I wish I could justify an NA Miata. I just need a tiny bit more practicality than that. Another factor to consider is that I doubt I'll keep whatever I buy for even two years. That's about the normal pace of turnover for me and by that point I'll have the GX paid off and the temptation will be high to step up.
Before I bought the Civic, I test drove a Kia EV6 and it put my tender heart in a blender. I really liked that car. It being brand spanking new to the market at that time with huge markups and questionable reliability, combined with the upfront costs of installing charging infrastructure, ended up ruling that out. But I still think about that car and maybe 2025 will be the year I go electric. I just need another jalopy to get me to work and back in the meantime.
I just drove to work. It took an hour to cover 12mi on the highway. I don't mind a clutch in this traffic, but high revving fun isn't really on the table. I hardly ever rev my Civic over 3k, there isn't really time to before you have to get back on the brakes. I just need decent mileage and Bluetooth connectivity on the cheap. The fun factor might just be using the tracked tiedowns or doing little upgrades like suspension bushings. Fun is always relative. I've had fast cars, but they weren't my favorites or even the most fun to own. I liked my 80 series more than my WRX, but neither one lasted me two years.
I've now highjacked this thread for a whole page. Oops.