Toyota MR2: PH Carpool

A young PHer starts his journey into fast(ish) cars with the evergreen mid-engined Toyota

Name: James Lewis-Barned
Car: 1997 Toyota MR2 GT T-bar (Mk2 or 'SW20 rev 4' if we're being anal)
Owned since: February 2013
Previously owned: Volvo S60 T5

MX-5s 'too rusty' and 'too obvious' for our man

Why I bought it:
"As an impoverished youngster I wanted something fun to drive, cheap to buy and cheap to run. MX-5s were too obvious and, more pressingly, too rusty at the amount I wanted to spend. The MR2 felt special to drive and looked the part too."

What I wish I'd known:
"I wished I'd realised that the Toyota wheels mine came on weren't made for the MR2. Without the staggered setup MR2s should sit on I immediately had to treat PEL to some new rims that wouldn't cause the rear tyres to bulge, courtesy of eBay. The radiator on mine was completely shot, and I wasted no time getting this changed too, although this is a known issue with MR2s. I may install some kind of mesh in front of the rad to stop it ingesting more stones and the same happening again!"

New radiator among the initial spannering

Things I love:
"Before I even started the engine for the first time it was driving position that struck me - without an engine up front you sit low in the chassis while maintaining excellent forward visibility, and the seat bolsters can be adjusted on the backrest to stop those who aren't 'powerfully built' falling out of the leather seats. Having the engine right behind your left ear wills you on to rev it out and goes a long way towards reconciling the lack of grunt. Oh and the pop-up headlights - it's been known for me to let people out of junctions as an excuse to use them!"

Things I hate:
"While the noise is fun when you want it, it's wearisome when you don't, especially when sitting at 4,000rpm on a motorway slog. Coming from something with quite a bit more poke, especially in the mid-range, meant it felt lacklustre at first, so much so that I took it on a dyno at Surrey Rolling Road to see if it was down on power. Making a healthy 155hp (and with a pretty graph to prove it) I think it was more a case of expectation and what I was used to, although it requires a different approach to overtaking than the T5."

James has put the miles in on road and track

Costs:
"I've been fastidious about keeping a log of expenses (too fastidious perhaps looking back!) and other than the aforementioned set of wheels I've spent £180 for a radiator (fitted), £50 for a new handbrake cable (fitted) and £50 for a new drop link (fitted). I also changed the head unit as the original one refused to play CDs (£45 secondhand) and got the geometry sorted at Wheels-in-Motion (£72). Luke at Pacific Works (near Luton) has been my go to man for most of these jobs - he only works on MR2s and really knows his stuff, while suiting my 'impoverished youngster' budget."

Where I've been:
"Part of my logic for buying this car was it would be more 'trackable' than the Volvo (not that that actually stopped me before!) and less ruinous if I binned it. With this in mind I've taken it on days at Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park, while more recently a fellow PHer and I took it on a road trip to Oulton Park for a spot of drifting, followed by a day playing in the Brecon Beacons. If all goes to plan, next month should see a trip to the continent involving a few laps of the 'ring."