In the spirit of Deb's "this car has no brakes" syndrome, I got in our Mazda yesterday and the dang windshield is like rubbing me on the forehead. I've gotten so used to the Mini's vertical windshield way out in front of me that now the other car feels claustrophobic. How the heck did I ever drive with the windshield inches from my scalp. I feel like I'm wearing a motorcycle helmet...

 

That's a great post. LOL funny. I haven't driven our CR-V since I picked up the MCS 4 weeks ago. I'm scared of what I'll notice when I get back in the Honda.

 

Just think of it as part of a more interactive driving experience. RWD, no ABS, no DSC - in addition to avoiding road hazards cautiously, you have to avoid the in-car (part-of-car?) hazard that is the steeply raked windshield.

The above assumes that you're referring to a Miata...
'91B gumball blue
'92A yellow

 

Drove the wife's RAV4 today. It was raining, and when I turned the wipers on they scared the crap outta me! I thought I was gonna get smacked in the head.

The downside is that when I mount my GPS to the winshield... I have to really reach to operate it. I guess I'll get one of those beanbag mounts.

 

We have a truck that we only use a few times a year for "truck stuff" (trips to the landfill, hauling equipment, picking up furniture, etcetera).

It's a 1983 Dodge Ram 4X4, with no air conditioning. It's a four-speed, but first gear is so short that unless the truck is loaded down, you're better off starting off in second gear. Even pulling away from a light in second, you have to upshift to third before you're through the intersection, so for all intents and purposes, it's basically two-speed manual.

It had an AM-only radio from the factory, with a single speaker in the center of the dash, but I broke down and installed a CD player and two door speakers.

You sit way up high, the suspension is questionable, the brakes merely sufficient, and the factory horsepower rating from the 5.2L V-8 is probably in the 130hp range, and the truck probably weight every bit of 4500 pounds.

In short, while it's a great reliable truck, it's about as far from either of our MINIs as you can get, so switching back and forth takes a few miles to adjust, to say the least!

 

I'm curious what sort of Mazda you have! I plan to keep both of mine when my Cooper S comes in. And I'm looking for another old truck eventually!

I used to go back and forth from my Exploder and RX-7 allmost daily, so I get used to the transition of totally differnt vehicles pretty quick....used to actually be able to drive that Exploder pretty quick, too. It was a 5-speed manual, wouldn't have ever owned an SUV otherwise!

 

We have a Mazda3 hatchback. I never considered it to have such a raked windshield but does come back all the way to my head, and the darn A pillars look like they are falling over to crush me. And when the window is rolled down the opening is so small...

 

I have a 99 CRV that I kept for hauling stuff around. I think you'll find it has that open feeling that the mini has. I don't feel cramped in it at all when I go from mini to CRV. In fact the 97-00 CRV has a little of that bulldog stance the mini does, it just doesn't handle like a mini.

 

Hey Lava, what is the other Mazda? My wife drives an 07' Mazda CX-7 Grand Touring w/AWD and I call her ride the "Big MINI", not because of the looks, but because of the handling. Needless to say she DOESN'T like me calling her ride that One thing about our two rides though, they've both got direct injection and turbos, wonder what it would be like with her engine in my car

 

As I said above its a Mazda3 hatch. Its a great car, but now I can't move the seat back far enough...

 

Sorry about that, I guess I didn't read far enough down My wifes cousin has a Mazda 3, but its the sedan which IMO looks far better than the "high top gym shoe" hatchback. That being said though, the handling of the car is pretty impressive though, especially the MS3!

 

We have a Mazda3 Hatch, Mazda3 Sedan, Mazdaspeed6, RX-8, and RX-7.

I think the RX-7 is the one most guilty of feeling enclosed... but I see it as a good thing. Adds to that "wearing the car like a glove" feeling.

 

On the other hand when I am first in line at the light, the upright windshield obscures seeing the light. The kind that dangle off wires in the middle of the intersection.

 

Klasse, the M3 Hatch definitely has some funky styling, but I like it. The general public seems to have much less problem with that car than the Mini... It is a surprisingly good handling car as well, probably due to the fat 17s that come standard. When we got it I thought it felt tight and connected compared to our outgoing cars, but now alas it feels soft and mushy. I'd hate to take a spin in the old cars now!

Lightfoot - I have the same issue in the Mini. I sit upright, and when I am at a light I have to lean forward to see it. That's fine with me - the trade off is I rarely need the visors for shade. I like the windshield position in the Mini.

 

Feel exactly the same way. 4 door sedan, wife's SUV... both much larger than the MINI, but much more...... claustrophobic

Go figure.