Fiat 124 vs 86 vs MX5 - Affordable Sports Cars | Everyday Driver TV Season 2

[Music] so many people write to us about finding a fun sports car inexpensive as we'd recommend the mx-5 quite a bit so the best way to get a variation of the mx-5 is to just get another mx-5 this is the Mazda mx-5 Aref it starts at about 30 grand and for that you get a fully retractable metal roof that when it is in place does genuinely improve the stiffness of this car immediately switching cars into the fiat 124 you might think it's the same car but I don't think so this car is built in Hiroshima Japan on the same assembly line as the mx-5 and only 20% of the colors Italian it's it's the same car with a different heart if you want to make a competitor to the Mazda mx-5 you may as well steal from the best and just use a Mazda mx-5 the 124 spider was a very successful well known model for Fiat it had a very similar hood shape to this car so it's reminiscent of that but let's be candid this is an mx-5 I'm really intrigued by this as a business decision could there be so this is a true Miata alternative we're not in an mx-5 in any form here this is the Toyota 86 it's part of the 86 chassis that's been around for a few years starting in 2013 what's called the BRZ for Subaru it was originally called in the US the Scion fr-s for Toyota and overseas the gt86 you're with me so far as you know the Scion brand is no longer it's the only badge this car wears is just a t6 it's a car that has needs two major ones are there's a massive dip in the torque right in the dead center of the RPF frankly the part you use the most and secondly the tires from the factory are mostly terrible but for the same money as a Miata you can get one of these a focused rear-wheel drive chassis that it's only built to be this car it is impossible to get this in a convertible to do lose top-down motor if that's your thing the car you drive everyday should be fun but it has to do the boring stuff too like commute will be affordable and haul your groceries you can have both and will help you find it fun to drive cars and great driving experiences for everyone on everyday driver brought to you by Covercraft out of all these three they all look pretty good but I think the designers knocked it out of the park I love the flying buttresses it looks like a more expensive and exotic than it really is the launch edition only came in this gray exterior and this two-tone color interior unfortunately the launch edition cars are not the club spec but they do have every option possible same interior as the mx-5 the materials the build quality everything is very high quality and as a matter of fact this interior feels more expensive than the car is and I'm okay Todd isn't gonna fit I'm as low as the seat will go I'm as far back as the siedel go my head is pushed into the roof I as a tall guy at 6 foot 3 could buy this and do things to make me fit but in stock form I just don't I'm intrigued by this car I like the new face I like what they've done there was very much an homage to the original Fiat 124 the hood feels really long the Mazda just drops away and you feel like you're in a smaller car whereas this does feel bigger otherwise I actually like the styling and with the right size wheels and tires not this car I think I'd like this styling better than the mx-5 the original 1:24 I didn't love either but at least it had something about it that was kind of cute this I don't have an angle that I like interior yes it's exactly the same except for the badge everything else it's an mx-5 I'm still crowded of course because you have to be in under six footer to be comfortable in one of these cars [Music] that's all that takes I love it I love it take a look at the front the clip is different and I don't think they moved in the right direction they went worse they made the car look worse the cars depressed or angry or constipated I'm not sure which okay just consider it a minor refresh the false wait here the Pioneer radio oh there's buttons on the steering wheel other than that it's old familiar get in this car right after the mx-5 and it feels roomy it feels like there's a generous amount of space everywhere all the interior stuff that's good is the stuff that relates to the driving beyond that it's average but what you should be looking for here is driving this is not a luxury [Music] of all these cars all three of these cars I feel like this one is the most fun you [Music] this is the same 2-liter SKYACTIV engine that you find in a lot of Mazda products the cx-5 the Mazda 3 and of course the normal version of the Mazda mx-5 it is a perfectly good capable reliable engine that gets great gas mileage it doesn't have much personality so of course that hasn't changed here either one of the nice things about it in manual specifically is it is cool to run it all the way to that 6,500 rpm redline you want to hang out really high and really work the gears and extract the power of this engine you're gonna have to always think ahead it's like setting up your next shot when you're playing a game of pool you're always thinking of the next move ahead you've got to be thinking about what gear do I need next on this par because you don't have all the power in the world here you can't just decide suddenly you're gonna put your foot down and pass somebody especially with the automatic the club set up with the mainland transmission would probably be a more fun car but the reason this automatics here is twofold one it was the RF we could get into for the schedule of the shoot and also because a large percentage of mx-5 are bought with the automatic this engine is also unique to this car in terms of the Mazda side of the equation because the Fiat has an entirely different engine the place where this 124 makes a name for itself is that engine the motor is the same 1 into 500 apart so even though this isn't the apart the motor is the apart and you can get the 124 apart that has four more horsepower on this car the class Iike it only has 160 horsepower and you might think well the mx-5 is not far behind it at 155 they're entirely different this is the only turbo car of these three and you really can tell in the lower rpm this is a much more satisfying car to drive 160 horsepower or 184 pound-feet of torque now to give you a frame of reference that is about 40% more torque than you get in the mx-5 you can really feel it and it starts about halfway through the tach 3200 rpm the mx-5 doesn't even get all its torque tell a thousand later of all these cars all three of these cars I feel like this one is the most fun the one that I need to make the least excuses for because the power is there it's not a lot but feels like it is it holds exactly the conversation that we've been talking about for years with the 86 between four and five thousand rpm the car just pulls unlike other cars we've done this that's a dear hello dear it must be springtime there's deer everywhere this is the 2 liter boxer for thanks to Subaru and that means that the engine is very low and very assessment the car packaging is great on this keeps the center of gravity of the car very low and it makes it an unbelievable car in the corners so for this refresh Toyota and Subaru decided to finally give this car more power five five horsepower five pound-feet of torque that's it five didn't fix the torque dip gave us five horsepower I cannot tell you that 205 horsepower feels faster it's in the 160 horsepower of the Fiat 124 it doesn't feel that way once you're way up in the power band you've got speed okay but the engine makes its power so very differently [Music] the way this engine makes power needs a turbo it shouldn't be like this I'm back to ranting about the power and specifically the torque dip because that hasn't changed what happens is that initially right off the line you've gotten a decent amount of torque for a car this size it's only weighs 2,700 pounds but shortly thereafter at about 3500 rpm it just drops away to really very sluggish and now in this 86 it doesn't recover till over 5,000 rpm okay see 6500 there's a little bit of power I can actually accelerate that altitude uphill at 4,500 I'm not sure I have an engine todd has proven when he owned his FRS that you can flash the ECU you can fix the torque dip you can put the sport exhaust on we drove the supercharged version it fixes the car it's such a great platform to begin with and we've talked about it endlessly another thing this 86 idea shares with the mx-5 is this is a car that can allow you to learn to be a better driver you every day driver is brought to you by Covercraft protection for whatever you drive these are such easy cars to drive hard but all of the versions of this fourth generation mx-5 lean that more than I want them to there was a purposeful choice on the part of Mazda to take this nd and to give it a lot of body roll so no matter what speed you're going you feel the movements of the car you feel involved like something's really happening yes the club addresses it a bit but you generally have to go to the aftermarket to really fix the problem oh it hangs on but again the trade-offs here are comfort way higher in the priority list and Mazda knows their customer base it's so light on its feet it doesn't pound the pavement in any way it glides over bumps you don't feel a thing as a matter of fact one of the things it's very important in these mx-5 is how light they are the penalty for this retractable fastback is a little over a hundred pounds the whole chassis does gain rigidity this is a sharper car with the top closed however it still has a pocket of major wind noise right here off your ear [Music] all right so let's talk about the body role on this car it's nearly the same I think because it's lighter it doesn't exhibit quite so much as the RF but it leans over a lot through these corners let's be honest the 124 is not a car you really seek out because you want the best sports car on the planet it's a car you seek out because you want to do this last down a back road you want to enjoy yourself when you go out at night you want to take someone special with you and go to dinner or go on a long road trip and the sensations of the car this rolling that it does kind of fools you into thinking I'm I'm really doing something here it's as if Volkswagen and the easy to drive nature of a GTI found its way into a traditional classic convertible with a strong engine and it's just it's simple it's easy you know it you don't have to learn this car you can just jump in and drive this car like musicians just we've also talked about what tires do for a car no other car in my estimation really comes to life more than this one does with the addition of good tires this is a brand new Toyota 86 and so it has those primacy Michelin tires on it that really don't have very much grip when you put better tires on this car it's still sliding around what happens is you mostly kill any understeer that the chassis creates and now you have oversteer when you wanted and otherwise just planted and stuck to the earth best part about the car right off the showroom floor you can just hang out and chew through corners like very few cars can [Music] do you feel the potential of this car there instantly let down by these underwhelming tires but you feel what's there the steering ratio here is 13 to 1 significantly sharper than the mx-5 and actually one of the tighter steering racks being sold right there is still a lot of sensitivity and feedback through this wheel and I know that manufacturers will continue to chase the feel of this car by using electric racks this still is a benchmark in that category and it comes to life with the right tires and buttons because his powers flatter than the mx-5 it's also more confidence-inspiring in the corners this 86 in stock form from the factory is the more focused sports car experience like the mx-5 though this is not a car you buy because it is so very fast as a car you buy because it is fantastic to carve through amazing cars on your favorite mountain road the way this car drives on the road is perfect for track and canyons I still don't want to be in it for just cruising along in the highway I really don't another thing this 86 idea shares with the mx-5 is this is a car they can allow you to learn to be a better driver because you can't rely on doing the corner poorly and just put your foot to the floor and finding speed on the straight edges of the corner and hanging on the speed [Music] I think I know how this is gonna go do and I don't think we're gonna agree we really tough has must have built the world's smallest GT car style beauty miss cruising don't get me I love this car to recalibrate my expectations entirely my problem with it is I want the steering and handling field to be flatter and more aggressive from the factory that's the reason that the 86 is a chassis that I like so much because that is its personality here you can get a more focused and dynamic steering field that you have to go to the after market to do it tonight are constantly searching for inexpensive manual transmission sports cars I'm curious to see how well this car will sell and I hope it does if you really like the mx-5 but you want something a little different and a little bit unique well here's your perfect option I am actually very impressed the TIA is offering it for the exact same price essentially as the mx-5 you can really look at the two of the Majesco which do I prefer it's willing its eager it wants to please and it's got a better engine leave it to the Italians to fix it right and I suppose because the 86 has been around for a number of years now I wish it were more I wish Toyota and Subaru had made decisions to bring us more out of this car of course I like this car I own the early gen of this car not sure that this refresh has really made it a more compelling car if you're worried about driving first and foremost in the convertible thing you don't care either way get the 86 if you want the all-around included the convertible then get DRF I think I know how this is gonna go you do and I don't think we're gonna agree we usually tell okay was that a foregone conclusion some degree we never really agreed but there are similarities here the greatest similarity of all of these is 25 to 30 grand you now have options for brand new rear-wheel-drive dedicated sports cars these aren't chassis z' that were something else and become sports cars they were made like this true although the list has grown with the 124 it's an option but isn't it just like mx-5 in a Fiat suit you've heard me I don't think it is because of the addition of the Italian spice with the engine alone I'm surprised at how much it's changed the personality of this car for me I feel like it has a personality over this call because when I want this to really speak I'm lacking more and more so for me it's the 124 then the RF because it's so beautiful okay and then the 86 the 86 is last because they didn't change anything they did nothing it needed to be so much more for the refresh they talked about we can have more power five whole horsepower and torque which for a car that you're already complaining about is not enough I have to put that second for me it's first second third really because I would buy this car if I only fit this is the right all-arounder the only reason the 86 doesn't win is cuz let's be honest we do have two convertibles here if your personal what's a convertible the 86 is off the table yeah I like the setup of that dynamically better from the factory I like that in corners better from the factory hate the tires but love it in corners I can fit with or without a helmet I can just fit in the car though that sounds like a ridiculous request but I am over 6 feet tall if you're over 6 feet this car is out but I love it it can do the convertible thing it can do the clothes thing Mazda can you make me a one-off coupe just a coupe of this it's never gonna happen but that's what I want ok all right so trade-offs not one of these cars is gonna do it all for us we can't wait to recommend for you on the podcast which one of these fits your needs I'm really curious and what a great deal 25 to 30 grand real sports cars brand-new let's talk I wish for more of an edge on the RF just some little thing to differentiate it just from style and beauty and a little bit of weight I'd rather have the focus sports car that's why I want a coupe version of this but there's the best of all worlds happening in this RF these cars are different I won't just call this the reincarnation of the Mazda mx-5 if you were gonna make me choose I take the Fiat the 124 is a Mazda Miata cover band it's not the original it's a riff on the original and if you've got the option you want the original but if this car is still so good then why aren't we all diving and rushing to drive this car it's good but you know we're all looking for something more out of it and it just isn't gonna give it to us I love this car enough I owned one now I own the earlier version which is more attractive than I would say probably just as good but this is a great car you can find great products for your car at Covercraft com+ free shipping for our audience with the code every day [Music]

Channel: EverydayDriver

Views: 335,898

Rating: 4.7822652 out of 5

Keywords: MX-5, Mazda, Miata, RF, 124, Fiat, Toyota, 86, GT86, FRS, FR-S, Subaru, BRZ, Comparison, Best, Affordable, Convertible, Everyday Driver, TV, Velocity, Scenery, Mountains, Canyons, Drone, Cinematography, TV Series

Id: Sr9K-g6_C_c

Length: 22min 18sec (1338 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 15 2018