MR2 TF300 Soft top or hard top?
Discussion
In my opinion, hard top. Never been a massive fan of soft tops, they just feel so insecure and I have never been a massive fan of driving with the roof down as you feel so exposed.
Probably the wrong opinion to have considering I own an MX5
. Just fitted a hard top on mine yesterday and now love it even more. Love a cozy little cabin.
Probably the wrong opinion to have considering I own an MX5
. Just fitted a hard top on mine yesterday and now love it even more. Love a cozy little cabin. Ekona said:
Personally I prefer running my MR2s without a hardtop as it means that if you get the odd sunny winters day and you've left the hardtop on, you can't just whip it off that quickly.
+1When i've my Boxster out in the winter i've the hood down at every opportunity. Only takes a matter of seconds.
Hard tops are a faff to take off quickly and usually require two people.
On my first mk3 MR2 I had the optional hardtop. As mentioned above I tended to fit it during the winter, and remove in the spring. It tightened up the chassis a little and changed the weight balance slightly. Made it feel like a slightly different car.
In my second, a TF300 like yours it didn't have a hardtop, and I didn't miss it one bit.
My current fun car is also an "open" driving experience, so I've no aversion to soft top driving, and indeed miss it when in a proper hardtop.
I'd say go softtop and sell the hardtop if you have it. It's too much bother and hassle storing.
In my second, a TF300 like yours it didn't have a hardtop, and I didn't miss it one bit.
My current fun car is also an "open" driving experience, so I've no aversion to soft top driving, and indeed miss it when in a proper hardtop.
I'd say go softtop and sell the hardtop if you have it. It's too much bother and hassle storing.
I have an 04 MR2 Roadster Red Edition, which has had a Mohair soft top roof put on.
To be honest I tend to forget it's a soft top. We hardly have extreme enough weather here to warrant the hard top, and if you think you need a hard top for winter etc then you're a cupcake
A colour matched hard top does look great though. If they weren't so expensive and I could find a Sable one, I'd be tempted myself.
To be honest I tend to forget it's a soft top. We hardly have extreme enough weather here to warrant the hard top, and if you think you need a hard top for winter etc then you're a cupcake
A colour matched hard top does look great though. If they weren't so expensive and I could find a Sable one, I'd be tempted myself.
All valid points. I don't have any room in my small house or tiny shed to store a hard top, so I just wanted to see if I was missing out on anything.
I guess my main worry is with heavy rain, but there's no tears and the previous owner has driven it everyday all year round with the soft top and no problems, apart from having the drain the water reservoirs at the sides.
I guess my main worry is with heavy rain, but there's no tears and the previous owner has driven it everyday all year round with the soft top and no problems, apart from having the drain the water reservoirs at the sides.
Delta-Tango said:
All valid points. I don't have any room in my small house or tiny shed to store a hard top, so I just wanted to see if I was missing out on anything.
I guess my main worry is with heavy rain, but there's no tears and the previous owner has driven it everyday all year round with the soft top and no problems, apart from having the drain the water reservoirs at the sides.
Any soft top will let in a wee bit of moisture in driving rain, good ones won't leak though. I think it is entirely a matter of preference whether or not you go hard top or soft top. A hard top will be a little bit more insulated, from both heat and sound, a little bit more weatherproof and offer a little bit more rigidity. A soft top allows easy raising and lowering. I guess my main worry is with heavy rain, but there's no tears and the previous owner has driven it everyday all year round with the soft top and no problems, apart from having the drain the water reservoirs at the sides.
Personally I don't care much for top down motoring, I bought my mx5 because I wanted a cheap, reliable car that is fun to drive. I assume you've bought your MR2 for similar reasons. My recommendation is run it as-is with the soft top at the moment, pop the roof down when weather allows to see how you enjoy it. If, like me, you find you are not to fussed about the roof down motoring, pick up a hard top for it's small advantages.
Remember if you decide to go full hard top to take the soft top out of the car and store it somewhere dry, this will prolong the life of the soft top for when you come to sell it, it also takes 20kg or so out of the car and gives you an extra bit of luggage rack which is really handy in these small cars.
daemon said:
Delta-Tango said:
What's your personal preference?
Hard tops are for wimps.We ran an MR2 soft top from new for three years 7 days a week. No issues at all with it
Ran my mr2 for a couple of year, roof down at all times unless it was raining !
Even when all four wheels were pointing at the sky, now that was a scary (and terminal for the car) day.
Soft top. I have a 2003 MR2 and I can't see any need for a hard top, mine has lived outside for the past two winters and is absolutely fine, no leaks or issues. The heater is great and open top driving is joyous so mine is used top down year round unless it's raining. All a hard top would add is weight and faff IMHO.
Delta-Tango said:
All valid points. I don't have any room in my small house or tiny shed to store a hard top, so I just wanted to see if I was missing out on anything.
I guess my main worry is with heavy rain, but there's no tears and the previous owner has driven it everyday all year round with the soft top and no problems, apart from having the drain the water reservoirs at the sides.
Only thing I would mention with the MR2 is not to park it facing down a slope in very heavy rain, if you do it may leak into the passenger side seat. I found out the hard way that this is a bit of a no-no with the MR2 Mk3, if you have to park it on a slope, park it facing up, no problem then. This may be because my soft top is not tip top but still worth mentioning. I've never had a problem parking it outdoors in all conditions on a flat slop outside my house.I guess my main worry is with heavy rain, but there's no tears and the previous owner has driven it everyday all year round with the soft top and no problems, apart from having the drain the water reservoirs at the sides.
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