When asking a car enthusiast about small, fun sports cars on the new vehicle market, the conversation will often swing around to a single statement. “Miata is always the answer.” Joyously enough, it’s also an acronym for Mazda’s beloved drop-top, sun-soaked roadster. However, the Miata has its hands full with the other two stubborn residents of the (arguably) cheap sports car market: the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86. 

When Miata isn’t the answer, the Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ are eager cheap sports car solutions

Was that a Toyota GR86? Or was it a Subaru BRZ? Unless you pay close attention, you might mistake one for the other. Well, there’s a reason for that. The BRZ and the GR86 are mechanical siblings. Same engines, transmissions, underpinnings, and tech suites. In fact, the two are so aesthetically similar, that onlookers are likely to mistake them for one another.

When you get down to it, the biggest difference between the BRZ and GR86 is the suspension setups. In short, the GR86 puts an emphasis on track-day readiness that the BRZ simply doesn’t share. As expected, however, the twins’ metrics are staggeringly similar. For instance, the manual second-generation Toyota GR86 narrowly outsprinted its Subie sibling to 60 mph by just 0.1 seconds. But the BRZ stopped from 70 mph one foot sooner than the GR86.

Better yet, the Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR86 start at $31,315 and $30,435, respectively. Along with the $30,170 2024 Mazda MX-5 the sibling coupes make up a unique cheap sports car market. Tragically, these starting prices signal the end of the small, fun sub-$30,000 new sports car market. But the BRZ and GR86 are cost-effective alternatives to comparably spendy sports cars like the Toyota GR Supra.