Hey all....
Must be going thru a mid life crisis. Been thinking abt buying a convertible car
Ive always thought Id like a Mazda Miata. Anyone own one and what's your opinion?
Another one Im thinking on..... a bigger car tho... is the convertible Toyota Camry Solara. However I "think" these cars in the convertible version are pretty rare and hard to find....hence more costly. But they do have a back seat I think. Anyone own one of these?
John
The Miata is a great car if you are not too large. The Solara convertible is chop shop special and supposedly suffers from excessive cowl shake and a general lack of rigidity. It is a nice looking car though. I suggest you drive one over a rough road to decide if it is acceptable.
Regards,
Ed White
snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net wrote:
I just bought a 2002 Solara SLE convertible. To quote Kramer from "Seinfeld", I'M LOVIN' IT. It's not as stiff as some cars, but it's a hoot to drive. There are kits to stiffen up the rear if that's your thing, but I like mine just the way it is.
Yes, they are sort of rare. One Toyota sales guy told me that they make just 3000 per year, so they come at a premium. The back seat is OK for driving with the top up, but there is too much wind at freeway speeds with the top down.
I'm a big guy at 6' 4", and I fit in the convertible. The hard tops don't have enough head room for me, so the extra room with the ragtop was a pleasant surprize.
Miata's are smaller and therefore more maneuverable and stiffer, but if you're larger than average, forget it. H>e and what's your opinion?
Yes that does help! Thanks!
I didn't realize that only 3000 Solara convertibles were made each year. That's probably gonna make them to expensive and hard for me to find Im guessing.
This stiffness problem.... is it really noticeable in the Solara? If yes..... HOW is it noticeable?
Ive never owned ANY convertible before... so bear with the dumb questions OK?
THANKS!
John
I have a 95 T-bird that is much stiffer and solid on curves. The steering is also alot tighter. The solara has very responsive steering, but is a little mushy in high speed curves. I heard that there are aftermarket kits available that are able to stiffen the suspension to help with the turns.
The pickup is pretty good, but here in Los Angeles, there is too much traffic for that to be much of a problem.
I found a great deal >>Miata's are smaller and therefore more maneuverable and stiffer, but
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