Is the Miata Overrated?

January 26, 2023·1 hr 44 min·5 clips

Ted says the Miata is “fine,” but its fun is “arbitrary” compared with other cars.

Ted opens with Nick and Josh back together on the mic. The first stretch is loose shop-chat, with a message from Chloe about hearing Josh back on the podcast, a joke about wanting a car that does not make you feel sick to look at, and a detour into an older Volvo wagon and how its tech lags behind the rest of the field. The talk stays loose. They drift into a memory of driving to New York, buying a car, and starting an install late at night after the drive back. That memory only sets up the real topic. Ted says he has put real time into figuring out why he dislikes Miatas and why he thinks the cars get overrated, and the others treat it as a fair argument rather than something to swat away. The comparison turns to the GR86 and the ND2. Once those two are side by side, the conversation becomes about numbers that matter in the real world, not badge reputation or internet shorthand. Weight becomes the first hinge point. They talk through the fact that the GR86 carries roughly 400 to 460 more pounds, depending on how you count it, yet still ends up with a better horsepower-to-weight ratio and torque-to-weight ratio than the Miata. The output gap is not subtle. The GR86 is cited at 228 horsepower against the Miata’s 181, and the torque figures land at 184 versus 151. That makes the case feel less like taste and more like a practical comparison of what the cars actually deliver. The tone stays conversational, but the numbers give the episode its spine. Everyone seems willing to accept that a lighter car is not automatically the better one if the power and torque package is not keeping up. The argument is more lived in than performative. Rather than pretending to deliver a final verdict, the group keeps qualifying itself, circling the same ownership questions from a few angles, and letting the banter do some of the work that a cleaner script would normally handle. Even the outro keeps that relaxed shape. Ted closes by pointing listeners to the Instagram account and YouTube channel, saying new videos are finally coming now that he is settled into his new place and that more reviews and other new projects are waiting in the pipeline. There is also a small tease. He mentions future plans, Nick and Josh’s work in progress, and the idea that a Cayman might show up later when the timing is right, which leaves the episode feeling like a shop conversation that ended because the clock did, not because the topic was exhausted.

As heard by us

A loose debate that turns Miata hype into a numbers problem.

A loose debate about Miatas and the GR86 gives the episode its shape, with the argument resting on horsepower, torque, and weight instead of any neat verdict.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Miata-versus-GR86 debate that stays with horsepower, torque, and weight.

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