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While the two liter flat four will rev, it’s the velocity of how quickly it climbs the rev range that is the problem. Start a third gear pull at five grand, and it takes an eternity to approach the 7,000 rpm redline, also peak torque doesn’t occur until 6,400 rpm! While the 86 is fun to drive, and we did have fun on the drive on Highway 33 north of Ojai, California, to get anywhere, you really have to push the car HARD. Many will say that we miss the point of a light car and naturally aspirated engine, and you’d be 100% wrong. Momentum cars are fun, on the right roads, and the right tracks, but in the slog of everyday driving, the lack of power and more importantly torque in a usable range, becomes a turnoff to the ownership experience. If the 86 is a track car or a weekend fun car, maybe you get away with it, however, for 95% of the owners, this is their only car. An additional fifty horsepower and 100 torques would make this vehicle about perfect. There are enough people who have installed turbos or superchargers on the platform to know it can more than handle the additional power.
Actually a pretty well written article, but every single comment so far has focused on this.
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