Thought Id do a review of my partners MR2 roadster as 'summer' is approaching soonish.

We bought our MR2 2 years ago for the sum £4k. It had 84 000 miles on and was in great condition. Many we looked at were neglected, ripped roofs low oil and coolent etc. Ours is now approaching 100 000 miles

Lets start this review with PRACTICALITY

Or lack of it. As the engines in the back they have given the MR2 a front boot....which has the alarm siren and spare wheel in. You can fit a tiny bag in there but its not worth the hassle. Behind the seats they have given you a storage compartment roughly the width of the car with a opening behind each seat. Its large enough for a mid size holdall or a few bags of shopping. There is also a parcel shelf but if the roof is folded away this removes the use of a parcel shelf and a bit of the storage compartment. More often than not the passenger footwell becomes the boot.

Front storage flap

Parcel shelf

EXTERIOR

My personal opinion is that the MR2 looks great. It looks more up market than the same era MX5 and still looks modern and funky. My one is the pre face lift version with I prefer. Later ones had a smiley face bumper and different number plate surround.

A few children round my way have even asked if its a Porsche boxer.... The MR2 looks better with the roof down (like most convertibles) but unfortunately its looks are slightly ruined by a telescopic radio Ariel.

INTERIOR

Inside the Mr2 is very plasticity, typical of japanese cars. There are a few rattles but everything seems to be hard wearing. As stated earlier ours has done almost 100 000 miles and the leather steering wheel and gator look brand new still. The gear knob is slightly wearing but considering the amount of use it has its wearing very well. The leather seats on the whole still look new with slight wear on the bolsters on the sides you'd get in and out.

The seats are brilliant. You might think the seats are a 'flat' but they are firm yet mold around you offering great support. At the end of a 2 hour journey to Unit 18 I get out without any aches, something I cant say for my vRS

While its plasticity the cabin still looks modern with everything within reach. Our MR2 has a double din sony CD player (option extra I believe) despite lacking USB and Aux functions its the best CD Ive had in a car.

Oh and the heater is hot enough to melt your face off.

ROOF

The roof made of vinyl and is very easy to clean. APC with a brush, rinse off, dry then treat with vinyl care to keep it black and waterproof. It manual and is held in place with 2 catches, One on each side of the windscreen. They are easy to use, push the release button and pull hand forward and the roof is now ready to be folded. Now the next part of the roof is either a plus or minus, depending which way you look at. Unlike the MX5 roof which you unhook and push back leaving the inside of the roof open to elements and looks a bit cheap the MR2's roof folds back on itself forming a smooth and tidier line on the car. But you do have to sometimes get out and help the glass rear window into the roofs storage compartment.

PERFORMANCE

The MR2 has 1.8vvti engine producing 140bhp and 127lbft of torque. It weighs 1050Kg which gives it a 0-60mph time of 7.2 seconds...I can vouch of that as well. above 80-90mph the MR2 does slow down giving a 0-100 time of 20-21 seconds. The close ratio 5 speed box means your always in the cams lift zone when pressing on and can cover ground quite rapidly.

But this car is more about cornering that speed. The way this car goes round corners still surprises me, My personal car is a MK1 fabia vRS and the MR2 can carry a extra 5-15mph though corners. Even with the roof down the handling doesn't feel that much different. Mainly down to a properly designed chassis.

Being mid engined and RWD I would have thought I could be a bit tail happy. But its the opposite, push hard into the corners you can feel the steering go a tad light and the car starts to slightly under-steer, telling you to be careful or back off. Then if your still being silly on the exit the car will over-steer, not much at first, you have a moment or two to slow things down and catch it, If you don't then it will snap and can be difficult to regain smoothly.

Lastly the brakes are tiny 247mm I think with sliding calipers. Might not sound much but with the cars low weight this thing will stop quickly and keep stopping as well. On a 'private country road' I can make my vRS brakes fade having to slow down or pull up. No such thing with this. The pedal has a long movement with real bite from half way depressed making toe/heel down changes a joy. Something I find difficult in the over servo'd Fabia.

LIVING WITH

In 2 years of ownership and 16k of driving the MR2 has only asked for a front wheel bearing and service items. Its fun around town and with the close gearbox and low weight making 30mph in 5th is perfectly fine, and pulls nicely as well from this speed despite the lack of torque. On the motorway at 70mph the MR2 is sitting a 3500mph (20mph/1000rpm) things can be a bit noisy and you mainly hear the engine noise but with the roof down that all changes. Exhaust note is more apparent and with the built in windbreaker is more relaxing to drive. We are averaging 37-40Mpg, Id say that's 65-70% on the motorway at 70-80mph. On full motorway journeys we can get 45Mpg or 400+ from a 45L tank, even through the most we've ever put in is 39, no matter how far into the red we try.

The ride is great, no stiff suspension here and slightly chunky tires give good comfort over speed bumps and pot holes

In the snow it does surprising well, I think its down to having the engine in the back giving more traction, Rain is not a problem either, thanks to its friendly chassis you can push on briskly without fearing a spin. But on a summers day with the roof down there not much for the money that can beat it in my books.

And the hapy couple on a spring drive

I hope you have enjoyed reading this, I'm not great with spelling or grammar (as my D in english suggests ) so please go easy.

Stephen

Is she on the phone?

Good write up!

Is she on the phone?

Good write up!

Noooo Hate people driving on the phone. Probably playing with her ear or hair...some girly thing

Cracking review mate. The car really is a handsome beast (and the missus ain't bad either!)

Good review, I did think about an MR2 as MK1 MX-5's seem too rusty.

I ended up not buying one because I thought they might be too complex to work on and parts would be expensive. Although being a Toyota it should be solid. Maybe after I have had my Pug 106 for a couple of years I might sell it for a soft top. After having a kitcar years back, open top driving was quite fun.

There actually easy to work on. Air filter, spark plugs and oil change all done within a hour. Under tray has little flaps for easy access to get to the sump plug and filter.

As for parts the wheel bearing is the only thing that needed replacing. It was £300 as you have to buy the whole front hub and £48 to fit. Not bad when its last for 100k miles unlike Fabia ones which can only last for 15k.

Really good review mate.

I am looking around for a second 'fun' car as i have the fabia as the main family vehicle and have looked at a couple of MR2's on Autotrader. Suprising what you can pick up for £4/5000. Seem very reasonable. Now I just need to convince the wife to get rid of her terrible 1.2 Corsa and Swap it for an MR2!!!

That takes me back, I had one of those about er 10 years ago. Great car. As I drove it into the drive my neighbour (who was then an engineer for jaguar) said "is that the new baby Boxter?". Funny people still think it has Porsche genes.

Friend of mine had an Elise and one day we set off from his place in London to see how far into France and back we could get in a day. Got the euro tunnel at about 0500 and back to London late that evening having covered about 600 miles just for the sheer pleasure of driving. I like my octy, but I can't imagine spending 12 hours in it just for the fun of it!

Luggage space - we used to get the two of us, couple of days outdoor walking gear and the dog (in footwell) from the midlands to Scotland without any hassle, younger and more flexible in those days. Occasionally took the spare wheel out for the extra luggage space but the alarm sounder is stupidly located.

In the end we traded ours for a Saab estate as an extra dog (and some children) arrived.

Nice review: Chris GB on here has a turbo'd up one of these and it is a pretty awesome car

I bought an MR2 in 2008 as a treat to myself following redundancy. I'd always wanted one but it wasn't a practical car for a 100 mile round trip to work. It was a deep metallic green, post-facelift and my pride and joy. 17k on the clock, one owner, immaculate.

I kept it for a couple of years and then sold it as I'd promised my son a car when he reached 17. I didn't want 3 cars on the drive, and the other one was my Fabia Estate).

So off went the MR2, leaving me a bit sad. Two days ago my son turned 19 and he still isn't the slightest bit interested in having driving lessons..... :'(

I bought an MR2 in 2008 as a treat to myself following redundancy. I'd always wanted one but it wasn't a practical car for a 100 mile round trip to work. It was a deep metallic green, post-facelift and my pride and joy. 17k on the clock, one owner, immaculate.

I kept it for a couple of years and then sold it as I'd promised my son a car when he reached 17. I didn't want 3 cars on the drive, and the other one was my Fabia Estate).

So off went the MR2, leaving me a bit sad. Two days ago my son turned 19 and he still isn't the slightest bit interested in having driving lessons..... :'(

Gutted. All I could think about leading up to my 17th was driving

Makes a tempting second car and pretty cheap now too. There's only one I know who had one as his first car, 4 years later he still has it and I can understand why.

Anybody think the OP looks a bit like Joshua Homme from Queens of the

stone age?

Nice car and write up by the way

Anybody think the OP looks a bit like Joshua Homme from Queens of the

stone age?

Nice car and write up by the way

LOL made me laugh.

Just a tiny update, now on 110k. Other wheel bearings gone but replacing that myself as Ive found a new complete hub for £60. Very tail happy in the snow, but holds its slides nicely and predictable.

Everythings working like it should and the engine is still pulling strong.....puts my vRS to shame :(

Update: Son off to Australia for a year, possibly two. Bought his Aygo off of him, and now I might have to head back to MR2 land again...