Buy the Cobra and spend an extra 4k on a used, stripped down Toyota Corolla for the daily dirty work. Gets 25 mpg around town and won't ever break. Why waste gas money, and rice rockets are notoriously unreliable.
I had a 99 bolt on GT about 4 yrs ago, and loved it. Always wanted a cobra and soon hope to have one. Only reason i sold my GT was because of our 2nd son being born. Since then i purchased an evo 8, had it for about a week and took it back )I guess im just a mustang guy). The evo just wasnt me.