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
well kind of it is true… but remember that these cars where never told to be fast, they corner fast and in the anime,manga, and everywhere people know it because they have proof of it’s handling. and also remember, it’s not to go fast on a straitline, it’s knowing how to drive a vehicle att there max expectacions and at max performance of itself
While this article has a few good points, neither cars point is to be fast, they are great because of the experience they give the driver, and as for needing modification to be competitive with other similar cars I call BS. I have been racing my miata for the past 2 years and the only thing I have done to the car is pads and tires and I have been consistently beating cars with far more power and I don’t even consider myself an amazing driver. The pros in our chapter (in particular marty bull of the scr chapter of scca) drives a bone stock 04 miata and he placed 1st overall in pro class (against cars such as a 2015 mustang gt track pack, an e46 m3, and many other seemingly much faster cars).
ONE But what if you care more about handling?
TWO But it is popular :D
THREE Who cares about what people say,
FOUR that should mean it’s not an economy car anymore
FIVE yeah the supra is more powerful but it’s also heavier and more comfort-oriented
SIX MG roadsters fall apart, MR2’s try to kill you and nissan S-chassis cars are hard to find in stock form, also miatas are numerous, cheap to maintain, easy to fix
SEVEN still, a miata NA would beat a mustang gt from the early 90’s downhill or on a track for sure :D
Tools are useful though.
Time change and the old cars that went fast are now starting to become rare classics. It’s time to update our lists of cheap awesome cars. I know I did
http://zerinsakech.blogspot.com/2014/11/great-cars-for-under-5000-just-my.html
its ok the AE86 is swapped SO I FEEL ALOT BETTER OK
Agreed 200% from what the author wrote about AE86 , my friend is a Initial D hardcore fans and he always think that AE86 is the best car the world ……….. Same to Best Motoring International , they often take a race / track spec AE 86 and race with a stock car! WTF ??!! Btw both shows also a typical Japanese show
Yet the miata has several racing series dedicated to it. It is also highly successful in autocross, among other auto gymnastics.
While they do make very valid points , however some people don’t look at it in a performance perspective. And their are other lightweight cars just as good as the miata, But with that said i respect peoples opinions.
Lol, as a miata driver who has tons of miata buddies online, i can honestly say this was the biggest crock of crap i have read in awhile. I don’t know anyone who bought the miata because it was fast. We buy them because they are fun to drive, hell, the 1st gen’s are entertaining just to look at. I have had little girls around 5 or 6 years old “squee” at my old 97 miata. Its hilarious, and we know they’re faster cars out there, again we bought them because they are fun. Also, who expects an AE86 or a Miata to be fast? Our cars are fast around corners, not in a straight away. These cars don’t let you learn to control real power? Your right, they make you learn to be the power behind the wheel as you learn to eek out every ounce of speed just to maintain momentum. If YOU can’t go fast with 97hp, 900hp won’t help you. One last thing, how can you not be entertained driving a car that weighs in at 2500 lbs or less that corners like a go-cart?