Hello everyone and welcome! We are inside of the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring, RF. That's a lot of words basically say the hardtop mx-5, hardtop convertible that is. And you know if you've watched my channel you probably know that I love this car the nd Miata is a fantastic drivers car it does pretty much everything really well it's not exceptionally fast, but it's a fantastic drivers car. You know the base version coming in at just 2330 lbs, so very lightweight, very tossable, made for these low speed corners kind of car, that's just a ton of fun to drive. And honestly if you're getting either one whether that be the RF or the soft top convertible you really can't go wrong both of them are just truly fantastic drivers cars, however if I were to buy one myself, and I have thought about it quite a bit, I would go with the club version the club of course because it comes with the limited slip differential of the soft top and so in this video i'm going to give you five reasons why that would be my personal pick though again I do think they are both fantastic cars. Now the first reason has to do with the fact that this car is a convertible and the way that I see it, with the top down, the soft top is the better car to go with with the top up the RF the hardtop is the better car to go with. The reason being with the top down, and you know this is a convertible so obviously you want to put the top down In the RF you still have a pretty massive blind spot looking to your left and honestly It just feels a lot like all you did was Remove the roof because that's pretty much the only difference the roof isn't there so it's kind of like a Corvette in that sense with The hardtop that you can remove and you basically just pop off the top You don't really feel like you're outside Like you do with the soft top down. You know it's more immersive in the soft top Where all you have blocking your visibility is this front window frame, and that's it and everything else around you is Wide open and you can look around you can enjoy the scenery around you can you know hear it better You know you're more isolated in the RF, and that could be a good thing if that's what you want But if you're buying a convertible Something tells me that you probably want to be you know outside with outside rather than just kind of well you have the roof off So my personal feeling is that with the top down. It's a more immersive experience In the soft top convertible than with the hardtop. Another benefit Is that soft top is just really fast and really easy to put up and down takes just a couple seconds if that Versus 13 seconds with the electronic version, which is of course very fast But that said you can do it much quicker much more easily in the soft top So you know if you just got a couple seconds to spare at that light the soft top. It's no problem This one you can only have it up to six miles per hour They did that so your hair may not get caught in it perhaps They should have an option for people with shorter hair, who knows? But anyways the soft top very quick very easy to actuate this takes a little bit more time. Now reason number two is the curb weight and I've driven this RF on a track at Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca, I should say since I'm in a Mazda And you know I didn't find it to feel really any different from a dynamic standpoint than the soft top It feels like you know the same amazing driver's car but that said it does weigh 113 pounds more and One of the things that I have noticed from that as the the RF feels a bit less tail-happy it's not quite as eager to let the rear end kick out and slide around not quite as playful as The mx-5 with the soft top and part of that is that they've added this weight to the back so it's got more weight sitting on those rear tires the weight distribution has been pushed a little bit back, so it's 50/50 and the manual RF versus 53/47 with the soft top, and you know you do actually feel that a little bit in the corners So I feel like the soft top. It's a little more eager You know really throw it hard into a corner and it's going to kick out the rear end versus this stays a bit more stable and Normally, I would say that that's a good thing for this that it remains a bit more stable But the mx-5 is so Predictable so easy to drive hard that it's actually a little bit of fun to have that rear end be slightly more tail-happy More willing to play with you because it's completely predictable you can choose for it to do it or you can choose for it to not do it and This one you know if you put your foot down you won't necessarily have it happen as often. So with the top down I like the soft top better I think it's just a little bit more playful more eager to kick out that rear end and the third reason Comes down to speed and I wouldn't say again that I feel the difference But you know just looking at the numbers and because it weighs more and has the same power You know it's just the fact that it is going to be slower and motor trend has done 0 to 60 testings in a repeatable Manner they found with the soft top they were getting into high fives low sixes for the 0 to 60 time With the RF they were getting in about the mid 6s so about six point four seconds for the RF So you know half a second slower about 6 to 7 percent slower? And that makes sense because the car is about five percent heavier So logical that that was the difference that they saw in 0 to 60 times. Now Do I think it's a huge deal or a deal-breaker absolutely not? But it is just slightly quicker if that's what you're going for I think they have done a really Nice job of preserving the way that the RF feels in comparison of the soft top without really sacrificing performance Hardly at all now points 4 & 5 aren't quite as big of a deal but points none the the less and so number 4, headroom the soft top has 0.6 inches more headroom And that may not sound like a ton a little bit more than half an inch But when you know headroom is already restricted if you're tall I'm 6 1 and sitting in this is just barely possible with the hard top up if I put myself all the way back in the seat my head will actually touch that roof with the Top up it won't do that in the soft top, and it's just got barely enough above it So it's a minor detail But you will notice it if you're tall That you have just slightly more Headroom with the soft top then with the hard top. And finally point number 5 is price So the RF Club starts at around 31,500 versus the club soft top which is starting around 28,800 and so about 2,750 is the difference almost $3000 difference between the two cars And you know considering the other things the fact that you can save money You have I feel like a better car with the top down You know it's a little bit more playful. It's a little bit quicker. You've got a little bit more Headroom Kind of cool that you can also save some money in getting the one that has all of those features again Both of them are great cars and are definitely benefits to the hardtop First off and as I mentioned earlier with the top up. I think it's the better car because you're more isolated It's a nicer cabin. It's a bit more quiet You know you're more insulated from the outdoors if it's you know winter months, and it's super cold outside So there are definitely benefits to having that hardtop. Also it looks amazing I don't think there's any denying that between these two cars the RF is definitely the better looker it looks fantastic With the top up and with the top down Which you know the other one the soft top doesn't look quite as good with the top up I don't think this is just a fantastic looking car and I love that about it I think you know that alone could persuade people to get this one It's just how nice it looks with that hardtop on it Also the weight distribution this one is a bit more Evenly split and as a result it feels a bit more stable a bit more predictable Like I was saying a little bit more weight on that rear axle makes it a little less tail-happy so it is a little bit more predictable and Finally if you do plan on tracking the cars if you take this one to the track I don't think you're gonna have any trouble running into Problems with you know the broomstick test where they have to make sure your head is below the roll bar You just put the top up you put your helmet on now for people like me It's kind of a squeeze and when I was on the track with the helmet on in this thing my my helmet was definitely up against the ceiling The hard top of the convertible which is unfortunate, so it couldn't really be a track car if you're really tall But if you are you know shorter, and you want to take it to a track the hardtop is great You can that roof over your head put your helmet on you don't have to worry about the broomstick test even though Truthfully like the roof is not load-bearing its these roll hoops behind you that are gonna Take that load if you do flip but I imagine you know at tracks They're probably gonna be much more lenient if you have the hard top than if you have the convertible version So if it were my money, and I was buying an mx-5 I would go with the club version of the soft top I think it's fantastic I don't really think it needs any of the additional options unless you can get them for cheap the Brembo package about 3,400 for brakes and wheels Seems like quite a bit of money for just brakes and wheels when you know the competition out there like the FRS the BRZ The BRZ offers a package for I believe 1200 bucks you get new bigger brakes front and rear Which is this is just the front gives you different? Wheels it gives you different shocks, and that's where 1,200 bucks a third of the price So if you're really thinking about tracking the car And you're taller a BRZ with that track package it might be the better call Because it's got the hardtop that load-bearing roof you can fit in there better It's got more adjustments the mx-5 does not have a steering wheel adjustment only up and down it doesn't telescope and so as a result you know for taller people it's gonna be far away from you because you've got the seat back as Far as possible to accommodate your legs, and then the steering wheel is kind of far from you not a huge deal But a sacrifice you don't have to make in the BRZ That said I think this is the better drivers car and you know if you're just spending time Driving around your favorite country roads, or just as a daily driver I think this is the car to buy it is absolutely fantastic So thank you all for watching if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below, and I'm just going to enjoy The rest of this wonderful windy road on my way down
As somebody who owns a first generation miata and has NEVER had a soft top installed in the car I'm pretty sure I would take an RF. But last time I checked RF versions are not legal for most track racing because it provides no extra rollover protection and you cannot fit a roll bar under that hardtop mechanism.
ST because if I put the top down, I want it all the way down. With the RF, the blind spots remain, and so does the window noise. In my soft top, neither exist if I put it down.
I would take the Soft top version. Its lighter and that's all that matters to me in a car like a miata.
Awesome content. Very informative watching just him talking. Great video.
Why isn't the Targa top fixed in place and reinforced against rollovers, with a manually removable top?
Saves weight, adds rigidity, improves safety.