Quote Originally Posted by driftyboy
Well since I've owned a few of those choices, I'll pitch in some advice.

S13 - Ya everyone has them, but it's for a reason. They're very available for pretty cheap, they upgrade nicely, and aftermarket is huge.

AE86 - My favorite car (My current car)!! Tons of fun. A stock GT-S will do whatever you want it to decently (autoX, drift, look good). Aftermarket is decent.

NA(Miata) - Another fun car. I personally thought the convertible was going to be cooler than it actually was. The car shook very bad when going over bumps around town. I upgraded a few things like frame braces, new shocks, chassis welding, but still couldn't 100% get it as solid as a non-convertible. Probably just needed a roll-cage, but I never got around to that. And they're not very practical for everyday use. You basically get a tiny trunk for storage and that's it. They're not for everyone, is basically my point. On a positive note, the knowledge base at www.miata.net is HUGE. They have so many write ups you'll never have to ask a question about it. (I owned my '90 Miata for a while that's why I have so much info.)

FC3S - Well the one I owned was a PoS, so I don't necessarily know if they're all old and crappy... lol. I had a '89 non turbo. I did all the maintenance upgrades first, and it still ran like crap. Had trouble starting up on cold days. I didn't really how I sat inside of it either, just too laid back. And the blind spots are HORRIBLE since it just has a rear hatch window, no rear quarter windows. Rotary engine was pretty cool, and different. But being that it is so different I felt like a big noob when opening the hood.

I didn't really mean to be too harsh on the Mazda's. They're just not for me. Anyways, hope this helps a little.

- Drifty
Quoted for truth.

Miatas are very fun and cheap, but aren't as practical. I still want a Miata. My S13 was fun but unless you have the money to upgrade the suspension, don't plan to do anything other than understeering everywhere. I wouldn't want a rotary since their reliability is questionable. AE86s aren't bad cars (I've never driven one though), but they do look very out of date and are mostly just old cars that need lots of repairs.

Personally, I would go for a S13 or Miata. Depends on how much you need that extra space, etc.