Over the last few years the heard of new sports cars in the lower price range had become kind or thin. While the supercar world has exploded with lots of cars with a supercharger or turbochargers the rest of us had to make do with a 350z or nothing. In 2010 that all changed with the release for the Genesis Coupe from Hyundai of all companies. Now Toyota and Subaru have come together to give us the FT-86 which will be sold as the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ. Mazda was also nice enough to bless us with the new Miata which is much better than it looks.
With all these new choices rejuvenating the sports car market and all in just about the same price tag which one is best? The way I am looking at this is only front engine rear wheel drive cars count. Not interested in the AWD Evo or STi since they are 4 door rally cars not sports cars. If the price range is mid 20K up to 32K the list is really limited to about 5 models. Yeah there are lots of used cars that can be purchased that fall to that price range after a few years but that also means the repair bills are still in line for a $60K car.
The 370Z tops the list in price sitting right at the $35K Mark and boasts the most impressive HP and maybe the highest trim level. The genesis falls into the range at the bottom price wise but it is a new comer and not many people trust that the quality is there in the long run. Honestly who can blame them since Hyundai has been making kinda low quality cars for years. The Miata is an amazing little car but it does carry quite the stereotype for the driver. Won’t mention what that stereotype for the sake of PC-ness, none the less it is a very capable little sports car. The problem is most of the major players have pulled out of the sports car race leaving the smaller companies to pick up the slack.
Toyota and Subaru combine forces to get the FT086 off the ground which seems to be all the rage but no one here is the states has really had any butt in seat time with it. Not only has no one logged seat time but no one knows the real price either.
This brings us back to the original question, which is…what is the one to buy? Well the Genesis is an amazing car but when someone asks what you drive…well it’s still a Hyundai. The 370Z is amazing but it is pricey and falls into almost the highest insurance class there, just below supercars. While the Miata is a bit small and completely impractical plus there is that other thing. The best way to look at this is, with the economy still in the toilet it may be a few years before the sports car rears its head again. So let us all just get Forza and enjoy some Xbox bliss…hell it’s safer anyway.
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