Best solo 2 car RX-7 or Miata

fast_eddie_72 wrote:

moxnix wrote: Strange I thought those E-Stock miata's have been doing pretty well these last couple of years...

No doubt! The "right" Miata seems to be the car to have. But if you don't have the "right" Miata, seems any old MkII MR2 is a better local car. That's just my experience, I could be wrong. I beat the Miatas and it's not my driving prowess that's doing the trick. There is one "right" Miata here that is definatly faster than me, though it's hard to say how much of that is the driver. He's definately much faster than me. Like so many things it depends on what you want to do. If you just want to buy a car and not hunt down the elusive 'car to have' it seems like any old MkII MR2 can run well locally. Sure, not going to win Nationals, but can have a lot of fun.

I would argue that any 1.8L miata with torsen when setup is going to be a fine local car capable of keeping up with with a local MR2 well enough that it is going to be a drivers race.

However local course design may favor one over the other (I don't know what your local area is).

A Miata and MR2 do things very differently. I owned both at one time, so have a good comparison. Turn-in and corner entry goes to the Miata no contest, but mid corner and corner exit are all MR2 given equal prep levels for both cars. The MR2 also has a ton more torque, so it pulls better in the meat of 2nd gear, but I was always faster through a slalom in the Miata.

The MR2 does need a different driving style and doesn't tolerate bad habits as well, but other than that, it depends on which you are more comfortable with.

To the topic at hand, I also owned an RX7 and loved it, but given the choice it would be the Miata. I think it's the better all around car, but I do love rotaries!

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I just closed the deal on a 2003 MR-2 that I will pick up Saturday. I have had several NA miatas and decided to try something different. I did look into a gen 2 turbo MR-2 but the cost for a nice car was as much if not more then some of the later syders. Pictures to follow this weekend.

You did good.

trophystock wrote: Well, still looking at the miatas but tomorrow we're going to look at a 2003 MR2 spyder. What is everybody's thoughts on those? My daily driver now is a 1987 dodge ram 50 so any vehicle is a step up.

Awesome, awesome car. These things handle amazingly well, they weigh very little (2200lbs) and they make decent power 138 hp. And they power-slide very nicely. They're also nice and comfy on the inside if you want to daily drive or weekend cruise one. The only down side is storage room.