Toyota GR86 or Mazda Miata?
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0:00 - Intro
BAD:
0:20 - The isolation
This one is difficult to talk about due to the nature of the car and the price point, but it’s pretty loud and raw in the cabin
Exhaust - it’s lopud and it kinda drones
It does sound a lot better but it’s also 1700 (expensive)
This is also the Premium package, which is another 2 grand
Hard to call the day-to-day premium
Bu t better than Subaru which calls their base trim premium
0:51 - Rear seats
This is another one hard to put on the bad side because there’s two sides to the story
One one side it’s nice to have the extra space
But calling this a 2+2 is a bit silly
Literally no leg room…so i find it funny that they have floor mats back here
You COULD put a baby back there with the ISOFIX points tho
So again, pros and cons
1:19 - Interior
Broken record, it’s hard to complain about any of these things because this car is so inexpensive - the interior isn’t super high end and we talked about that, but what i mean here is that this “new” gen is really pretty similar to the old car
Kinad lazy update
Steering wheel is a little skinny
Cupholers are hidden in the center console
But again it’s really hard to justify complaining about any of these things due to the price…but with that in mind, let’s talk about the best things going on here
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GOOD:
2:09 - The drive
Light weight
brilliantly neutral chassis
Strut front, multi back
Good initial turn in, but a little understeer
PS4 tires for premium
Steps out fantastically
Pedalbox is essentially perfect
But no auto rev-match
Really fun to drive at and near the limit, which you will be a lot because it’s not that fast
3:29 - The engine
This new engie is a lot better than the old one
Old one 2.0
New one is 2.4
228 hp (up 25)
185 lbft
But the big fix was the torque hole in the middle of the rev band
Feels punchier at lower speeds and at lower revs
Way more driveable from a daily perspective
3:56 - Styling
Looks better than the Subie
Steel color
Baby supra running lights
All aero is functional
18 in wheels and tires
Exaggerated rear wing
Dual exhaust
Be sure to check out our feature tour video for more detail on these things
4:36 - Practicality
We talked about how impractical the rear seats are
But you stil have them to put babies (don’t kidnap any)
Put other stuff
Fold rear seats for more storage
Trunk has small opening but with rear seats down, it’s big
So much more practical than the miata we were in last week
4:57 - Interior flare
I know we put the interior one the cons side…twice, but it;s certainly not all bad
Fun easter eggs like date lists and roadside icons (other video)
Premium
The Premium package
Pleather and alcantara seats
Even headrest suede
Heated seats
Alcantara door upper
Alcantara above cluster
Who asked for this
Full digital cluster
Sensible infotainment 8 in
No native nav, but ACP which is all you need
start/stop button lights up
5:44 - Price
We’ve referenced this a number of times already, but this is a lot of car for your money
86 starts at 29k
Premium (which you should get) 31k
As tested 34k, but you don’t need several of the add-ons
Like the side insert or exhaust
So at the low 30s this is a LOT of car considering the miata last week was 40k and this is faster and more practical
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6:42 - Conclusion