7 Reasons The AE86 and The Miata Are Overrated
The Miata and the AE86 are great cars and it’s hard to deny that. However, it seems as if their imagined performance doesn’t live up to their actual performance. Both of these cars are very similar, so I thought I would save some time and do one article including both. My article about overrated BMW’s was probably one of the worst articles ever written, so this time, I’ll try my darndest to get this article right; here we go.
ONE Both the AE86 and the Miata aren’t that fast.
It seems as if many JDM cars suffer from exceedingly high expectations and hype. The Mark 4 Supra and Skyline GTR are both cars that are associated with big speed and big power. However, in stock form, they aren’t as fast as they’re hyped up to be. Same thing goes with the AE86 and the Miata. In Initial D, Takumi is beating drivers on the touge in cars that are much faster than his car in a Toyota Corolla. However, fanboy’s dreams of the capabilities of the AE86 never live up to the reality of what the AE86 really is. It’s 0-60 MPH time is about 8.5 seconds. To put things into perspective, a 1997 Toyota Camry could the same sprint 1 second faster. The Miata is also plagued by slow acceleration. The 0-60 sprint for a 1996 Mazda Miata takes 8.6 seconds, also slower than the 97 Camry. The Miata and AE86 are the opposites of sleepers, they are expected to be fast, but aren’t.
TWO If it weren’t for Initial D, the AE86 wouldn’t be very popular.
A stock Delorean was a terrible car, but ever since it starred in the Back To The Future movies, it’s become a car people drool over; the same thing has happened to the AE86. Because Takumi delivered tofu and raced in an AE86, people are willing to buy them for big amounts of money. AE86’s in good condition cost about $14,000, a bit much considering it’s a 40 year old car with 128 horsepower. If Initial D never aired, I’m sure AE86’s would be selling for half the price, and half of us car guys would never know about the Takumi mobile.
THREE The Miata has unshakable stereotypes.
Car stereotypes include truck drivers are compensating for things, BMW drivers never use their blinkers, Audi drivers tailgate people, and the Miata is a hair dresser/chick car. You’ll get jokes from car guys and non cars guys alike saying “Have you told your parents your gay yet?” and “Where in the car do you keep your hair dryer?” Because of this, people feel like they need to be more manly to compensate for this (Alex Kersten maybe?), so people become persons that they are not; just be yourself.
FOUR The AE86 is basically a souped up economy car.
The Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno is a Corolla. When most people think of a Corolla, they think of a small sedan that they can use to commute to work, not to the racetrack. The Corolla AE86 is worshiped by car guys while a brand new Corolla S is ignored by the same people. It seems like a little bit of a double standard, don’t you think?
FIVE The 80’s Supra is arguably a better sports car than the AE86.
The 80’s Supra can make up for what the Sprinter Trueno lacks, power. You can get a Mark 2 or a Mark 3 supra with a variety of larger turbocharged engines. This makes it faster and easier to make faster. Car and Driver named the Toyota Supra as one of the coolest cars from the 80’s, while the Sprinter Trueno was nowhere to be found on that list.
SIX The Miata blinds people to other alternatives.
It seems as if Miata owners talk about Miatas 24/7, even though there are other cars they could blabber about. MR2, Nissan S Chassis, Mg roadsters, there are a million light front engined RWD cars out there that are fun to drive. The pedestal we put the miata on blinds us from an assortment of choices, better, faster and cheaper ones. Remember, there are plenty of fish in the sea.
SEVEN You have to modify both cars in order to be competitive with other sports cars
A stock Miata can be a great learning tool for the track, but at some point you’re going to need more power, better brakes and better suspension. These cars fail to teach you how to control real power. Driving a Mustang GT or a Camaro SS will teach you to control power, not a Miata. Because the miata is overhyped, it drives up the prices of used ones. This means the Miata fails to serve its purpose within the car community, being an affordable blank canvas to hone your driving skill in or being a good project car. The Miata is just a start, it leaves the factory as a blank slate, waiting for you to make it into what you want, and what you need to drive. If the Miata left the factory with a turbocharger, that should fix things pretty good.
Comments
wow, wow, hold your sbleept “The Miata and AE86 are the opposites of sleepers, they are expected to be fast, but aren’t”. I dont know who expects them to be fast, you found some people that know nothing about either car apparently.
and the AE86 was popular even before InitialD, granted the show helped build the hype,
but it was allready popular.
And the AE86 (IS) a suped up economy car.. i would describe it as a mix of a Corolla and the MR2 of the same era
So you always knew about the Miata, even before you knew about it?There was a point when you saw the Miata and thought it was quick. You couldn’t possibly have known it was slow unless you read about it, or was told about it. There was a point when you knew nothing about the Miata.
I really only agree with points 6 and 7. The rest of them aren’t downsides to the cars I think, and a supra is in no way comparable to the licht, nimble ae86. The lack of power, once you come to terms with it, doesn’t bother you at all anymore. That being said, I drive an mx-5 and my dad has an ae86, so I might be slightly biased :p
Couple of issues here. #2 The 86 was hugely popular as a rally car in the 80’s and 90’s long before Initial D, and is still in demand today on tarmac rallys around the world. The car’s chassis is what makes it an icon, power is easily added.
#4 This is a stupid point. The Corolla of today is a FWD compact family car designed with economy in mind, nothing like the 86 which was designed as a driver’s car. Comparing the two is silly. That said the sportier FWD Corollas did/do have a loyal fanbase too, the AE111 and so on.
I’m not an 86 fanboy at all, but calling two of the motorsport-proven best handling small cars in the world overrated because they are not “fast” enough stock is misguided. I think the author should spend some time taking corners and less time at the traffic light GP.
Didn’t buy an 86 to go fast. Nor because I like initial d. Got it cause its a fun car. I’d rather drive a slow car fast the a fast car slow
I’ve owned an E46 M3, a 500whp 240SX with an LS1, a GSXR750, a GC8 with a STi EJ20G, an AW11 MR2, and many other not so impressive vehicles and still to this day my AE86 is the most fun car I have ever owned. The thing is that my AE86 was not a babied super fresh herrafrush JDM piece of crap. I gutted it, threw in buckets, harnesses, a stiff suspension, and a bitey clutch and trashed it to hell! I love that car so much and I will forever regret selling it.
The all point of japan import is that its cheeper/affordable. But with this fanboyism its no longer the case, when we add the price of genuine parts and labour we can pretty much sum up that those are overpriced junk.
Fanboyism causes this. The light in the tunnel is getting cars with grown up fanboys - german coupes. E36 2.5, 2.8, E46 2.8/3.0,
c208 2.0/2.3 charged, 4.3 V8,
b4 2.8,
calibra 4x4 20XE/LET, 2.5 V6
If you can’t be fast with 100hp, 1000 won’t help you
I’m kinda glad someone pretty much took the words out of my mouth when it comes to the AE86. Despite my love for Toyotas, especially older ones, I’ve never wanted an AE86; it’s never pulled on my heart strings like a TA22 Celica has, for example.