Anyone here had a mk3 MR2?

[treadstone]

I've had a love affair with MX-5's for a very long time. Over the last 5 years or so I've had mk1's, mk2's and my current mk2.5 Sport which I adore.

Lately however I've been taken with the idea of a mk3 MR2, and given my penchant for light weight sports cars the MR2 seemingly has all the right ingredients to tempt me; mid-engined handling and weighing less than 1000kg should make it big fun, and a slightly different driving experience to the MX-5.

That's the theory at least. I've never driven one so I'd like to appeal to any of you more experienced and lovely people to tell me whether that is indeed the case in practice.

Thanks

[jamhow79]

Same, same but different from my limited experience - lack of weight over the front wheels takes some getting used to and they dont feel as planted as the mx5 over 80mph(probably for the same reason)

Ive driven a couple of them but only for 50 - 100 miles max each time though so these could be things that disapear with more miles under the belt ???

Main reason I bought my 5 over an mr2 was my concerns about working / having work done on a mid engined car; too many cases where dropping the engine out is your only option which instantly means big hassle for yourself or a big labour bill from a garage.

[treadstone]

Thanks for the feedback jamhow79.

I imagined that the lack of weight over the front wheels would make the steering more immediate due to the low moment of inertia, but hadn't considered the implications of a light front end at higher speeds.

Good point about having to drop the engine out to do any extensive work as well. Not my idea of a good time.

[franv8]

Don't forget the MR2 Mk3 has NO boot space AT ALL.

Aside from that, it's handling was compared against the Elise back at the time it was in production, and not found to be £10,000 worse (the price difference).

And it's a Toyota, I could virtually guarantee it'll not really ever need the engine dropping out.*

(PS * Guarantee void if you've just read this post...!!)

(Mum's got one - Mk3 MR2 - loves it, but has other things if she needs a car to move things around in)

[todd69]

Stick with the 5, I love MR2s with a passion and the MK3 is a cracking car and there isn't a lot between them but for me the 5 seals the deal on the back roads.

Interior seating space is better in the 2 but that's it, no room anywhere else, at all LOL

If you do go for the 2, get a facelift one and stay away from SMT gearboxes.

[jamhow79]

Yeah the steering is more direct / quicker - almost nervously so in my view but its horses for courses and one mans gold is another mans turd !!!

+++ Forgot about the smt boxes !! - if you want to understand how good they are without actually driving one then get your grandma in your passenger seat, blindfold her and then let her change gear for your journey. She will do a better job !!!

[swannynhb]

yes, ive had a couple over the years. as previous posters have mentioned the front can feel a touch light compared to the 5, especially when you back off the gas as you enter a roundabout!! all in all i prefer the look of the mr2/mrs, also the interior layout and i feel the build quality is a touch better (just my opinion) however, although its a toyota there has been an alarming number of cars which have suffered total engine failure due to the precats breaking up and ending up floating around your bottom end! toyota even acknowledged this by having to replace some under warranty. also the alloys are prone to corrode, that said they are great cars, however if you can stretch to it buy a s2000!

[treadstone]

Thanks again for the feedback guys, very much appreciated from all of you.

I had heard the MR2's (mk3) handling described as being like a more civilised elise, which is not unappealing actually! Also heard about the pre-cat problems which is, as pointed out, very un-Toyota. The lack of luggage space is not a huge consideration for me but I can see how it might get annoying. The SMT gearbox sounds pretty woeful from what I've read, I'd have to insist on a proper manual.

I should probably try and get a drive in one, but it seems as though the consensus so far is it's not a better or worse roadster than the MX-5, just a little different.

If I did sell the MX-5 (and it's a big if at the moment), I'm just not sure where I'd go from here. I'd have somewhere in the region of £6-7k to spend and narrowed my options down to either an MR2, or abandon the roadster concept completely and go for a phase 3 Alfa GTV V6 (mainly for the engine and Pininfarina design) although I'm not entirely sold on that idea either. The MX-5 is a very hard act to follow.

S2000 though... hadn't considered that!

[HereBeMonsters]

£6-7k is S2000, Boxster and 350z money.

[swannynhb]

id think long and hard about a boxster......i currently have one after selling my s2000 to buy it, its going on ebay at the weekend and i'll be replacing it with another s2000 asap. dont get me wrong the boxster is a wonderful car, its a cracking drive with crazy amounts of grip and makes a great noise above 5k, however theres lots to go wrong and engine probs are both common and not cheap to fix-hence my reason for selling, my last s2000 had 120k on the clock when i sold it and never missed a beat.

[treadstone]

Yes, wouldn't fancy an early 986 Boxster without a warranty and the Fairlady Z's are a bit on the heavy side for my liking, although they're still nice things.

The S2000 however appeals to me. Relatively light weight with an interesting engine and RWD, Honda reliability, plus I think the design has aged very well considering it's over 10 years old now.

How does the S2000 driving experience compare with the MX-5, swanny? Any tips on what to look for when buying one?

[swannynhb]

believe it or not the s2000 weighs more than a civic type r! however the uk ones have 237hp, a proper lsd and the best gearbox i have ever experienced. the 9k rev limit is really addictive. (god i miss mine!) jap imports have a higher compression ratio and make around 10hp more-however you'll struggle to find a jap one with decent history and theres loads of uk ones around at reasonable money. most have had a pretty hard life but they really are bullet proof if looked after-a full history is imo important, as is a previous owner who checks the oil (as they tend to use a bit). ive had the pleasure of 4 s2000's over the past 10 years, both imports and uk ones, the only problems i have encountered are sycro probs between 1st and 2nd (when your changing at 9k) groans from the diff and/or clutch on the over run and a worn tct (timing chain tensioner), this causes a horribly rattle on tickover when the cars warm but shuts up as soon as you rev it. i bought my last one with this problem and as a result litterally stole it as the guy had been told by honda it needed a top end rebuild! i payed my money and took a chance!anyhow honda want around £200 for the tct but theres a guy in the states who will ship you one for £80 (i can give you his details if you do buy one as all parts are much cheaper in the states) its a 10minute job to change. you need to check all the normal stuff such as panel gaps, signs of accident damage (a common issue due to how easily they go sideways!) tyre wear, there should be virtually zero body roll and the brakes should be very strong. the interiors wear really well, and its a nice place to be, the majority of imports ive seen only have half leather, were the uk ones seem to have full leather trim.(i worked for an import company between 2000-2005 so have seen a lot of these cars, and the 350z's). the electric hoods rarely fail, however early ones have a plastic screen (i dont find this a problem as you can replace them for around £150)one thing i have noticed is the hoods seem to tear approx 1-2inches at the point where the hood meets the top of the door (although they never leak). always always always check the oil when the car is cold, if it isnt at the correct i would walk away as you have no way of knowing how long its been like that, plus if the owner is willing to run it low on oil what else have they neclected to do? the only engine failure i know of is a friend of mine who ran his low on oil,hit a couple of roundabouts hard and suffered some oil starvation around 2 bigends.....new bottom end please! hope this helps

[swannynhb]

don't get me wrong i love 5's but the s2000 feels like a race car when you want it to but is very civilised around town and easy to drive when your not in the mood for fun. seriously go and test drive one, and remember that the fun doesnt start until 6000rpm.

[Glen320]

I looked at a few mr2 roadsters before getting my missus her mx5,about half of them had new engines this put me off them completely!

[OnlyMX5ives]

swannynhb said:

s2000...and remember that the fun doesnt start until 6000rpm.

And that is precisely why I don't like them and have stayed with 5's and just made them faster by supercharging them.

If you are looking to upgrade from an NA 5 after considering the usual suspects:

S2000, Elise, Boxster etc try a good supercharged (or turbo'd) MX5. IMO they are far preferable in everything (except arguably image)

[Vvroom]

I got recently sold my 2004 Mk3. I had it 3 years and put about 13k miles on it. I didn't have a single fault with it. It was always a second and latterly third car but when I was behind the wheel I always enjoyed it.

Not much luggage space, granted, but there's some handy space in the front compartment and certainly enough behind the seats for 3 or 4 Sainsburys bags (other supermarkets are available) or 2 small holdalls for a weekend away.

Handling is excellent. Poised and accurate steering. Depending on what you are used to though the Mk3 can feel a little underpowered. This is my only gripe.

I say scratch the itch and get one.

[MX-5 Lazza]

OnlyMX5ives said:

S2000, Elise, Boxster etc try a good supercharged (or turbo'd) MX5. IMO they are far preferable in everything (except arguably image)

They were exactly the cars I was considering (as well as a 350Z) after 7 years with a Mk1 1.8 Berkeley when I wanted something a bit quicker. I test drove them all and other than the Elise I wasn't blown away by any of them when it came to driver involvement on a b-road thrash (I just couldn't live with an Elise as it would have been my daily drive at the time - the Mk3 MR2 would also fall into that category though I didn't consider it anyway - don't like the looks).
In the end I decided that an MX5 ticks all the boxes for me except performance and that can be fixed with FI so I looked for a low-mileage, fully loaded Mk2.5 with the intention of fitting an SC... which is what I have now

[Gizmo!]

Biggest problem with S2000s is the insurance. Lots of people stacked them because they're twitchier than you expect.

Mk3 MR2s are fun, my girlfriend's had two. They need lowering and stiffening though (strut bars etc) and geo set-up properly... might as well buy an MX5