[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by daschtick

Here is my take - neither car will 'cream' the other. Stock for stock, the twins do not really perform much better than a 13 year older MR2, nor a Celica GT-S, nor a Prelude si. After 13 years of 'progress', plus all of the hype surrounding it, including all of the journalists gushing over it, I figured it would be amazing. But after driving to the dealership in my MR2, then hopping into the FR-S, I was expecting a whole lot more. Yes, it handles nicely, but the tires really hold it back, the brakes were mid-pack, and the torque dip was really disappointing. Really nothing beyond what a 2006+ Miata has to offer. The whole experience left me wondering what I was missing, since it seemed that everyone was raving about it.

The twins are by no means bad cars, but it just seems like there was very little performance improvement over previous similar cars. It could have/should have been so much more. Look at the performance increase of a 2013 Mustang over a 2000 Mustang, or of the Focus ST over the Focus SVT - If the twins would have had this level of increase, there may not be a lowly FWD Focus ST parked next to my MR2 Spyder!

Now, with the news that there will not any future forced induction or convertible versions, I am wondering what is in store for the future of these cars. Kind of a shame, really.

On a track, the twins WILL cream the older cars at just a bolt-on level. The gap only grows as the level of modification increases.