Need peoples opinions.

[Ivan141]

To be honest, all of those cars you listed are lots of fun.. but in different ways.

The chevette is a bit comparable to the ae86 in concept.. crude, lightweight and probably much fun with an xe in it (they say it's very easy to swap GM engines around between most models). That being said, I dont like the looks of the chevette (hatchback opel manta if I'm not mistaken).

The miata is a very refined little 2-seater. My mom owns one and I drive around in it often enough. They handle like nothing I've ever experienced before (dont have much experience though). The difference to the ae86 is big though.. much more modern suspension, grip-limits are a lot further away, but it is a lot more tricky at the limit.

The ae86 is also a spartan car, very basic suspension setup, but lots of fun to drive at and over the limit once you get used to it (sideways that is). Also has a charm all of it's own that separates it from the other two.

Power-wise, a stock ae86 and 1.6 miata are comparable, the ae86 having a bit more top-end pull, the miata is better torque-wise. As for the chevette, I believe it's not very interesting in stock configuration so I wont go into that.

When it comes to swapping engines in, there are plenty of options for all 3 cars:
-miata: lots of turbo/SC kits, V8 swaps are also done a lot in the US.
-ae86: GZE, 20v, 3SG(T)E, there's one with an XE swap on the forum as well.
-chevette: Zetec, XE, insert any GM engine of your liking.

As for practicality: ae86 parts are hard to find and often expensive. Aftermarket is pretty strong for this car though.
Miata: much easier to find parts for, though I doubt they will be much cheaper than ae86 stuff.
Chevette: If it's anything like this part of europe, then it's cheap parts galore.