| Show 1 E2 Autos Friday May 101981 The Salt Lake Tribune Miata Capri Likely to Appeal To Two Different Drivers By Christopher Jensen Newhouse News Service On the surface the Mazda Miata and Mercury Capri seem to be facing off in competition a pop-to- p High Noon But a comparison of the two convertibles reveals they actually are likely to appeal to different audi" ences The Miata was introduced in 1989 as an updated Japanese version of the old British sports cars and it became an instant hit The Capri built by Ford of Australia was introduced last summer amid much speculation that it would compete directly with the popular Miata The Miata we tested had a base price of $14300 plus options They included air conditioning ($800) a limited slip differential ($250) and the "B" option package with alloy wheels power steering power windows an AM-Fcassette stereo (with speakers in the headrests) and cruise control That brought the total to a hefty $17385 The Capri XR2 the fancy turbocharged model offers far more for almost identical money The base price was $15920 which provides a fully equipped vehicle from air conditioning to power windows and door locks Options on the XR2 tested included a fancier stereo ($280) a tonneau cover ($280) and a hardtop for $1287 That brought the total to $17682 which makes it the clear winner if money is an object since buying the hardtop for the Miata would add another $1400 to its $17385 price The optional hardtops are for those who want extra protection against the winter They can put down the manual convertible top and screw on the hardtop until spring The Miata's convertible top is faster and simpler to operate Someone with a moderate amount of upper body strength can raise the roof without leaving the vehicle The Capri's top is more complicated The good news is that it stows neatly away out of sight an arrangement more elegant than the Miata's The Miata and Capri tops handled a rainy day without any leakage Neither car had any rattles Both posed the standard visibility problems particularly over the driver's left shoulder One of the Capri's biggest advantages over the Miata is its interior The Capri is almost 11 inches longer than the Miata and most of the extra inches show up in the form of a small back seat and extra trunk room That back seat is really an upholstered parcel shelf but it is more than the Miata has and is great for carrying such items as grocery bags The Capri has 62 cubic feet of trunk space in a very - ie -- Ford to Produce Frederick Standish e But the Miata's seats seem more comfortable largely because they offer more thigh support than the mushy Capri seats The Capri's contemporary instrumentation includes a speedometer tachometer fuel level volts coolant temperature and oil pressure The Miata's controls are aimed at invoking memories of old sports cars including such touches as chrome rims around the tachometer and speedometer On a rough surface the Miata and Capri showed little of the body shake and flexing that sometimes trouble convertibles drive The Miata has a front engine and rear-wheFurthermore it has what Mazda calls a front midship of the enplacement which means about two-thirgine's length sits behind the front axle That means the Miata's weight distribution is split almost evenly (52 percent-4- 8 percent) between the front and rear Drive the Miata down a country road and the result of such thought and balancing becomes apparent: The Miata is wonderfully responsive The steering is neat and precise and the Miata changes direction quickly always retaining a remarkable stability and poise The Capri is front-engin- e and front-whedrive While the Miata's ride is tight and strictly controlled the Capri offers 8 slightly softer more plush ride with less jolting when the road surface turns nasty The Capri's handling is pretty good and the Capri d But always feels comfortable secure and with a front-to-reweight balance of 62 percent to 38 y percent it is no surprise that the Capri feels more and requires more steering effort to change direction than the Miata r The Miata's engine is a rated fit 116 horsepower at 6500 revolutions per minute and 100 of 'torque at 5500 rpm The Capri XR2 has a turbocharged 16-litwith 16 valves It is rated at 132 horsepower at of torque at 3000 rpm 6000 rpm and 136 The Miata isn't slow but getting it moving quickly to be all it can be That forces the little means relentless pressure on the accelerator and d steady work with the wonderful gearbox The turbocharged Capri on the other hand is quicker While the Miata can lose speed on a steep uphill turn and have serious trouble regaining momentum the Capri handles such situations easily A little delay while the turbocharger kicks in and off the XR2 goes — though the noise and vibration are not as well-con- - for Seta 900-A- MX-- 5 — n— with leather and wood Only 4000 MX-5- s will be produced A hard top is optional el well-plante- ar nose-heav- 16-val- 16-lite- four-cylind- foot-poun- four-cylind- er er foot-poun- four-cylind- The new Mercury Capri XR2 a two convertible comes with a er five-spee- 900-A- five-spee- er el toggle-- switch front-wheel-dri- problem When it comes to braking the Miata has an advanbrakes: They tage for drivers who would like anti-loc- k are available The bad news isn't the $900 cost but that Mazda won't sell you anti-loc- k brakes unless you buy the "B" option package which costs $1965 Then add brakes Ouch $900 for anti-loc- k Trig Vans Within 2 Years in Pilot Project for Salt vtos 900-A- for Safe irtoi Impact production to use conventional lead-aci- d batteries for power The main problem with electric cars so far has been getting them to run far enough before they must be recharged GM said the Impact can cruise at 55 mph for about two hours before needing a charge Ford hopes its pilot vehicles which look like a US version of the Ford Escort from the front and a small minivan from the rear will have a range of about 100 miles and take six hours to recharge cations as well" he said Ford's pilot vehicles are to be tested in Europe and the United States and will use a sodium-sulfu- r battery that Ford invented in 1965 GM announced earlier this year it would make a version of its Impact electric concept car at a Lansing Mich assembly plant Although the company has set no production deadline it's possible that electric car production could begin there as early as 1993 GM said it planned for the first round of and single-spee- d transmissions "We see it as a practical customer-oriente- d vehicle one that small delivery services and other commercial fleets are apt to use" said John P McTague Ford's vice president for technical affairs "Eventually we believe electric vehicles will have private customer and family appli 900-A- engine and performance susdrive pension The Capri is front-whe- four-cylind- s- 16-val- ve d Chrysler Corp lias announced no electric car production plans Ford's pilot program involves outfitting European Escort vans with electric motors for Sol utoi two-plu- trolled as on the Miata The Capri's is adequate but has a heavier feel than the Miata's where the short throws and shift lever are a delight The Capri does have a little torque steer (the tendencars to pull from side cy of powerful to 6ide) primarily under hard accelerationbut it isn't a Electric-Powere- d 0 far Serf utoi '": Miata comes off as a hard-edg- e sports car with tan interior trimmed Mazda's el zero-emissio- d 900-- Atw mini-spar- A California law mandates that by that time 2 percent of the vehicles a company sells in the state must emit no pollutants By n 2003 the level for vehicles jumps to 10 percent essentially requiring electric cars "This program was beginning its planning stages before there was a California law" said John Wallace director of Ford's electric vehicle program However he added "I think it certainly is a big factor" AP Auto Writer DETROIT — Ford Motor Co said it will vans make 75 to 100 small electric-powerewithin two years in a pilot project before starting full production of an electric car later in the decade Ford followed General Motors Corp in announcing a production plan for cars that the automakers will probably have to include in their lineup if they want to sell vehicles in California after 1998 900-k'Mt- forkk 75-10- usable arrangement The Miata meanwhile offers a paltry 36 cubic feet marred by the placement of the for Sate 900-A- utc$ 900-A- itos for Sale ct 900-A- for Sale utoi 900-A- for Sole trtot I fg "mil "--n ir — ti "inrYtttir VfiYTo) n SUPER VALUE ii Ir if "i mmtlt 1 1 1 I i II YfMKmmK rrrG Jf-Jir- x I SUPER SPORTS CAR 1 p 1991 ACCORD LX's 1991 CIVIC SEDAN j $§946 8 LEASE FOR ONLY i I "Tm I m '91 17250 4X4 8PD STEREO MUCH MORE Sulf ' I LX 1979 HONDA ACCORD clean '91 DODGE SPIRIT AIR STEREO R DEFOG AIR BAG si-oso- so AUTO TIT 1 - 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