Sasha, I was in your shoes (as I'm sure you know) not too long ago this past Spring/Summer. Here's what I think of the glass top I got from Robbins:
I never got the opportunity to put the top in service position prior to my original top's window cracking, so I can't complain about the engine access. I was still able to change my air filter and MAF with little contortion involved on my part.
I can see where visibility would be an issue for those of average and above average height. I'm not tall (at least I don't feel I am at 5' 7"), and I have my seat lowered to its lowest point, so for me I didn't lose much visibility, and when the top is down obviously it's a non-issue. I do find myself ducking my head a little bit sometimes if I want to look farther (back) down the road, but I can just as easily use a side view mirror to see that far back and have been developing that habit more. My old top's window was foggy, so at best I saw glowing orbs and general vehicle shapes in my mirror with the top up, and forget seeing anything but droplets if there was condensation on it or it was raining, so even if the glass is smaller, to me a clear view out the back (that's easy to clean) was welcome. Also, my sister, who has a '99 and is about 5'3", can see perfectly out the glass window on my car, so she does not have an issue with it at all and wants to get a glass top to replace her plastic when the time comes.
Defroster = WIN...and it plugs right into the OEM connection. Just make sure that whoever does the job for you routes the wiring in such a way that it does not get pinched, trapped, or pulled on by the top when it is in motion or when you have to go about accessing the engine bay. It can have a lot of extra slack.
My true preference would have been to sew in a new window (not as easy as it seems, especially if you live in a place where the weather can be bad, you want to be sure your top is sealed), or drop in the top and roof frame of an 03 or 04 glass-windowed car, but to go that route I would have also have to change microswitches and there was some more internal work involved. The later model OEM top would have been ideal, but I needed a rather immediate solution, and the Robbins glass replacement became it, especially when the insurance got involved.
As a last note, yes the top will not close or open as easily at first, but if you can leave the car out in some warm sun for a few days and cycle the top a few times it should stretch itself out fairly quickly and pretty much operate like it used to.
One warning with the Robbins version of the top: there are these two little straps, and I'll have to try and supply a picture of them. They're small elastic straps that get pinned into a part of the top frame. Their purpose is to try to eliminate the top not dropping into the seal channels like it's supposed to. These straps may take a while to stretch out...they were very tightly stretched when I got mine done, and they're held in with these sort of cheap plastic fasteners, but your results may vary. Just keep an eye on them, and check that the top is in the channels when you put it back up. I always had to do this with my original top so I was already in the habit, and with the new top it has only come out of the channel once.
My opinion, if there is someone local to you with a glass window replacement, check it out and see what you think of it. I recommend it, but I also feel you should weigh all of your options and make the best choice for yourself. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me, and I will also try to put those pictures up of that strap in another reply to this thread.
