and it’s a heavy car (3800lbs like a 3/S and less power). Very comfortable and stylish car but for the cost per mile, it was getting stupid.

With the new job I’m driving about 3500 miles a month. This means a tank of gas every other day. The Miata would be a tank every 3rd day AND it was cheaper to fill due to the smaller tank. Literally 13mpg better from a car that is $12,000 cheaper and a LOT more fun to drive .

The little car checks all the boxes in the list of requirements for a car I need to DD so the hard top made more sense to own vs two soft tops. The 18s are clearing out for the 19s in November so got another killer deal. Pretty much the same discount as the 17 soft top I picked up in April.

Wanted red but the only choices were white and black. Settled on another white. Oddly it’s a different white between the two cars. The RF is pearl, the soft top is just gloss...

It sure is pretty though.





Pics of the soft top.






Comparing the two:

The soft top is better for nice days you want the top down. The hard top is better for the top up days (figure 75% of the year).

Soft top is about $1800 cheaper and although it weighs 120lbs less, I can’t notice a difference.

Hard top has permanent blind spots top up or down but bigger rear window and a lot quieter with the top up. Also less storage room than the soft top.

It sounds nuts to have two of the same car but switching between the two cars should help keep the miles down on both.

At this time no mods are planned but if I were to pick one to modify, it would be the soft top as it’ll be driven a bit less than the hard top will be.

I maybe looking into opening up the ECU since the com protocols are already available and the ECUs are unlocked.

Very nice. Might have been worth waiting for the 19s though. I read they're getting a bump 181hp.

[quote=""Jeff V.""]Very nice. Might have been worth waiting for the 19s though. I read they're getting a bump 181hp.[/quote]

They are. And next year when I trade in the RF, it’ll be for a clearance 19!

The RF sure is pretty

These are starting to grow on me. Whats a good price for the current model?

Not sure about the RF, but used soft top ND's aren't much more than 20k

Went campering last weekend. Brand new car with less than 250 miles on it covered in tree sap.

Soft top vs hard top.

[quote=""Mike""]Issa Targa Top?[/quote]

Yeah. Del Sol style.

Power targa.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER9ynp7eubk

For what it's worth, I think the new mid engine Corvette is going to have a model with a roof like this. Some of the test cars have segmented roofs that look very similar to the Miata.

Hmm...that's two videos now that won't embed. WTF.

[quote=""Mike""]I don't think it's ugly, but it's not gorgeous to me either. I kinda love NB styling the most.[/quote]

Agreed! That’s why I still got my dead 02 sitting around waiting for me to restore it.

[quote=""Jeff V.""]Power targa.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER9ynp7eubk

For what it's worth, I think the new mid engine Corvette is going to have a model with a roof like this. Some of the test cars have segmented roofs that look very similar to the Miata.

Hmm...that's two videos now that won't embed. WTF.[/quote]

I actually prefer the soft top over the hard top for a multitude of reasons! However being that the top will be up more than down in the RF, it made more sense to have the hard top for daily driving purposes.

Oh good I'm not the only one who prefers the bulging fenders of the NB over the NA

OK, that power targa roof is pretty trick... If the C8 does that, it'd get rid of my wife's only complaint about the Stingray. She is so afraid of dropping or scratching the roof while moving it around.

I actually like the targa Miata. Parked next to one at the store - nice little car.