Comparison Review: Toyota GR86 vs Mazda MX-5 RF / Battle of the Affordable Sports Cars

Back in the 80s and 90s, we were spoiled 
for choice when it came to an affordable,  
rear-wheel drive, two-seate,r or two plus 
two, sports car. These days, unfortunately,  
they’re very hard to come by. But of the ones 
that are remaining, how does the Mazda MX-5  
compare against the new Toyota GR86 when they’re 
head to head? Let’s go for a drive and find out.
So first let’s familiarize ourselves with the 
MX-5 and obviously this particular one that  
I’m driving right now is not stock, judging by 
the wheels and that exhaust sound out the back.  
Now the shots that I am showing you are mostly 
from the MX-5 that I drove a couple years ago  
and that one was 100 percent stock. Anyway, the 
car itself. It has a two liter four-cylinder  
naturally aspirated engine. It produces 181 
horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque.  
That is quite a bit less than the Toyota 
GR86 but this also weighs less than the GR86.  
It’s about 1,100 kilograms with the hard top. 
You get the impression that this engine really  
likes to rev. The peak torque is reached midway 
through the rpms and peak power is pretty much  
all the way at the red line. In a drag race, the 
MX-5 would probably get off the line a little bit  
more quickly than the GR86 because it’s lighter. 
However over a longer distance, the GR86 will  
probably catch up to it and overtake it. Obviously 
I’m on public roads and I’m not

going to do that.
But driving fast in a straight line is not
what either of these cars were built for.
They were built for going quickly around corners
and putting a smile on your face and none of them
do it better than this MX5. As Colin Chapman’s
famous quote goes “simplify then add lightness”.
This is what the Mazda MX-5 embodies. The
addition of the hardtop roof does increase
the weight over the soft top but only by about 50
kilos. The lightweight nature of the MX-5 makes
it a joy to drive around corners. Steering is very
precise and very quick to respond to your inputs.
It provides excellent feedback as to what the
front tires are doing. The MX-5 responds very
well to smooth inputs but can quickly become
twitchy at higher speeds if you toss it into
a corner. Thankfully the back end is very easy
to catch if the stock 205 wide tires do let go
and they will let go even with 181 horsepower.
Now in the Toyota GR86, this is more of a first
drive review of it because I don’t have a whole
lot of time with this particular demo vehicle.
However i will be getting the GR86 again in the
summer of 2022 so make sure you subscribe to
check out when that video when it comes out and if
you are watching this video when it’s past summer
2022, I’ll leave a link in the description
to the new, longer, full review of the GR86.
Anyway the big news with this one is that Toyota
listened to the owners and fans of the old GT86
and they gave the car more power. It now has a
2.4 liter flat 4 engine, boxer, and it produces
228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. That
change in power is immediately more noticeable
because the car just picks up and goes from 2,000
rpms right up to the red line. When you’re driving
on highways, you don’t need to downshift. You
can leave it in sixth gear and just gently roll
on the throttle and you can easily overtake
another vehicle. Peak torque is now in the mid
rpm range and the peak power is around the 7,000
rpm mark with the red line being at 7,500 rpms.
And of course, mated to this engine is a six-speed
manual. You can get a six-speed automatic just
like in the Mazda MX-5 but I suspect that most the
GR86s are gonna come with the manual transmission.
The six-speed transmission is not quite as slick
shifting as the six-speed in the Mazda MX-5.
Through the first few gears, it feels just a bit
more notchy. The six-speed in the Mazda MX-5 is
one of the best out there with a precise, short,
and has a satisfying click as it goes into gear.
The clutch pedals in both cars are light with a
solid bite point feeling. As for driving around
corners, the GR 86 feels a little bit more mature
than the MX-5. It doesn’t feel like as though it
wants to slide its tail out quite as much as the
MX-5. It feels more neutral however midway through
a corner if you stomp on that throttle pedal, it
will let go but you can easily catch the back end.
It did receive a stiffer front sway bar and
stiffer springs over the previous generation
along with a faster steering rack.
The steering is extremely quick and
the front end turns immediately, it’s like
telepathy. However you do feel the extra weight,
almost 200 kilogram difference between this
and the RF MX-5 and of course a little bit
bigger difference between the soft top MX-5.
Between these two sports cars, the Mazda MX-5,
even as an RF, is still the more
enjoyable car to drive on a winding road.
Sitting inside the Mazda MX-5, now I realize that
I am above average in height, I’m six foot four,
and I have an okay amount of space. I mean my legs
are just barely touching up against the dashboard
but every time that I brake, my knee is hitting
the dashboard. Even though this seat is as far
back as possible, every time i brake, like i
said it’s hitting the dashboard and after a while
it does start to bruise a bit. But in terms
of headroom because the MX-5 is a convertible,
obviously plenty of headroom. Even with the
top up, I still have just enough headroom.
As for the interior itself, it’s very typical
MX5. There is absolutely nothing in here to
distract you from the job of driving. Seven inch
touchscreen that can also be controlled by this
rotary knob down here on the center console,
really simple climate controls, heated seats,
and that’s really all that you need. So very
straightforward interior in the Mazda MX-5.
Now let’s check out the GR86. Now sitting
inside the Toyota GR86 and obviously the biggest
difference is that i can comfortably fit in it.
My knees are pretty close to the dashboard, well
specifically the push button start, but every time
that I brake my knee isn’t going to hit it. And
it’s the same story with headroom, my hair is not
brushing up against the headliner and i can even
move the seat further back, yeah by one notch, i
can move it further back. So it’s quite spacious.
My only small complaint is with the steering
wheel because it does have tilt and telescopic but
not a whole lot of range of motion. So it
would be nice if it came out a little bit
more and moved up a little bit more. But minor
complaints. As for the rest of the interior,
it is very straightforward just like in the Mazda
MX-5. Although you do get a larger touchscreen
with apple carplay and android auto, again
just like in the MX-5, the climate controls
are super simple and straightforward to use,
your traction and stability control buttons are
right here on the center console right next to
the heated seats, and also the GR86 has a full
digital display. In the MX-5 you get analog
gauges and personally I prefer the analog
gauges over the digital display, but that’s
just personal preference. As for the back seats,
well behind my driving position nobody’s gonna
fit back there. But if somebody shorter sat in
the front passenger seat then probably somebody
shorter is gonna fit in the back passenger side.
Although it’s still gonna be pretty tight
for them. You might as well just drop that
back rest and just have more cargo capacity.
Speaking of which, guess which one has more of it?
The Toyota GR86 has 177 liters of cargo space
while the Mazda MX-5 has 127 liters of space.
Of the two, the 2022 Toyota GR86 is the less
expensive option. It starts at around $31,500 CAD
with a fully loaded version costing $36,890 CAD.
Excluding paint, accessories, freight, pdi, etc.
The 2022 Mazda MX-5 RF starts at $40,300 CAD
with a fully loaded version costing $44,300 CAD.
Again excluding paint, accessories, freight,
pdi, and so on. So while you can get a fully
loaded GR86 for the starting price of the
MX-5 RF, the soft top version though is
more competitively priced at $33,300 CAD to start
with. In a fully loaded MX-5 RF, you’ll get Nappa
leather upholstery, heated seats, wireless apple
carplay but unfortunately wired android auto,
LED headlights, keyless entry and push
button start, backup camera, seven inch
touchscreen with navigation, Bose nine speaker
audio system, and automatic climate control.
Arguably the biggest gadget that you get with
the RF MX5 is the metal folding roof. The top
can go up or down in 13 seconds and up to a speed
of 10 kilometers an hour. It’s just one toggle
of a button to raise it or lower it so anyone
can do it. In the GR86, it can be equipped with
a larger 8-inch touchscreen with wired apple
carplay and wired android auto, heated seats,
Alcantara and leather upholstery, dual zone
climate control, LED headlights, an 8-speaker
audio system, and keyless entry with push button
start. So very similarly equipped as the Mazda.
As for how these cars looks, well styling
is subjective and beauty is in the eye of
the beholder. The MX-5 has been stereotyped
as being driven by hairdressers or women
but that’s just simply not the case anymore. If
you’re a guy, there is absolutely no shame in
driving a great car like this with the top up or
down. The buttresses on the RF do hamper over the
shoulder visibility on the left side but the car
does come standard with blind spot sensors and you
shouldn’t have any blind zones if you adjust the
mirrors correctly. The GR86 retains some styling
cues from the original GT86 and i do like that
massive duckbill spoiler. Although some have said
that the back end is reminiscent of a Subaru.
Then again, this car does have a Subaru twin.
So in the end between these two, which one would
i personally choose to go home in? Well i really
like the Mazda MX-5. The way that it drives is
just unparalleled by any other sports car out
there. It genuinely feels like it’s connected to
you like it’s an extension of your arms and feet.
The new GR86 is a big improvement over
the old GT86. This new engine has plenty
of power and plenty of torque plus it’s
still just as practical as the old one.
It is heavier than the MX-5 so it doesn’t quite
feel quite as agile as this one but it is still
a lot of fun to drive. Plus of course
it is more practical than the MX-5
and it is less expensive than the RF version of
the MX-5. So for me personally I’d pick this.
As much as I love the MX-5, I cannot fit in
it comfortably. So I’m sticking with this. But
that’s my opinion, what’s yours? Let me know in
the comments. And if you want to know more about
either of these two little sports cars, I wrote
a comparison review of them over on my website.
You can find that link in the video description
or click on the pop-up banner right up there. And
as always, I will see you in the next car or truck
or most likely it’ll probably be an SUV next time.
Anyway thank you for watching, please like
and subscribe and see you in the next video.