{"id":22898,"date":"2018-09-30T14:17:02","date_gmt":"2018-09-30T18:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=22898"},"modified":"2018-10-05T16:01:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T20:01:41","slug":"payne-fab-4-cylinder-face-off-mustang-vs-brz-vs-miata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/payne-fab-4-cylinder-face-off-mustang-vs-brz-vs-miata","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Fab 4-cylinder face-off, Mustang vs. BRZ vs. Miata"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/f491d3a4-7be9-4d79-8645-487b9facdfca-fab4_mazda-payne.JPG?width=534&amp;height=401&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Fab4 Mazda Payne\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">This summer, Detroit flexed its muscles: $70,000 Corvette V-8s rattled Ferndale windows; $60,000 Hellcats turned Woodward\u2019s asphalt black with Roadkill Night burnouts;\u00a0$60,000 Mustang GT350s pounded down Waterford Hills\u2019 back straight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">But for half the price and half the cylinders, you can have just as much fun. Maybe more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For under $40,000\u00a0there is a buffet of\u00a0treats for the casual motorhead\u00a0\u2014 tiny sports cars, hot hatches and four-banger pony cars that are not only easy on the wallet, but can be rowed hard on local byways without waking every cop in town.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I sampled three of these feisty fours this summer: the $38,970 turbo-4 Ford Mustang convertible, $38,335 Mazda Miata MX-5 RS\u00a0and $34,455\u00a0winged Subaru BRZ tS.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">As regular readers of this column know, my favorite budget performers are hot hatches with pep, utility\u00a0and grins: VW Golf GTI, Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai Veloster N, Ford Focus ST and Fiesta ST. But these rowdy pocket rockets lack one thing \u2014 rear-wheel drive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Our contestants for this test are all rear-wheel drive manuals, so they can be drifted, tossed\u00a0and smoked out of stoplights just like their more expensive V-8 brethren. Beyond RWD their DNA is all over the map from the original pony-car \u2018Stang to the iconic Miata to the new-kid-on-the-block, flat-four Subie.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I flogged them all over Metro Detroit to determine the best of the Fab Fours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Ford Mustang EcoBoost<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Mustang and EcoBoost\u00a0don\u2019t seem to belong in the same sentence, but Ford is determined to make its EcoBoost engines an international brand. It won the 2016 LeMans 24-Hour with the EcoBoost\u00a0twin-turbo, V6-powered Ford GT supercar and began exporting 2015 Mustang fours to foreign continents choking on strict government emissions regulations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For 2018, Mustang\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/performance.ford.com\/enthusiasts\/newsroom\/2017\/09\/mustang-v6-is-gone-but-not-forgotten-.html\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">shelved its 6-cylinder engine<\/a>\u00a0to rely entirely on the inline-4 and V-8.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">My red\u00a02018 convertible is easy on the eyes. Ford\u2019s designers got it right with an updated design that maintains signature touches like athletic haunches and a modern\u00a0Focus-style nose.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-RNZ-jZ9b6fU\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/d9c0eeaf-67ee-4ccf-be45-50cc745fd66e-fab4_mustang-fr34.JPG?crop=3837,2073,x195,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Mustang Convertible cuts a dashing figure. But a four-banger under the hood doesn't fit the iconic muscle car. Wish I had a V-8.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/d9c0eeaf-67ee-4ccf-be45-50cc745fd66e-fab4_mustang-fr34.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/d9c0eeaf-67ee-4ccf-be45-50cc745fd66e-fab4_mustang-fr34.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/><span class=\"mycapture-btn-wrap\"><span class=\"mycapture-non-priority-horizontal-image mycapture-btn-with-text js-mycapture-btn js-mycapture-photo-asset\">Buy Photo<\/span><\/span>The Mustang Convertible cuts a dashing figure. But a four-banger under the hood doesn&#8217;t fit the iconic muscle car. Wish I had a V-8.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Alas, the EcoBoost Mustang also sounds like a Focus. Which is say, it feels like it\u2019s lost its voice. Like Mike Tyson, the Ford\u2019s vocals don\u2019t match its muscled bod.\u00a0<em>REV IT UP!<\/em>bystanders urged at the Woodward Dream Cruise, expecting a V-8 roar. I would sheepishly rev it to disappointed looks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cIt just doesn\u2019t sound like a Mustang,\u201d colleagues said after handing back the keys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">I\u2019ve driven the turbo-4 in anger on country roads, and without the big V-8 boat anchor up front it rotates more easily into corners, its independent-rear suspension proving more nimble than previous generations. Nailing the four-holer out of a corner, I think of\u00a0the $41,000\u00a0Focus RS hot hatch with which the Mustang shares its 310 horse\u00a02.3-liter mill. But the bad-boy RS engine is tuned for more emotion than the stealthy &#8216;Stang.<\/p>\n<div class=\"partner-outstream\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Worse, the RS and its ST stablemates are being axed in the U.S.\u00a0market as Ford abandons small cars, meaning the only 300-plus-horsepower four\u00a0you\u2019ll find will be buried under the hood of a Mustang. These are dark days for Ford motorheads. At least you can still get a Mustang V-8.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Subaru BRZ tS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Since I first drove them in 2015, the BRZ and its Toyota 89 twin brother\u00a0have been on my short list of sports-car favorites. With its low profile and flat-4 boxer engine, it has the lowest center-of-gravity of any production vehicle, along with the battery-powered Tesla Model S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Combine that with a taut chassis and precise shifter,\u00a0and the BRZ is Porsche-like (the Stuttgart legend also uses boxer engines) in its handling. Predictable, neutral, maneuverable on the limit.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-RNZ-jZ9JpZg\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/f227fc9c-7b14-484c-a814-97e9c21b5346-fab4_brz-fr.JPG?crop=4032,2268,x0,y0&amp;width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"For 2018, Subaru engineers pushed the envelope for the Subaru BRZ with the limited-edition tS, the ultimate track-tuned BRZ. The tS gets a high rear wing for added downforce, stiffer suspension, and sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires for added grip \u2013 but the BRZ's biggest issue is power, not grip.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/f227fc9c-7b14-484c-a814-97e9c21b5346-fab4_brz-fr.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/09\/25\/PDTN\/f227fc9c-7b14-484c-a814-97e9c21b5346-fab4_brz-fr.JPG?width=500&amp;height=281\" \/><span class=\"mycapture-btn-wrap\"><span class=\"mycapture-non-priority-horizontal-image mycapture-btn-with-text js-mycapture-btn js-mycapture-photo-asset\">Buy Photo<\/span><\/span>For 2018, Subaru engineers pushed the envelope for the Subaru BRZ with the limited-edition tS, the ultimate track-tuned BRZ. The tS gets a high rear wing for added downforce, stiffer suspension, and sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires for added grip \u2013 but the BRZ&#8217;s biggest issue is power, not grip.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Henry Payne, The Detroit News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">For 2018, Subaru engineers pushed the envelope even further with the limited-edition tS, the ultimate, track-tuned BRZ. The tS gets a high rear wing for added downforce, stiffer suspension, and most significantly, sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires for added grip \u2014 an improvement over the standard skinnies which may be fun for drifting, but take time away at a Waterford track day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But better handling is not what the athletic &#8216;Ru needs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The 205-horsepower 2.0-liter four is the most anemic 200-horse\u00a0engine I\u2019ve driven. A 201-horse\u00a0Honda Civic Si feels much more engaged. Floor the BRZ out of corners, and it has all the urgency of Heinz ketchup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Full torque doesn\u2019t come on until 6,200 rpms,\u00a0meaning you\u2019re rowing the box all the time to stay in the torque band. Maybe the peppy\u00a0260-horse Ascent SUV will lend its turbo-4 someday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Mazda MX-5 Miata RF<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Though its 2.0-liter four pumped\u00a0out just 155 ponies, the 2018 Mazda beat the Subaru by nearly half a second:\u00a05.9 seconds compared to 6.3\u00a0(courtesy of our friends at\u00a0<em>Car and Driver<\/em>). Credit\u00a0MX-5\u2019s weight. At 2,453\u00a0pounds, it is by far the lightest in this test.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Yet,\u00a0Mazda isn\u2019t resting on its laurels. For 2019 it has increased horsepower by 17 percent to 181 by extending the rev range to 7,500 rpms. Mazda maniacs have pined for the carmaker&#8217;s\u00a0torquey 260-horse turbo-4 (stuffed into the Mazda 6 and CX-9). But corporate is insistent that its halo remain a purists&#8217;\u00a0sports car \u2014 no forced induction allowed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">My 2019 RF will satisfy the purists,\u00a0and the aesthetes as well. Its Targa roof and racy rear pillars make for the sexiest Miata ever. Looks will cost you: the RF starts $2,600 north of a regular, soft-top MX-5 roadster at $33,675. My RF manual was loaded with carbon-fiber trimmings and leather thrones to the tune of $38,335.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">As with Mustang, I\u2019m a fan of the Miata\u2019s new, next-gen styling and the RF brings a touch of luxury as well. The hard top folds up automatically with the touch of a button \u2014 where the Mustang is only partially automatic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Whether on an interstate cloverleaf, parking-lot autocross course\u00a0or Waterford Hills track day, drivers can really explore the limits of the MX-5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">At 6-foot-5, I\u00a0explore the limits \u2014 head in roof, knees in dash \u2014\u00a0of the Miata\u2019s tiny cockpit compared to the more comfortable &#8216;Stang and BRZ. But Mazda&#8217;s recipe of styling, playfulness and power-to-weight ratio make it the best pure, under $40,000\u00a04-banger on the market today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">All hail the Fab Four-banger MX-5. It\u2019ll put a smile on your face as wide as its smiley front grille.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>2019 Ford Mustang Ecoboost<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, four(ish)-passenger convertible\/coupe<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Price: $26,580 base ($38,970 convertible as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Powerplant: 2.3-liter turbo-4 cylinder<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Power: 310 horsepower, 350 pound-feet torque<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transmission: 6-speed manual<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.3 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 123 mph<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Weight: 3,676 pounds<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fuel economy: EPA fuel economy: 20 city\/29\u00a0highway\/23 combined<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Report card<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Highs: Most powerful car in comparo; more nimble handling than the V-8<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Lows: Going topless still requires manual labor; 4-banger doesn&#8217;t fit muscle car looks<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>2018\u00a0Subaru BRZ tS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, four(ish)-passenger coupe<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Price: $26,455 base ($34,355 as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Powerplant: 2.0-liter &#8220;Boxer&#8221; flat-4 cylinder<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Power: 205 horsepower, 156\u00a0pound-feet torque<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transmission: 6-speed manual<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.3 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 135 mph<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Weight: 2,850 pounds (est.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fuel economy: EPA fuel economy: 20\u00a0city\/27\u00a0highway\/23\u00a0combined<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Report card<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Highs: Best-handling car in comparo; roomier than the Miata<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Lows: Lack of punch; smartphone apps, please<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Vehicle type: Front-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-passenger roadster\/coupe<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Price: $26,190 base ($38,335\u00a0as tested)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Powerplant: 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Power: 181 horsepower, 151 pound-feet torque<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Transmission: 6-speed manual<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.7 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed: 140 mph (est.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Weight: 2,453 pounds<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Fuel economy: EPA fuel economy: 26 city\/34\u00a0highway\/29\u00a0combined<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Report card<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Highs: Most fun of the bunch; auto drop top<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Lows: Six-footers need a shoehorn to get in; RF gets pricey<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Overall: 4\u00a0stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This summer, Detroit flexed its muscles: $70,000 Corvette V-8s rattled Ferndale windows; $60,000 Hellcats turned Woodward\u2019s asphalt black with Roadkill Night burnouts;\u00a0$60,000 Mustang GT350s pounded down Waterford Hills\u2019 back straight. But for half the price and half the cylinders, you can have just as much fun. Maybe more. For under $40,000\u00a0there is a buffet of\u00a0treats [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}