Toyota MR2 | Shed of the Week
Mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, manual, light and cheap? Grab a Shed-spec MR2 while you still can...
Shed’s not a massive fan of the hot weather. For him, the main advantage (i.e. the postmistress wearing skimpy clothing) is outweighed by the disadvantages of itchy crotch syndrome and Mrs Shed being in an even more foul mood than usual. The only small benefit for Shed is the momentarily refreshing fanning effect of her frying pan just before it makes high-speed contact with his skull.
At dendofdeday it doesn’t matter what Shed thinks. The important thing is that he doesn’t let the heat bend his judgement when it comes to picking a decent sub-£2k car with a valid MOT certificate. To be fair, that’s what he seems to have done here in the sportalicious shape of this gen-three (W30) Toyota MR2. The number of W30s on British roads has dropped from a peak of just over 11,000 in 2007 to a current figure of around 7,400, split more or less equally between road-licensed and SORNed cars, which for our overseas readers means kept off the public highway. That low rate of attrition reflects the love that owners have for these little toys, and if you ever get to drive one, you’ll see why they feel that way. These last-model MR2s are great fun.
To a point. MR2 stood for Midship Runabout 2-seater, explaining the placement of the drivetrain behind the passengers, the sort of driving it was going to be good at, and the number of passengers, i.e. two. The thing to remember about mid-engined cars is that they are brilliant 90 per cent of the time but less tolerant of ham-handedness in the other 10 per cent. Back in the days of the gen-one W10, Toyota built a 222D rally version of the MR2 for potential use in the fearsome Group B class. As it turned out, the class was outlawed before Toyota got the 222D to a driveable state. That probably came as a relief to those who were tasked with developing it. Despite the presence of all-wheel drive, the 222D’s short wheelbase, mid-engine layout and massive turbo lag required chain-smoking test drivers to have the reactions of a housefly to keep it out of the Armco, trees, or any of the other unyielding objects that suddenly seemed to be enjoying more than their usual amount of windscreen time. Nine of the eleven prototypes were destroyed in testing. One of the two that survived reportedly had an extra couple of inches let into its wheelbase in an attempt to calm it down a bit.
Fortunately our Shed has no turbo or any other form of forced aspiration. The well-proven 1.8 VVTi 1ZZ-FE engine (positioned the ‘wrong’ way in the W30, with the exhaust manifold exiting directly backwards) provided 140hp to anyone who was willing to rev it out to 6,400rpm. Torque was a rice pudding-skinning 125lb ft at 4,400rpm. Far from staircase-dominating stats, you may sneer, but because the car only weighed 1,030kg in air-con form as here (basic models came in at under 1,000kg, both of those figures being significantly smaller than the W20’s) the motor was strong enough to get the MR2 through the 0-60mph run in the high-seven second bracket and on to a more than acceptable top speed of 131mph. Fuel consumption was good, too, at 38mpg, and because our Shed was registered before March 2001 the VED tax hit in 2025 is based on engine size rather than emissions, resulting in a not-too-swoon-inducing annual bill of £360. The W30’s wheelbase was somewhat longer than the W10’s, yet another good thing, although you still needed to be careful with the throttle on the exit of a tightening bend if you didn’t want MR to stand for Major Repairs.
The square-ish rear reg plate suggests that this example might be an import. Forum experts will doubtless let us know one way or another after they have finished examining the design of the bonnet badge, the bore size of the washer jets and the thread count of the hood. If it is an import, that’s no bad thing in what passes for Shed’s mind, as he went out to Japan a few times when he was in the merchant navy and he knows how respectfully most Japanese drivers treat their cars.
Talking of Japan, minimalism is a thing in their traditional architecture. Having that kind of mindset will be useful if you are considering the purchase of a W30. Luggage space under the bonnet is basically non-existent, unless you remove the spare wheel and jack. In fairness, there are a couple of bigger cubbies between the back seats and the engine that will take a couple of well-squashed squashy bags. There was decent storage in the main cabin too, but you did need to plan long trips carefully.
Once you were on your way, however, it was difficult to find fault with the driving position, the central rev counter, the tactile steering wheel and the general joyousness of the drive. Some W30 owners don’t like lowering and raising the roof, especially if it’s original and the vinyl is as old and stiff as Shed’s knees and the temperature is less than tropical, which it is most of the time in the UK. Fortunately there is a nice selection of firms about that will fit you a new and almost certainly better quality roof, complete with heated glass rear screen, for about a grand.
Rust can be an issue on any Japanese tackle of this vintage. On W30s it could be pretty much anywhere, from the wheelarches and the car’s underside to the foam-backed main body panels that trapped water. Happily, the MOT history indicates that a deal of rot remedying was carried out on this car in 2020-21. Right now, there is nothing in either the pics or MOT history to give cause for concern. The only advisories on the last test were for perishing rear tyres.
Timing on the first and second generation MR2s was by belt, but on gen-threes like this one it was by chain which needed inspecting at 100k miles. Hopefully that’s been done on this 109,000-miler. Replacing the tensioner, if necessary, isn’t hard or expensive. Pre-cats are historically known for failing but Shed will tell you that it’s never a good idea to put a cat anywhere near an exhaust manifold, especially a hot one. They just don’t like it. The last 300 MR2 Roadsters put on sale in the UK in 2006 were called TF300s, not because they had 300hp but because there were 300 of them and they were The Final ones. The mech spec was unchanged but they did have unique vehicle numbers stitched into their seat backs. In mid-2025 a TF300 can cost you anything up to £10k, but then so can a normal non-TF W30. Values are determined by mileage and condition rather than by marketing.
Shed will be amazed if this car hangs about in the PH classifieds. In fact, he’ll be amazed if it manages to stay unsold by the time this story goes live. If it is gone by the time you look for it, don’t blame him. Blame yourself, not just for missing out on the car but for everything. That’s what Shed does. He finds it saves time in the long run.
However, £2k looks like a huge bargain and you don’t see many these days. Wish I had space.
In terms of space - three partially filled rucksacks (one in front boot, two in cubbies behind the seats) was the order of the day. Nice to know so many, relatively, still on the road.
Well, apart from the moment when the roof was pointing at the road in an end over end multiple flip on the M6
Just noticed its a V reg, must be an import with an age related plate as mine was a W and apart from demonstrators, it was one of the very first. Mind you, that means this one has the original roll bar/ spring setup that was called 'to sharp for the road' in a vehicle test by EVO
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