Miata, Beetle Cabrio Don’t Give Up in Winter

The Mazda MX-5 takes on the look of a GT with its new retractable hardtop in place.

We’ve been snowed under — literally and figuratively — with a herd of worthy winter vehicles for our road tests on the North Shore of Lake Superior during this harsh winter of 2018-19, but there also were a couple of outrageously unworthy vehicles that were closer to priceless irony than cars that should be challenging 20 below and foot-deep snowstorms.

The pair in question were the Mazda Miata and the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet (convertible), both of which are much better suited to summertime warmth, but surprisingly they still made it through separate weeks of commuting in slippery, snow-piled and waybelow-zero conditions.

The 2019 Mazda MX-5, better known as the Miata, is a convertible, but for 2019 it also has a new “targa” model with a power hardtop that drops down into the trunk area when you want top-down driving. I believe that, and you’ll excuse me if I passed up my wife, Joan, and her suggestion that I could bundle up in layers of fleece and down and drive past her while she took my picture. No.

This is the final run of Beetles in Volkswagen’s production plan, and the convertible is winter-worthy.

I’m surprised she didn’t agree to do the air-conditioned driving while I shot the photos. The test part is how the hardtop works on the traditional convertible roadster.

The other vehicle that closely followed the Miata MX-5 was the 2019 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible. The Beetle is heading for its last roundup, as VW has declared it will stop making the car after the current generation runs out. So I got the chance to drive the soft-top Beetle convertible, which is actually more logical as a winter driver than the Miata because at least it has front-wheel drive, being basically a Golf with a Beetle body.

Both of these cars are obviously summertime specialties, but their attraction for derivers of all ages and sizes remains steadfast. And a little harsh winter weather shouldn’t be able to stop that. Read more

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• About the Author

  John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
  
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• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.