Toyota mr2 mk3
Discussion
One of the best small sports cars I've ever driven. Not particularly fast in a straight line but more than makes up for it on a twisty road.
Intake "pre-cat" is prone to disintegrating, which results in bits getting sucked into the engine (which is bad). Most people simply remove the pre-cats completely to get around this problem. Otherwise they're pretty much as reliable as you'd expect of a Toyota. Their biggest flaw is that luggage space is limited and rather awkward to access.
Intake "pre-cat" is prone to disintegrating, which results in bits getting sucked into the engine (which is bad). Most people simply remove the pre-cats completely to get around this problem. Otherwise they're pretty much as reliable as you'd expect of a Toyota. Their biggest flaw is that luggage space is limited and rather awkward to access.
Brilliant little car great to drive think of it as a reliable cheaper more practical Elise.
£4k should get you a tidy 2004 or newer uk car with leather seats and under 60k miles.
Ideal spec would be dark grey with black leather and hardtop and aircon but expect to pay more for aircon and hardtop models.
Great fun to drive.
£4k should get you a tidy 2004 or newer uk car with leather seats and under 60k miles.
Ideal spec would be dark grey with black leather and hardtop and aircon but expect to pay more for aircon and hardtop models.
Great fun to drive.
www.mr2roc.org but the site seems to be down at the mo.
I love mine to bits! Make sure it has good tyres same make/model all around and that they have the stock stagger, the rear tyres are wider than the front. Loads of folks are sticking after market alloys on them now where the tyres are all the same width and its plain dangerous on a mid engined car with a new to mid & RWD novice driver.
I love mine to bits! Make sure it has good tyres same make/model all around and that they have the stock stagger, the rear tyres are wider than the front. Loads of folks are sticking after market alloys on them now where the tyres are all the same width and its plain dangerous on a mid engined car with a new to mid & RWD novice driver.
Facelift cars post 2003 more desirable due to less cases of precat failure, and oval bore where you will notice higher oil usage.
Also they have 6 speed box , front fogs and revised rear lights.
U bought a nice black 2001 pre facelift car with hardtop and 60k miles for just 2200 pound in 2011. I changed the precat manifold and had problems with a rusty rear cross member and brake discs, which I changed, other than that it was a cracking car to drive.
I would go for a facelift car, leather a personal taste, standard seats were fine, hardtop spent most of the time in the garage.
The red edition has red leather, on a grey car can look quite good. Some have red roofs.
I would get another.
Also they have 6 speed box , front fogs and revised rear lights.
U bought a nice black 2001 pre facelift car with hardtop and 60k miles for just 2200 pound in 2011. I changed the precat manifold and had problems with a rusty rear cross member and brake discs, which I changed, other than that it was a cracking car to drive.
I would go for a facelift car, leather a personal taste, standard seats were fine, hardtop spent most of the time in the garage.
The red edition has red leather, on a grey car can look quite good. Some have red roofs.
I would get another.
i recently bought one, fantastic little car, handles beautifully and does circa 40 mpg. a poor mans elise/boxster, and some might argue better engineered and built than either ;-)
more practical than i had been led to believe...you can get a set of golf clubs or a push chair in the "boot" (behind the seats) and a couple of laptop bags/rucksacks in the front boot.
chassis is a bit flexy/wobbly, they added extra chassis bracing in 2003, again in 2004 and i gather later cars gained yet more.
worth skimming the various threads for these on PH, there was also a buyers guide, as mentioned mr2roc.org is excellent.
more practical than i had been led to believe...you can get a set of golf clubs or a push chair in the "boot" (behind the seats) and a couple of laptop bags/rucksacks in the front boot.
chassis is a bit flexy/wobbly, they added extra chassis bracing in 2003, again in 2004 and i gather later cars gained yet more.
worth skimming the various threads for these on PH, there was also a buyers guide, as mentioned mr2roc.org is excellent.
Edited by danp on Saturday 18th May 23:30
My OH has had a limited edition 'Red' for around four years now, bought it at 13,000 miles and put over 80,000 in it since.
I have done all the servicing and repairs on it myself and it's only just had its first clutch change, and apart from brake discs / pads, tyres and a set of anti roll bar links, nothing else mechanical at all has needed replacing!
Rear calipers can be an issue (seizing) and the handbrake can need adjusting regularly (not just tightening the cable, there is very simple work to do at the caliper end), otherwise it will struggle to hold on a steep hill. But it's not a major task.
Somewhere around 2003 limited slip diff was fitted as standard, which I think makes a nice difference.
Yeah, as everyone always says, luggage space isn't great but we've had weekends away in it and 99% of the time it hasn't been a problem.
Terrific cars, I always have a smile on my face after driving it!
I have done all the servicing and repairs on it myself and it's only just had its first clutch change, and apart from brake discs / pads, tyres and a set of anti roll bar links, nothing else mechanical at all has needed replacing!
Rear calipers can be an issue (seizing) and the handbrake can need adjusting regularly (not just tightening the cable, there is very simple work to do at the caliper end), otherwise it will struggle to hold on a steep hill. But it's not a major task.
Somewhere around 2003 limited slip diff was fitted as standard, which I think makes a nice difference.
Yeah, as everyone always says, luggage space isn't great but we've had weekends away in it and 99% of the time it hasn't been a problem.
Terrific cars, I always have a smile on my face after driving it!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=122...
Brilliant cars, as the buying guide says like a more user friendly Elise.
Brilliant cars, as the buying guide says like a more user friendly Elise.
The poor-mans Elise. I had one for three years (a LONG time for me), and funnily enough replaced it with an Elise!
I absolutely loved the MR2, they are fantastic little cars. I lowered mine on Eibach springs but left everything else standard.
Just be aware of the precat issue (mine finally went the day I part-exed it, wiping £1200 of the value!
Get one!!!
I absolutely loved the MR2, they are fantastic little cars. I lowered mine on Eibach springs but left everything else standard.
Just be aware of the precat issue (mine finally went the day I part-exed it, wiping £1200 of the value!
Get one!!!
If you're in or near West Kent, I'll be 'displaying' mine next month at the Speldhurst fete.
Great little run about, very economical, fantastic soft-top design (neater than others), quick enough and also comfy.
Mine also has the optional SMT gearbox - not favoured by many but an interesting development. It also includes traction control and an anti-skid feature which apparently helps prevent it swapping ends.
Lastly my MOT and service at the main dealer cost £150 odd this year.
Great little run about, very economical, fantastic soft-top design (neater than others), quick enough and also comfy.
Mine also has the optional SMT gearbox - not favoured by many but an interesting development. It also includes traction control and an anti-skid feature which apparently helps prevent it swapping ends.
Lastly my MOT and service at the main dealer cost £150 odd this year.
Herman Toothrot said:
I'd be interested to see how the SMT works, it seems everyone who actually try's them long enough to get used to them really like it. It does a 2nd to 1st downshift for you but nothing else I read it is the same manual box with gubbins attached so really not overly complex.
It depends on your mood - it can be caught out when in 'maximum attack' mode, taking an age to shift, but that's just about it's only drawback I can muster after 24 months.It will change down automatically when you slow down enough - so if you glide up to a junction in 6th, brake to a halt, the g/b is in 1st when you pull away without user input. But it also blips the throttle when you command a change down through the box, if it detects a sufficient difference in engine speed...very nicely done too.
This model has an electronic throttle to accommodate this - the standard is cable IIRC.
It'll slip the clutch as well when required. Also, and this is a particularly nice feature, it does not creep in traffic like a standard auto, but you can just about hold it on the clutch with practice...
Martin350 said:
Yeah, as everyone always says, luggage space isn't great but we've had weekends away in it and 99% of the time it hasn't been a problem.
yes they do say that, but i agree with you, it's fine for a little mid engined 2 seater imo. (especially once you take off the doors into the luggage area). there are also little trim plates you can remove for long items, the manual specifically mentions getting golf clubs in there!)can you get a set of golf clubs or a pushchair in an elise boot? (genuine question!)
Edited by danp on Monday 20th May 12:46
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