mazda had no choice but to design their retractable roof that way
the trunk space has always been marginal to begin with on the miata
,they couldn't make the truck even smaller by having the retractable roof fold into part of it or all of it
even the weight of the retractable roof , 27 kilos , whats that , less than 60 lbs actually does make a difference on a small car like that , and to top it off , that added weight isen't at or near the center of gravity of the car to centralize mass but on the very highest part of the car , so i'm quite certain not only would the regular miata have a performance edge in acceleration times but a handling one too
its nice to have a hard top over a rag top , quieter inside no one knifing your rag top but the performance losses just don't seem worth while - the miata is a summer car and even the first gen established they were poor winter cars with their plastic rear window etc , the miata is a great summer car , thats its true environment where it can trully shine and be fully appreciated for all it's worth with its roof down