I had a Saab 9-3 convertible and whilst it was great on the motorway and very comfortable - it did not like corners - very wallowy!
My very first own car was a 1981 Saab 99 UAO 790X bought off my mum which I’d agree wasn’t a sporty car but as a comfortable car it had few peers.
Wind buffeting in 4 seat convertibles is usually pretty bad. The Mini being short, it might be less prone to it.
But the wind deflector at the top of a Merc E class droptop’s windscreen is the best device in this respect.
Mind, it would never drive like the MX-5.
The Mini might be the closest to the Mazda for fun.
However, a Golf cabrio might not be far off, and will be roomier. Too old though, probably.
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A couple of years ago we were four-up in our Mazda3 heading up the M6, stuck in the 50 limit for ages, and there was a Mini convertible with four long-haired girls in the lane on our right.
They did not look comfortable with hair whipping their faces, and I worried about the driver doing something silly with hair in her eyes. Eventually the passenger behind her was sensible and tied it back for her.
SWMBO commented that our MX5 never whipped her hair like that, even at a generous 70.
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I used to have a BMW 3 series convertible. I had the wind deflector in the back, which worked well. Unfortunately it took up all the rear set space, so it made the car a 2 seater. However in the 3 years I had it, I think the back seats were used a couple of times. Although you could get seated - if the hood was down, it was not great for comfort as it was really windy. I loved the car though!
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My Brother-in-law had a Mercury Comet, a genuine 4 seater but only a 2.4l straight six, (one a bit like it is below in this picture borrowed from Wikipedia commons).
However, turning on the air-con knocked 5mph off the top speed, and when driving it the difference between it and an MX5 is much the same as that between an oil tanker and a jet ski.
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Yes. But mine was very low mileage and full Merc service history. My local Indie said the chain tells you long before it goes wrong. About £1,000 to fix. Usually between 100 and 150,000 miles. I still miss that car, 8 months and 3 MX5s later (I get bored easily).