According to Autoweek, the Pontiac Solstice bested the Mazda Miata in sales. This is a big deal, as the Miata has been the top selling two-seat sports car since its premiere in 1989. The Pontiac Solstice (which was featured as a project in the Apprentice), managed to outsell the Miata by almost 2,500 cars this year (18,361 Solstices vs. 15,873 Miata), with over 300 of those in the month of November. Both cars were released in 2005.
I've always found the Miata to be a really great car to drive -- the small size and the excellent handling combined with the drop top just makes you realize just how much fun driving can be.
The two cars are pretty similar to each other -- two seat roadsters priced near 20,000 (Solstice: 22,115, Miata: 21,030) rear-wheel drive, 4-cylinder engines (Miata 166hp, Solstice 177hp), with mpg that are nearly identical (Miata is 25/30, while Solstice is 20/28) to one another. Even the way their features are listed on the website are similar:
I'm not a big fan of this latest version of the Miata -- the car is uglier than the previous generation, and heavier too. The Solstice isn't easy on the eyes either -- every time I see one, I suddenly feel the need to lose my lunch. (Remember, the Solstice comes from the company that made the Aztek.
I have a suspicion that given the style changes on the Miata for this model, that people who are looking for a roadster, are looking elsewhere -- used 350z roadsters can be had for less than the cost of a new model of either of these two, and used Miatas can sometimes be found for no more than a couple thousand dollars.
The Solstice has a crazy upgraded version set to release next year -- priced at $27,000, the GXP model promises 260 hp and mpg of 25/31 -- making the Solstice GXP one of the most powerful compacts out there that still manages good gas mileage.
As for me and my roadster choice? I'm saving my pennies for an electric Tesla.
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