Backroad & Lightweight

More About the Backroad & Lightweight Driver

The Back Roads driver is the purist - you'd rather have a slow car on a fast road than a fast car in a straight line. The Mazda MX-5 Miata is the textbook: lightweight, rear-wheel drive, manual transmission, and a connection to the road that multi-million-dollar supercars struggle to replicate. The Toyota GR86 and Subaru BRZ twins deliver the same philosophy in a coupe body - naturally aspirated, balanced, and begging for a twisty mountain pass.

The Porsche Boxster and Cayman are the mid-engine evolution of this ethos: more power, more precision, but the same driver-first DNA. The Lotus Elise and Exige, if you can find them, are the lightweight extremes - cars that weigh less than most crossovers' interiors. The BMW Z4 in four-cylinder form offers a perfect balance of roadster fun and daily usability.

The Fiat 124 Spider, based on the Miata platform with an Italian turbo-four, is the charming oddball of the group. No launch control, no lap times - just you, the car, and a road that never straightens out.