Today we were scheduled to go look at the Audi A5 Convertible, and maybe the Audi TT Convertible, but we didn’t. Jane got on the website for the local Audi dealer, and we looked at the prices–about 10 to 15K more than the BMW 128i. No thanks. I couldn’t get excited about looking at Volkswagens or Volvos either.

So, at long last, we drove off to the local Mini dealer, and drove a Mini Cooper S Convertible. It was good.

Here’s what I liked:

• The overall appearance, and the fact that you can customize it the way you want.
• The visibility out the front windscreen, whether the top was up or down. Most of the convertibles we’ve driven, the top of the windscreen seems to be just barely above my eye-level.
• It’s roomy, compared to any of the other cars we’ve drive, and there’s good back support. I prefer a more upright posture when driving, and the Mini is good with that.
• I didn’t feel that I was maybe too big for the car.
• It has the best MPG rating of any car we’ve driven. It’s rated 27 MPG in the city; the others are rated 27 MPG highway.
• It’s got lots of power.
• I was definitely fun to drive.
• The top doesn’t fold into the trunk.

The interior was adequate, and the ride was a little rougher than I expected; though possibly the car we drove had the sport suspension. I’m told that you don’t need the sport suspension, the standard suspension is plenty good enough. Either way, it was comfortable, and fun.

In short, having driven a new Mini I’d still like to have one. Of course, I’d also like to have a Miata. I can’t have both. The rating therefore stands thus:

1. Mazda Miata or Mini Cooper S Convertible
2. BMW 128i
3. Nissan 370 Z
4. Chrysler 200 Convertible
5. Ford Mustang

If I had to pick today, I’d probably give the edge to the Mini; it’s slightly more practical, and I can sit with better posture without worrying about banging my head on the top. On the other hand, I like the Miata’s convertible hard top, and its trunk is actually more convenient (shocking though that is). On the other hand, I like the Mini’s selection of colors.

Good thing I’m not buying a car tomorrow.

So having spent four weeks looking at cars we probably weren’t going to want to buy, this week we decided to reward ourselves for our perseverance and look at a car that we thought we might.

And I will say, me like. Me like a lot.

First, the Miata is an attractive car. It’s cute. It’s sporty, but it isn’t mean-looking like the Mustang or stodgy like the BMW. It looks nice with a soft top, and the convertible hard-top is simply gorgeous whether the top is up or down. I’ve seen them out of the corner of my eye and thought, “Whoa, that’s a pretty car–what is it?”

But I knew all of that before we went shopping. The question has been, how is it to drive? How is it to sit in? What’s the trunk space like? Here are my impressions:

• The car is decidedly cosy. With the top up it has just barely enough headroom for me, and I wouldn’t want to be any wider. The salesman we worked with is both taller and wider than I am, and I’m amazed that he managed to get behind the wheel at all.
• On the other hand, I haven’t found any of the cars we’ve driven to be exceptionally comfortable. The best to date on the comfort scale was the Ford Mustang, and the Miata is at least as good. It’s cosy, but not otherwise unpleasant.
• I liked the interior. It worked for me.
• The trunk is small…but unlike the other cars we’ve looked at, the top doesn’t fold into the trunk but rather into a space right behind the seats. This is true for both the soft top and the hard top. You don’t lose any trunk space when the top comes down, and you don’t need to worry about what’s in the trunk before you put the top down. And my impression is that with the top down the trunks in the BMW 128i or Chrysler 200 are effectively smaller than the Miata’s.
• The headroom is pretty much the same with either top, but with the soft top there was a ridge right over my head. With the hard top there wasn’t.
• The gas mileage should be no worse than my PT Cruiser’s.
• There’s a nice choice of colors.
• The sticker price is $10K to $15k less than the Nissan and BMW.

OK; so much for the practical details. What’s it like to drive?

I drove a 2012 Miata with six-speed manual transmission and sport suspension, and I have to say it is very, very nice. It doesn’t glide along magically like the BMW, but it’s a smoother ride than my Cruiser’s, and much smoother than the Nissan 370Z. I couldn’t take it on the freeway, so I don’t have a good feel for its raw power–but on the other hand, I’m not worried about it either. It felt great on surface streets.

I wish the interior were just a little more roomy. That’s my only complaint, and I think I could live quite happily with the room there is.

In short, for the first time on the list we have a real contender. Here are the current rankings:

1. Mazda Miata
2. BMW 128i
3. Nissan 370 Z
4. Chrysler 200 Convertible
5. Ford Mustang

This is the car I test-drove; but I think I’d prefer it in red or blue with the beige interior. It’s pretty sweet in this color, too, though.

We looked up-market this week, at the BMW 128i and 328i convertibles. Both cars are coupes with reasonably large back seats, and I think they are about the same price. The 328i has a convertible hard-top, and even less room in the trunk with it down than the Chrysler 200. The 128i has a soft-top, and the trunk is effectively rather larger.

I drove the 128i, and I have to say I liked it a lot. The interior is lovely, the seats are comfortable, it has lots of power, and it handles like a dream. The ride is smooth, and the feel is exactly what I’m looking for: you press the accelerator, and it goes, smoothly and powerfully, without making a big deal out of it. It’s got an automated manual shifter, like most of the cars I’ve driven, but no paddle shifters on the steering column; if you want to drive it in manual mode, you have to use the shift lever.

Of the cars I’ve driven so far, I liked this one the most. It’s fun, it’s powerful, and I like the overall feel of the car. It has only a few defects:

• The gas mileage is nothing special, 18 city and 27 highway, which is similar to the other cars I’ve driven so far.
• The center console doesn’t poke my knee the way the console in the Chrysler 200 does, but it is a little wide; my knees were pushed a little further to the left then I thought comfortable.
• It’s a lot more expensive than the Chrysler or the Mustang, and comparable to the Nissan 370Z.
• According to the salesman (who was pleasant and helpful) it comes only in black, white, and silver.

That last point is interesting. I was watching the cars on the road on the way home, and it appears that most new cars are black, white, or silver. I saw a few that were a muted metallic green, and occasionally a bright red, but the vast majority were gray-scale. This may be why the Mini Cooper appeals to me: you can get it in bright colors.

Anyway, the current ranking is as follows:

1. BMW 128i
2. Nissan 370 Z
3. Chrysler 200 Convertible
4. Ford Mustang

I’ve got a Chrysler that I love, so it seemed only reasonable to go out and see what Chrysler has available these days. The PT Cruiser hasn’t been made since 2009, so getting a new Cruiser isn’t even an option. Given that, the most likely contender is the 200 Convertible.

Good:

• It’s a convertible.
• The driver’s seat doesn’t pinch the way the Nissan 370 Z’s did.
• It not only has seats for four people, but four people can sit in them.
• The interior is somewhat nicer than the Mustang’s.
• Sirius Satellite radio and a good iPod/iPhone interface…but all of the premium packages seem to have that these days.
• It’s a convertible.
• It’s cheaper than the 370 Z by quite a lot.

But really, the only thing special about it is that it’s a convertible.

Bad:

• The seat is unpleasantly firm; though possibly that’s adjustable.
• The gas mileage isn’t any better than the 370 Z or Mustang, and probably worse than my Cruiser’s.
• It might have a little more power from a full stop than my Cruiser, but less than I’m looking for.
• My knees rested uncomfortably on the door and on the bottom corner of the instrument panel.
• It’s nothing special to look at.

Conclusion:

I prefer the Chrysler 200 Convertible to the Mustang. It beats the Nissan 370 Z on seating and price; the 370 Z beats the 200 on looks, fun, and power. As far as comfort goes, the two are about equal; though if that pinchy driver’s seat on the 370 Z could be adjusted not to pinch, the 370 Z would win on comfort.

It’s close, but I’m going to give it to the 370 Z by a nose. So the ranking at this point is:

• Nissan 370 Z
• Chrysler 200 Convertible
• Ford Mustang

It’s only fair to say that David liked it; but David liked it mostly because it has a back seat he finds comfortable to sit in. Given that I’m willing to pick a car with no back seat at all, that only counts for so much.