The 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF.

Our fondness for the Mazda MX-5 Miata is well documented throughout the nine-year archives of TireKicker.  You'll find it firmly ensconced at number two on the list of TireKicker's Best Cars on the right-hand side of this page.

So what could make it even better?  Well, how about a hardtop that keeps out the noise and the rain that also goes away without the problems of where to store the roof or clunky styling (a problem with the previous-gen MX-5 Miata PRHT)?

That is exactly what the new MX-5 Miata RF delivers.

2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF.

What Mazda has done here is to follow Porsche (never a bad thing in sporting machines) and adopt the Targa philosophy to now-there's-a-roof-now-there's not motoring.  Porsche's Targa starts at $110,300.  The Mazda MX-5 Miata RF starts at $31,555.  And the entertainment value of showing your neighbors how the RF goes from enclosed to open air is part of the tab: