what about a nissan pulsar or a86 those are rwd , wait ...i think the pulsar might be fwd Im not sure...

Totally a Toyota Previa, seriously though. an MR2 early year (MK1) has a 4AGE and even the later model MKII is nice non turbo is not expensive and has a better punch than the miata.

Oh my god, i cant believe i forgot to put it down originally, and i cant believe even more that it hasn't been mentioned yet since i feel it is the one car that is more like the miata in every way than anything else previously mentioned:

BMW E30. Its about as light, about as agile, its Front engine/rear wheel drive, it is competition at the autocross, and theres a pretty good aftermarket for em. This one just happens to be an m3

http://www.timskipper.net/images/sto...42_640_web.jpg

E30's are nice, if you must have RWD it's particularly good. Otherwise, Mini coopers are the new up and hard to beat in auto-x putting them pretty close to miatas, and there's more practicality in a mini.

BMW's are expensive in comparison though therefore not like the miata. They are on the same performance level but not as cheap.

Personally for me, i picked between the 2nd get MR2 and the Miata, but.... the miata was insured under a econo car, and the mr2 was "sports". After that i never looked back. I think the price per hp of modding a miata is better than an mr2 anyways.

I don't know about that... I see E30s in need of minor work for the same price or less as a similar condition miata all the time around these parts.

the non-M e30 is fairly cheap (the M3 is always $9-20k+ for the e30 chassis), and a great victim for a turbo kit as well. You can pick up a strong running 325e for under 2 grand fairly easily. high high miles of course, but thats not important as long as it was maintained correctly.

I dunno they and miatas are abit rarer here. Comes from the shity job market and economy.

e stands for "ew" or "slow"

for another grand you can get a running i. I picked up mine with 140k in cherry condition for 3k. 5speed even.

there's nothing wrong with the super E, it's actually the best for modifying :)