Solstice is huge

What amazed me was that they could make a car that much larger than an MX-5 and still not have a usable trunk. I know from experience that I can put two cases of Yeungling longnecks, an oversized notebook case, a tool bag, and my dirty laundry in my '06 with the top up or down and still have a bit of space left over. I'm not sure that you could fit anything except the laundry in a Solstice with the top down.

"Scott Streeter" wrote

I happened upon a black Solstice a while ago and just had to position my black Miata next to it for a photo op:

car was very clean...this was in the middle of winter.-- Ken Lyons '97 Brilliant Black/'90 Classic Red Inside the Beltway [Remove the first two digits to reply]

It is really larger than an NC MX-5? I still have not seen one, but I do not remember the magazine pictures being that different.

Leon

I sat in a Solstice the other day and it felt like I was in an antique bathtub. The beltline is so high I couldn't even put my left elbow up on the door. It certainly feels like a much bigger car, and I believe it is not only larger, but heavier.

Solstice: Wheelbase = 95.1" Length = 157.2" Width = 71.3" Height = 51.2" Weight = 2860lbs

Miata: Wheelbase = 91.7" Length = 157.3" Width = 67.7" Height = 49" Weight = 2474lbs

That's from Pontiac's website, Mazda's website and Miata.net (for the weight, I couldn't find it on the Mazda site?) The abouve should eliminate guesses, I hope?

Here are two comparisons of the Miata and Solstice by the Drift King. They both did very well. The MX5 had a better time in the slalom and the Solstice did better on the track. He did seem to favor the MX5 for the fun to drive factor.

?v=O_d5-K109DQ

It certainly _felt_ much bigger and heavier. But I must admit that during my test drive last year my thoughts tended toward the "can a transmission really be so mismatched to its vehicle?" and "should a small sports car feel so heavy?" so that the size impression may be inaccurate.

My God that's ugly. The Solstice, that is, not the Miata. (First time I've heard of the Solstice - living across the pond we don't have it here).

Eric

There are two of them, the Pontiac Solstice and the Saturn Skye.

They're very similar but some think the Saturn looks better.

But so would the NC look very big in person compared to your NB. There is no doubt Bess is my SUV Miata.

Leon

Though I do not believe the door line is any higher. No difficulty putting my elbow on the door. :)

Leon

It must just kill you to have to decide between the raw and familiar feel of your '96 versus the (somewhat) new and refined ride of your '06.

My sympathies.... ;-)

Pat

Yes, we do. On the continent it's an Opel GT. I presume it's a Vauxhall Whatsitsname in the UK.

Doesn't make it considerably prettier though. Although you get a bunch of HP for your money, and NC's aren't exactly cheap.

cu .\\arc

I suffer in silence. We dual Miata owners are though, having to wash two cars. Fortunately, you do not see dirt that well on a white Miata.

Leon :))

Definitely - that looks more like it. Nice-looking car, both in terms of appearance and spec.

Eric

If it's an Opel on the continent it would be a Vauxhall here, yes, but I still haven't seen it on the roads here. I've also just had a look at the website

) and can't find it there; the closest thing might be the AstraTwinTop but it doesn't look the same, in particular the front doesn't seem to have that enormous grille. Or perhaps the Tigra, but the site is rubbish and I can't seem to find any decent photos. Or perhaps I'm just grumpy and impatient.

Eric

I know the Opel GT is being sold here in Denmark. I have seen one and it's sort of okay but it's not an MX-5 :-)

Supposedly it drives nice but not as precise as an MX-5 plus the roof is said to be a real pain to put up/down.

The registration figures for May has just been published and in the fun part of the market they look like this:

4 Aston Martins 4 Ferraries 1 Lotus 6 Porsches 5 MX-5's 3 Opel GT's

In total 13,744 cars was registered in May and the top five looks like this:

530 Peugeot 107 ( )477 Suzuki Swift ( )466 Peugeot 207 ( )456 Toyota Avensis ( )448 Ford Focus There are no US cars in the top 20.

We have just have a reform in car taxes which may have boosted the sales of the really small cars so the list is a little different than usual but the overall picture is not much different.

Price wise the Peugot 107 is aprox. 20,000 US, a basic Boxster is aprox.

170,000 US, the Opel GT is aprox. 110,000 US and an basic MX-5 is around 75,000 US.

Kind regards Bruno

This is the Opel:

I couldn't find the corresponding Vauxhall either, but then maybe they didn't want to convert it into RHD and will not offer it.

cu .\\arc