Driving enthusiasts have limited choices of traditional front-engine, rear-wheel drive roadsters. The 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata and Subaru BRX are two of the best on the market. These compact, high-performance vehicles take you back to the 1960s, the heyday of sports motoring, but with all the modern amenities and technology you expect in today’s cars. Our team at Bountiful Mazda put together this comparison of the MX-5 Miata and BRZ to help you make an informed choice between the two.
Features and Trims
The 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata and Subaru BRZ are available in various trims with unique features.
Exterior
Mazda offers the 2024 MX-5 in the Sport, Club, and Grand Touring trim levels. Its refreshed styling includes revised lighting, a modified grille, and new wheel designs. This Mazda convertible features a manual soft top that you can easily lower to enjoy wind-in-the-hair driving.
Exterior features on the MX-5 Miata Sport include keyless entry, LED headlights, daytime running lights, 16-inch alloy wheels, power mirrors, and LED taillights. The Club trim adds LED daytime running lights, a black front air dam and rear lip spoiler, and 17-inch wheels. The Grand Touring has adaptive front lighting, rain-sensing wipers, and an auto-dimming driver’s side mirror.
The 2024 Subaru BRZ is only available with a hardtop. You can choose from Premium, Limited, and tS trim levels. The Premium features LED headlights, 17-inch aluminum wheels, and a trunk spoiler. Stepping up to the Limited variant gets you steering-responsive headlights and 18-inch wheels.
Interior
Inside, the MX-5 Miata’s elegant driver-centric, two-seat cabin has design elements that make the most of its compact size. The base model features push-button start, cruise control, cloth upholstery, air conditioning, a leather-bound steering wheel and shift knob, and a tilt and telescoping steering column. With the Club trim, you get heated seats with suede inserts, while the top trim adds leather upholstery, automatic climate control, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
With the 7G Mazda Connect infotainment system, you get an 8.8-inch central display; Mazda’s multifunction Commander control; voice command; Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Alexa integration; and a six-speaker audio system with HD Radio. The Club trim adds a nine-speaker Bose sound system and satellite radio, while the Grand Touring has a navigation system.
The BRZ’s standard cabin has a 2+2 layout, but only small children can fit in the rear seats, which are more suitable for interior storage. The Premium trim offers a digital gauge cluster, cloth seating, dual-zone automatic climate control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter handle, and a tilting telescopic steering column. The Limited trim adds heated front seats and leather-trimmed faux suede upholstery.
The STARLINK multimedia system in the Premium features an 8-inch touch screen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, voice activation, Bluetooth, and a six-speaker sound system with satellite radio. Moving up to the Limited trim gets you an eight-speaker audio system. A navigation system is not available.
Specifications
Under the MX-5 Miata’s hood is a punchy 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers 181 horsepower and 151 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. It’s paired with a six-speed manual transmission with a short-throw shifter. The Grand Touring model offers the option of a slick-shifting six-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The MX-5 Miata sprints from zero to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds and has a top speed of 143 mph.
For 2024, the manual transmission comes with an asymmetric limited slip differential for enhanced stability. Also new is Mazda’s Kinematic Posture Control, a torque vectoring system that suppresses body roll to give you more precision when cornering. With the manual transmission, the MX-5 Miata returns up to 26 mpg in the city and 34 mpg when you head out on the highway. The automatic transmission increases the highway mpg to 35.
Powering the Subaru coupe is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 228 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. As standard, a six-speed manual transmission sends power to the rear wheels. The Limited trim is available with a six-speed automatic transmission and paddle shifters. The BRZ comes standard with a limited-slip differential.
With the manual transmission, you’ll get up to 20 mpg in the city and up to 27 mpg on the highway. The automatic transmission increases the economy to 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. The BRZ accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 6.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 140 mph.
Dimensions
The Mazda convertible and Subaru coupe have compact dimensions that make them easy to navigate around the Bountiful city streets, but they’re just as impressive on the open road.
2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata
These are the dimensions of the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata:
- Length: 154.1 inches.
- Width: 68.3 inches.
- Height: 48.8 inches.
- Headroom: 37.4 inches — unlimited with the roof down.
- Legroom: 43.1 inches.
2024 Subaru BRZ
The dimensions of the Subaru BRZ are as follows:
- Length: 167.9 inches.
- Width: 69.9 inches.
- Height: 51.6 inches.
- Headroom: 37 inches.
- Legroom: 41.5 inches.
Despite being a smaller car, the MX-5 Miata offers more headroom and legroom than the BRZ.
Safety Tech
To help you stay in control, the Mazda MX-5 Miata includes standard technologies, such as dynamic stability control, Kinetic Posture Control, and a four-wheel anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist. Driver-assistance features include forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic warning, and a lane departure warning system. The Grand Touring trim adds radar cruise control and a traffic sign recognition system.
The Subaru BRZ has vehicle stability control with track mode and ABS with brake assist and brake force distribution. You also get EyeSight driver-assist technology that includes adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, lane-keep assist, and lane departure and sway warning. All but the base model offer blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane change assist.
Test Drive the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata Today
So, there you have it. Both the Mazda MX-5 Miata and Subaru BRZ offer pure driving thrills. However, the MX-5 Miata is faster and more economical, has more headroom and legroom, and offers more advanced technology and a better sound system to enhance your driving adventures. To experience the excitement of driving the new MX-5 Miata, contact us today at Bountiful Mazda to schedule a test drive.
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