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Coupes & Convertibles Pontiac Solstice Pontiac Solstice vs 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
376 messages, Last post on Jan 17, 2008 at 3:20 PM
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Replying to: rorr (Dec 28, 2005 8:20 am) Understood. I think the better way of looking at it is for once in a long while the market has two interesting variations on the same theme. I had to laugh at the idea that the existence of a 400hp Mallett Solstice somehow made the ordinary Solstice 'better' than the Miata. I agree with your point. While very cool, I do not see how Mallett's 100 Solsti have much to do with what the rest of us will buy. I don't recall the term 'skittish' being applied to the Miata but I wouldn't be surprised. I think R&T used the term. I already recycled my magazines and cannot confirm. In any event, the authors, nor I, did not mean it to be perjorative. (I used the term very affectionately with my Miatas) As you say, Mazda is going for instant response. That is their thing. Always has been. A lot can be said for it. In my experience, however, it can become tiring on longer trips. In this case, a Solstice would make absolutely zero sense due to the total lack of storage space. While the Miata is no minivan, it at least is feasible to use it for an extended weekend for two. Storage in the Solstice is a real issue. Again, there is a definite choice for the consumer. An aftermarket company has come up with a cool set of (made in USA even  ) luggage that fits in the Solstice trunk when the top is down. The luggage is made in forms that squeeze into the nooks and crannies left with the top down. You really cannot put a whole lot into them though. I hope maybe someone will come up with a trunk that attached on the back bumper like a bike rack. It would effect the weight balance a little. If you are travelling with a passenger, presumably you will not be hitting the corners full out. To your point, in any event it would be a compromise over what you get stock with the Miata. |
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| like any small car...you learn to use each and every space available to you...we have had our solstice two weeks...and have already learned to how to pack it...you can definitely get an extended weekends worth in the "trunk" using small duffel like bags that are soft side...having travelled for business and in the military...one learns how to pack clothes that dont look like you slept in them when you pull them out of the bag....again....we have found sufficient room for two people to pack...for a long four day weekend...to include a hanging bag with one suit and one dress laid across the back and the two other bags molded so to speak along the rear...with room for small misc items along the side....all with the top down....now admittedly you have to raise the top to get anything out..but that is the price and choice one makes.....we traded the trunk space for more cockpit space in the solstice compared to the MX-5.....but again...each make a personal choice.......having a blast with our solstice!!!! | |
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It has been all I can do to hold on for when Saturn officially can take orders for the Sky. The Solstice is very tempting, but I want to sit down with a Saturn and Pontiac dealer and discuss the whole shebang before I sign on the line (still looking at a few other options as well). Google around for the new Solstice designed luggage group I describe above (I would link, but I think it is against the rules). The manufacturer was clever enought to send a sample package to a local Pontiac dealer. It is really clever the way the pieces fit around the trunk with top down.
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Replying to: logic1 (Dec 29, 2005 11:07 am) |
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I went to my Pontiac dealer and they are sold out of their 2006 allocation of the Solstice but would take a deposit for the 2007 Solstice. Drove the MX-5 and really enjoyed it. Big pluses for the MX-5: 1 - You can get one. 2 - Nice trunk. 3 - You really can operate the roof from inside, but it's easier if you have long arms. 4 - Can get Xenons and Advanced Keyless Entry + Start I personally like th Sky better than the Solstice, but it will likely be hard to get as well.
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Replying to: rqc (Dec 31, 2005 8:51 pm) |
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Did a head-to-head Autocross run-off between a new Miata, a Solstice and a '99 Miata that competes on the national level in SCCA C-Stock class (equipped with aftermarket shocks and swaybars). The new Miata and Solstice were bone stock except for competition alignments, and all three cars ran on new Hoosier R-compounds. One would have expected that with the same HP and 350 extra lbs, the Solstice would have had its butt handed to it. One would have been wrong. On a sub-40 second course, the Solstice averaged only 0.2 seconds behind the well-prepared '99 Miata, and almost 0.8 seconds ahead of the new Miata, which is a lifetime on a course like that. The test drivers all remarked about how easy it was to get into the Pontiac and be *very* fast the first time out, in contrast to the new Miata, which they thought needed a graduate course in body control. None of them liked the Ecotech, though.
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Replying to: ajvdh (Jan 03, 2006 1:56 pm) The Solstice is already tuned for more grip. Its emphasis seems to be more on performance numbers than fun. That would be consistent with the reviews out there. Just theories. (And again, Sport Compact Car found that the MX-5 has 15-20 hp less when the temperature is above 77 degrees.)
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Replying to: carlisimo (Jan 03, 2006 2:24 pm) Let me repeat, since you apparently skipped over this the first time, "The test drivers all remarked about how easy it was to get into the Pontiac and be *very* fast the first time out, in contrast to the new Miata, which they thought needed a graduate course in body control." To expand on that, they all thought that the Miata was not a lot of fun at the limit, having a fairly sharp transition to oversteer which wasn't predictable enough to be useful. Hunt down the article, and remember these guys revere the Miata, but even they acknowledge that the Solstice now appears to be the hot setup in C-Stock.
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Replying to: ajvdh (Jan 04, 2006 1:40 pm) The Miata's suspension is apparently pretty bad once you give it a lot more grip. I'm surprised, and I'm trying to think of why it is. Most people agree that on the stock tires, it's very well balanced and "on the edge." Maybe that specialized tuning gets totally thrown off when you have twice the grip. The Solstice does very well with more grip than stock. I don't mean to take anything away for that achievement. And it's hugely relevant to stock autocrossers, as were the early reports of better slalom and skidpad numbers from the Solstice. I think it was a conscious choice that Mazda made, to specialize its suspension tuning to work with stock amounts of grip. And that amount of grip was kept rather small, at the cost of slalom and skidpad numbers. According to some British review (never found out which), the designers kept grip low on purpose because it made the car more fun to drive. That sort of thinking was bound to be bad news for autocrossers. I didn't think it'd be that bad though. I wonder what accounts for the change from the '99 Miata.
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