Anyone having any problems with PRHT model?

I thank everyone who posted on my previous question - Z-4 or MX-5 PRHT...which should I get?

I'm 95% sure it's going to be the MX-5. Now I'm wondering - has anyone had any problems with the top? or anything else?

I have monitored this group for quite some time and have seen very few problems mentioned with '06 or '07's (unlike the BMW Z-4 group - lot's of problems).

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Herm
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Miatas are made by craftsmen in Hiroshima. Z4s are made by hillbillies in South Carolina. Next question? :-)

Seriously, there aren't very many PRHTs on the road yet., but Mazda reliability is legendary among Miata owners. The dependability of my own Miata (13 years old, flogged mercilessly for 140k miles, runs like new) was a large factor in our buying a Mazda3 last Saturday.

Reply to
Lanny Chambers

the new top design is really amazing. it is simpler than the previous designed that spanned the life of the previous 14(?) years with only one slight modification (a spring to accommodate the folding of a top with a glass window). fwiw, i have heard rumor that the new retractable hard top is in very limited production/supply because mazda does not want to kill off the soft top sales and get stuck with the soft tops on their dealers lot. the dealer i recently spoke with said that he could have sold a lot of retractable hard top versions if they were available. if you like the idea of the retractable hard top then you might want to wait for it. i have not seen it in person but it appears to have a different profile than then soft top and adds a collar around the rear of the top that in my opinion makes it less attractive. but the convenience of it probably outweighs the appearance issue for most people.

Reply to
Christopher Muto

My wife has a 2002 Protege5. She did manage to blow a speaker, which was replaced under warranty. Other than that, absolutely nothing has gone wrong with it.

I think the Mazdaspeed program is interesting. The Mazdaspeed3 looks like a fantastic deal to me. I'd love to test drive one. And I expect the next Mazdaspeed MX-5 will be competitive with sports cars that cost thousands more.

Reply to
Carbon

The appearance is definitely not an issue with me.

I already do not like the looks of the NC in particular, but the retractable hard top will likely be the selling point, otherwise I will probably get a 2001-2005 M2, which are selling for surprisingly low costs now.

If overall appearance was a top priority for me I would have to stay with maintaining the original design forever, which is the best-looking miata/MX-5 of the 3 generations by far, imho.

Pat

Reply to
pws

Look at Pat trying to start trouble! Just kidding. I really like the exterior design very much on all 3 versions. I think the NC is a logical modernization of the NA car rather than a further development of the 'series' I would also say that the NA's weak point (vs NB) is mainly interior design which IMHO Mazda goofed up on again in the NC. Horrible steering wheel, not great instruments and horribly tacky looking plastics (in the Tan version especially). Uh oh, someone's going to say I'm trying to start trouble now! Let me get it back OT: all three are better true sportscars than an overweight / overly complex Z4!

Good luck in your decision Herm, Chris

99BBB
Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

Starting trouble are two of my many middle names. ;-)

I agree on the interiors, and it did take a few years for the M2 to grow on me. Maybe the NC will as well, but I will never like the interior as well as the M2, especially with that new round piece of ugliness that Mazda calls a steering wheel right in front of me. (Is that starting trouble?)

I don't think the NC looks "bad", (except for that steering wheel), and I certainly can't expect Mazda to keep the exterior design looking the same forever, though Acura managed to leave the NSX alone for a great many years, they also didn't sell quite as many as NSX's as Mazda did miatas. :-)

I think we can agree on the Z4 as well. Good luck, Herm!

Pat

Reply to
pws

Reply to
Christopher Muto

You need A/C in New York? Wimp. ;-)

That is the one feature that my car lacks that I would like, (besides the folding hardtop, of course), especially in Texas during the summer.

I know that it gets hot in NY as well, but we had a summer not too long ago where it went well over 30 days with the temperature never dropping below 80 at night and quickly going back up over 100 during the day. A/C becomes somewhat mandatory at that point. Of course, it was also 76 and sunny yesterday afternoon, perfect spring-type weather for places that actually have four seasons. I guess you take the bad with the good.

There is no question that the more parts that there are, the more problems there will be, given comparable quality. My car will never have a problem with a power steering pump because it does not have one, and I do not need or want power steering on a car this small. I read that some new vehicles come with up to 16 airbags now. Increased safety is great, but almost every new thing that is added increases weight, complexity and cost of repairs.

16 airbags is going to require a LOT of wiring running throughout the car, there is already a lot of wiring and extra parts just for one airbag on the miata.

Pat

Reply to
pws

Actually, except for the classy steering wheel, I thought the NB was a step back from the NA in interior. While the (standard) NA has an austere, absolutely boring and totally nonimaginative black interior, it was good quality functionality. I thought the NB plastics shiny and cheap looking compared to it, and missing that no-nonsense touch in design.

To call the NC steering wheel "horrible" looking in a company that includes the NA is just ingenuous. It is nowhere near the incredible ugliness of the NA steering wheel; as far as I know, the most ugly steering wheel ever put in a sports car. While the NC steering wheel does in my opinion have a definite "Buick" look to it, it certainly does not look like the dreaded NA "lunch box" wheel. The only reason I did not replace Bozo's wheel any earlier was because there were no options (and AFAIK, still are not in the USA; I got my replacement from Germany.)

I would by no means call my tan interior beautiful, (make that my car's tan interior), but it is a lot less boring than the NA interior plastics, is not shiny, and it absorbs a lot less of our Florida sun.

And I can (most of the time) throw my cloth top down in 300-500 times less time than it takes the NA/NB top to be lowered and covered, and about 10 times less time than it takes the RHT to retract itself. And similar numbers for raising it. It makes a difference if you are caught top-down in a Florida downpour. :)

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

Differing opinions are a good thing.

No options with airbags. Lots of people driving NA's without airbags. As far as looks, there is not an airbag-equipped steering wheel made that looks as good as the Momo Champion in my '91 model.

I actually find the original steering wheel less visually offensive than the new one because it does not have extra controls on it, but I have never called either one pretty. Horn buttons and paddle shifters are all that I ever want on the wheel, any other control button can and should go on the dash and/or steering column, imho.

(and AFAIK, still are not in the USA; I got my replacement

But there was finally an airbag-equipped option for the M1, and it looks great. I will probably get it myself if I stay with the M1 model.

If a company ever makes a better-looking steering wheel for the NC, it will still have the controls on there and will not look as good as the OEM M2 steering wheel. The main problem is that Mazda took a giant step backwards. They screwed up what was probably the best improvement from the M1 to the M2, again, imho.

If less boring equals more gaudy and generic-looking, then I will have to agree with you. Otherwise, I have to rate the interiors as best to worst in this order; NB, NA, then the NC.

There is no question that the new soft top is cool. It was nice to see Mazda finally do what Toyota did years ago with the MR2. Now that I have ridden on the highway in a NC with the folding hardtop, however, I would never consider the soft top. The advantages of reduced noise, extra security, better visibility, and better looks with the top raised outweigh the extra weight, cost and the time to raise and lower it by a huge margin for myself.

Pat

Reply to
pws

The Exige is a brilliant car but I don't think any sane person would even consider using it as a daily driver. Not for very long anyway. But for a weekend toy and/or track days I can hardly think of anything better.

Reply to
Carbon

Carbon wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@nospam.tampabay.rr.com:

The Exige top is fixed thereby putting it in the same class as mini- vans, SUVs, etc. as far as desirability is concerned....

Reply to
XS11E

I've got a buddy contemplating doing just that. He's got another car, mind you, but I see no reason why an Exige wouldn't make a perfectly good daily driver. Neither does he.

I've never understood why some people think they can't drive their "weekend toy" to work and to run errands and whatnot, provided you're not carrying a kid around with you or something. It's like the thought that they drive to work could be enjoyable, too, doesn't even cross some people's minds.

Reply to
tooloud

Most people that try this find that toys played with too much tend to lose their attractiveness. However mind boggling an Exige's performance may be, one will get used to it. And then one will start noticing the squeaks and rattles, the non existant rear view, and the ridiculously hard clutch in stop-and-go traffic.

I drive my toys to work, because I am lucky in having quite a nice stretch of road to work. But if I have to do grocery shopping, bet it's not the MX-5 that goes.

I don't know if it's customary to present oneself - I am new here. Found a white 94 in top condition (50000 km) last summer and love it. Daily driver is a Toyota Prius, other toy car is a Citroen DS.

cu .\\arc

Reply to
Marc Gerges

"tooloud" wrote in news:a1coh.341808$1i1.288671@attbi_s72:

Because my Miata won't carry my scooter and scooter lift, that's why.

Reply to
XS11E

As far as I am concerned, I would simply never develop the patience to wait for it to lower itself. It would drive me nuts.

Leon

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

That sounds like my rattly '91 miata with the ACT3 clutch and the rear window that needs to be replaced.

I don't drive to work, at least not to one building every day to punch an evil timecard for a slave-driver commonly referred to as a boss or manager, but I do put a lot of miles on the car and a miata has been my only vehicle for between 7 & 8 years now. I also have not been to a mechanic in over 7 years other than for tires and alignments. Coincidence?

Welcome! This can be a tough crowd, but very helpful. Note: each reply has been top-posted just to irritate XS11E. See what I mean? ;-)

Pat

BTW, the '94 is often thought of as one of the best year models of the first generation miata, and I am sure that Leon will like your color choice.

Reply to
pws

rammm@REMOVE_THIS_TAGdommelen.net (Leon van Dommelen) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

In golf terminology that wouldn't be a drive, more of a short putt.

Reply to
XS11E

pws wrote in news:45a190ef$0$7641$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:

May your mother-in-law come for an extended visit! ;-)

Reply to
XS11E

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