Toyota GR86 Continues To Thrash The Mazda MX-5 Miata In One Area

The Mazda MX-5 Miata has long held icon-like status among driving enthusiasts, revered for its purist design, lightweight rear-wheel-drive chassis, and accessible pricing. But despite its legendary reputation, the Miata is being outsold by the Toyota GR86 at more than double the rate in the U.S. market.

And the gap widens further when factoring in sales of the GR86’s mechanical twin, the Subaru BRZ – making the Miata, the most affordable of the trio, an even sadder case as far as sales are concerned. The 2025 Miata has a starting MSRP of $29,530 versus $31,135 for the 2025 GR86 and $31,095 for the 2025 BRZ.

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  Base Trim Engine

  2.0-Liter I4

  Base Trim Transmission

  6-Speed Manual

  Base Trim Drivetrain

  Rear-Wheel Drive

  Base Trim Horsepower

  181 HP @ 7,000 RPM

  
  

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  Base Trim Engine

  2.4-Liter Flat-4

  Base Trim Transmission

  6-Speed Manual/6-Speed Automatic

  Base Trim Drivetrain

  Rear-Wheel Drive

  Base Trim Horsepower

  228 HP @ 7,000 RPM

  
  

Sales Down Across The Board

Mazda reported 355 sales of the Miata in the U.S. in May, versus the 851 sales Toyota recorded for the GR86. Subaru recorded 326 sales of the BRZ in the same month.

For the Miata, the sales result was down a staggering 62.9 percent from the same period a year ago, while the GR86 also suffered a huge drop of 58.6 percent. The BRZ also saw a drop of 43.6 percent.

Sales of many new vehicles have slowed since the introduction of the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported cars and parts in early April, and the U.S. economy continues to slow in the face of robust inflation, according to the latest numbers from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, The Wall Street Journal reports. This may explain the significant drop in sales of all three models. Sports cars are often purchased as secondary vehicles and traditionally drop in sales during a slowing economy.

One factor that could explain the Miata’s disparity is the car’s age. The current fourth-generation model was launched for the 2016 model year, while the GR86 and BRZ, both in their second generation, arrived for the 2022 model year.

Successors Planned Despite Slow Sales

The sales performance between the Miata and GR86 is a closer match when looking at year-to-date results. Mazda sold 3,528 examples of the Miata over the first five months of the year, up 9.3 percent from the previous year. The GR86 managed 4,618 units over the same period, representing a decline of 22.6 percent from the previous year. The figure for the BRZ is 1,459 units, up 24.6 percent from the previous year.

The GR86 outselling the Miata isn’t a new phenomenon. The GR86 managed 11,426 sales in 2024 versus 8,103 sales for the Miata, and both cars also achieved similar numbers in the year prior.

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Despite the relatively low sales figures for both models, Mazda and Toyota are committed to future generations of their respective sports cars. The next-generation Miata is likely to come first, given the age of the current car, and when the new GR86 arrives, there may also be a modern Celica and MR2 in Toyota’s lineup.

Sources: Mazda, Subaru, Toyota