For sheer driving fun, light is right
Welcome to Dude Said, Punk Said, a special series devoted to skewering the automotive ramblings of young punk Nick Tragianis with the infinite wisdom of old dude Brian Harper. This week, the duo take a look at two plucky, rear-wheel- drive compacts that are slow yet handle exceptionally well: the Mazda MX-5 RF and the Subaru BRZ Inazuma Edition.
Brian Harper: Colin Chapman, desi g n e ngi neer, i nventor and founder of Lotus, was a flawed genius. His lightweight creations, whether sports cars or Formula racers, were often as fragile as they were fast. There have been many quotes attributed to him, but the one for which he is most famous, and the one that’s most applicable to the cars we are driving, is “simplify, then add lightness.”
The Subaru BRZ and the Mazda MX- 5 are not complicated cars, nor are they especially powerful. But they are a delight to drive, trading big horsepower for trimness and properly designed drivetrains, which allow them to tackle serpentine roads with a giddy abandon.
For 2017, Subaru has debuted the particularly striking Inazuma Edition, while Mazda has added a unique power- retracting hardtop to its iconic MX- 5, now in its fourth generation. They’re not direct competitors, but there are certainly similarities that make them worthy of c omparison. Which one is plastering a Cheshire Cat grin on your mug? Nick Tragianis: How is that even a question? I’m one for the simple things in life: chocolate chip cookies and milk, sunny days and revving the snot out of Mazda’s plucky little MX- 5 with the roof stowed.
Let’s start with the basics. As with its soft- top siblings, a 2.0- L four- cylinder engine motivates the MX- 5’s rear wheels, putting out 155 horsepower and 148 poundfeet of torque. It’s not particularly awe- inspiring, but that’s not the point of this car. The RF undoubtedly proves its mettle not with straight-line speed, but with spectacular agility and an unintimidating driving experience. Not to mention the instant connection to the world around you once you drop the top.
The BRZ, on the other hand, should, on paper, be the superior cheap sports car. The 2.0- L boxer fourcylinder engine, updated for the 2017 model year, pumps out 205 hp and 156 lb- ft of torque, if you spec it with the six- speed manual. Like the MX- 5, the BRZ loves to rev, it’s incredibly planted on snaking pavement, and it proves light is right. I loved it when the BRZ first came out four years ago, yet now I can’t shake the feeling it simply hasn’t aged well.
BH: Oh, so you’re leaving it up to me to throw some love at the BRZ, even though I share your concerns. Like you, when the BRZ ( and Scion FR- S, now Toyota 86) came out, I was smitten. Here was a car that held most of the precepts I hold dear for a sporting machine: classic looks courtesy of its long hood and short deck, l i ght weight ( 1,270 kilograms), rear- wheel drive, superior handling and grip, strong engine and — the big one — affordability. It wasn’t perfect, but there was more than enough to rekindle memories of cars from my youth.
Yet, there is a coarseness to it that I don’t remember from before. In particular, the engine gets extremely noisy above 3,500 r.p.m. And the shift actuation, though short and tight, seemed rather notchy. Are we being overly critical? The MX- 5’s engine and transmission actuation is far smoother and lighter. Then again, the RF is a significantly higher-priced car, and it’s not as though the new retractable fastback roof is without criticism.
NT: Well, it’s not as though the soft- top MX- 5 is whisper quiet to begin with, but one would think the tin roof would improve things considerably. That’s not necessarily the case, though. It’s much quieter than the standard MX- 5, but with the top up, the RF seemed to generate a rather annoying buffeting up by the corner of the windows. I almost always instinctively reached for the window switches to make sure they weren’t lowered a crack.
The MX- 5 also tests your patience in day-to-day living. Oh, the compact dimensions make booting around town an absolute breeze, and the transmission and engine combination liven up even the most boring commutes from point A to B, but there’s no way to sidestep this issue: the Miata is cramped inside. Storage pockets are few and far between, the trunk is tiny, the steering wheel isn’t telescopic, the cup holders are impossibly awkward and the transmission tunnel cuts into the passenger-side footwell quite a bit. Plus — and this one’s for you track rats — I can’t comfortably wear a racing helmet with my seat properly adjusted, and I’m not tall to begin with.
As far as being a car goes, the BRZ is superior. It sports a more f l exible i nterior, usable space, as well as a larger trunk. Subaru claims this car, with the rear seat folded down, can easily swallow a set of four tires. Still, the BRZ has a couple of drawbacks. The infotainment is far from intuitive, and the back seats themselves are useless. You’re better off using the rear seats as a parcel shelf. Which is fine; that just means there’s even more storage space.
BH: Yeah, for me the RF, as well as the regular soft- top MX- 5, will always be the second car in the garage, the toy to take out on sunny days with no particular destination in mind. And I agree with most of your criticisms, especially the lack of leg- room for those riding shotgun.
There is less compromise to the BRZ as a year- round sport coupe, though it, too, has issues, which you aptly detailed. As for the $ 32,695 Inazuma Edition, yes, it’s all flash with no extra go, but I like its extroverted nature. The tester’s bright yellow paint was complemented by its onyx leather and Alcantara front seats with yellow inserts and stitching. One also does get a couple of performance upgrades for the extra cash, namely Brembo brakes and Sachs dampers. So, which one would you put in your driveway, kid?
NT: Ah, isn’t that the milliondollar question? It’s easy to see how the BRZ wins favour among those looking for a “fun car” that’s easy enough to drive daily. The interior and trunk are far more usable, yet the BRZ is sprightly enough to stick a smile on your face and keep it there with every downshift and tight highway on- ramp. As for the Inazuma Edition, I only wish Subaru made the Brembo brakes and upgraded dampers available as a package on the regular BRZ, just like in the U. S. market. I’m not a fan of the yellow bits inside and out.
On the flip side, the MX5 RF is a far more cohesive and rewarding package, but the tight dimensions make it a second car at best. Or, at least, really difficult to live with day- to- day. The BRZ could easily be driven daily. The MX-5 RF? Maybe not so much. Plus, its price tag puts the RF at a significant disadvantage over the BRZ. In the RF vs. BRZ conundrum, the BRZ takes it.
But if I were c r ossshopping both of these as a second car, practicality doesn’t matter to me. I’d pick the MX- 5 … sort of. Rather than the RF, I’d go with the soft- top MX- 5 GS. That puts you at just under $ 36,000 and gives you everything you could possibly want: top- down jollies, Bilstein suspension bits, a limitedslip differential and a few more creature comforts. Still exceptionally fun, it makes you feel a little better for not spending more than $ 40K on a Miata. As a second car, irrational joy overrules almost anything else, and the MX- 5 dishes that out in droves compared to the BRZ.
BH: That’s cheating. Though I do agree that if it was a matter of choosing an MX5, that I, too, would go with the soft- top GS. The RF’s price tag ($ 38,800 to start) puts too many other sporty cars in contention. Between the MX- 5 RF and the BRZ Inazuma Edition, I’d cast my vote for the latter. On a fun-per-dollar ratio, the BRZ can’t be beat, with strengths far outweighing compromises. Forego the Inazuma and stick with the $ 27,995 base model, and the Subie looks even better. But then there’s the matter of how it would fare versus the Volkswagen Golf GTI …