ZeN, yes, this is a REAL question. And yeah, one of Miata's drawbacks for me is, when I seat in my best driving position, the clearance between the steering wheel and my laps is only barely enough for me to be able to put one of my hands through below the wheel.
psychobabble, you are right on the nail with my thoughts, comparing between these roadsters. Yes, the Honda is definitely MUCH faster, quicker, more accurate and more rigid, but as Edmunds correctly says, "it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow." But then again, I too am in the middle of the flat-land.
Peter, yup, the Honda's VTEC engine becomes a real beast when revved over 6000rpm, all the way up to screaming 9000rpm. The note is awesome, too.
Craig, your point well taken, but our old ('92) 325i is only worth $4K at best -- much cheaper than a good pre-owned Civic. Actually, I do like the idea of my 16-year-old learning to drive on a well-engineered, "safe" car with a highly responsive handling that does not isolate her from the road. I believe that the 325i is a very nice "practice car" indeed.
I've already excluded the Z4 after test driving -- it is overpriced as compared to its competitors such as the S2000 in my opinion (even from my biased viewpoint as a BMW owner), and most importantly, its exterior design just doesn't "click" on me.
Mike, thank God I have three
daughters! LOL You know, girls are inherently wiser than boys when it comes to avoiding the unnecessary dangers etc (looking back my own teenage years).
As for the looks, I like the Miata's simple, understated lines slightly better than the more high-tech look of the S2000; to my eyes, both are better looking than the Z4, Mercedes SLK, Audi TT, or Z350.
Saturn, Mercedes is out for me, too. I want a lighter-hearted, fun-to-drive car.
Ron, the 350Z Roadsters are just starting to appear in dealers' lots here in Dallas. They are all already sold before arriving in the dealers, so there is no way of test-driving them right now, yet. That said, I've seen one on a dealer's floor, and have to say that it is "too big" for my taste, both in physical size/weight and in visual massiveness.
Ken, I haven't read the R&T review, but would already agree that the Z is more of a convertible GT than a lightweight roadster.
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Anyway, this will be my daily commute car as well as my toy. Incidentally, which one would you pick with respect to the tolerability in a long, boring highway cruise, like an inter-city trip in Texas? I know that none of these cars are really suitable for those purposes, but which would be more "okay" than the other?
