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

 

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