[KAuss]

So long story short, been following this car since concept (thus my reg date) and never made the call to trade in my X-Runner for this car. Now the X-Runner is 14 years old and I'm on my way to purchasing "something" whatever that might be. I'm cross shopping this thing (BRZ mostly) against the MX-5. I just came back from a test drive of both 2019 models in MT, and am still torn which one I want to get.

Even though I don't own the car, even I'm sick of people talking about the torque dip. So I'm sure you all are more sick of it than I am. I must admit it's the very reason I have never pulled the trigger on this car. However the time has come. I have to buy something soon. My X-Runner is developing 3rd gear issues with grinds before it's fully warmed up, and gas mileage is making a new car purchase worth it.

The one thing I haven't followed up on would be the aftermarket scene. Since this car will most likely be maybe 2K - 3K less than the MX-5 per the options I want, I would have a budget of 2K - 3K to work with on mods. The only thing is, I most likely wouldn't be messing with any mods that'll violate California emissions tests. Even though that's a long ways away, I'm not looking to put my daily driver in shops tuning it all the time. Nor am I looking for that one bad luck ticket that'll take all my time to resolve. So mods are most likely going to be cat back / some aesthetics. I do plan on getting a whole lot of audio work done too if I get the BRZ, while the MX-5 would be purely driving focused.

I have to say the MX-5's "go" was a lot better than the BRZ without a doubt. Not even a contest. However, the BRZ's behavior in turns was a bright spot. Though I suspect with more time on the MX-5 I'd be more familiar with its limits and would gain the same confidence. The MX-5 overall was a bit more floaty, and it was a HUGE adjustment in seating position in the MX-5 coming from the X-Runner, while the BRZ felt a lot more at home.

I drive 80 miles a day on my commute, and the BRZ's utility is worth something to me. I just can't get over the torque dip. After driving the MX-5, it felt pretty gutless up until 6K, and I don't see myself visiting 6K all to often on my commute. Same can be said about the MX-5 where the improved power numbers are all in the extra rev band compared to last year. That's 6.5K to 7.5K. The difference is, the damn car pulls in every RPM range. You feel it surging the whole time. The lack of torque dip is nice on the MX-5, but I can't get over the lack of storage of any kind, and the lack of a spare for my 80 mile commute. Still, it was so fast, and the fly wheel was so much easier to shift too. The BRZ seems like it likes to hang the revs a bit just like my cousin's WRX. Not a fan of that so much.

As far as looks, the MX-5 RF is a sexy ass car. I've always liked the 86 a bit more on looks, but recently it's been a toss between BRZ / 86. Only reason why I'm looking at the BRZ is because the 86 is ridiculously higher in price for similar options, and the BRZ has a bit better package option. Though I hate the stock spioler, but can live with it.

Either way, I'm torn, I'm sure some of you have probably gone though this, and most of you just decided to forget about smog regs and mod the hell out of the car to make it better than the MX-5. I just can't afford to do that for consistency sake.

I'm still waiting for quotes on the BRZ from dealers to see where numbers will be at, but I'm getting a WAY better price for the MX-5 and the gap is a lot smaller than I'd expect. I'm so torn I'm not sure what to do.