The MR2 Turbo...
Discussion
...Why is this not more popular than it is?
Was talking to my friend about his today and it's got me VERY interested. His is a 1994 rev3 GT T-bar, pretty much standard save for a water/air intercooler from a Celica GT4 and some 'low rise' headlamps (HID on dipped beam in projector modules)
As far as I can see:
-looks great, popup headlamp coolness
-interesting/fun roof
-legendary 1990's Toyota reliability/durability if you keep the modifications sensible
-comfiest seats i've ever sat in
-awesome driving position
-good visibility/easy to drive/good fun when pressing on
-pretty refined on motorway, and will do 35mpg if you're into that, and average 29 day to day.
-goes like a bat out of hell (0-60 5.2s)
-very practical for what it is (he's been camping for 2 weeks with the mrs in it)
-cheap purchase cost/insurance/parts
What's not to like?
Was talking to my friend about his today and it's got me VERY interested. His is a 1994 rev3 GT T-bar, pretty much standard save for a water/air intercooler from a Celica GT4 and some 'low rise' headlamps (HID on dipped beam in projector modules)
As far as I can see:
-looks great, popup headlamp coolness
-interesting/fun roof
-legendary 1990's Toyota reliability/durability if you keep the modifications sensible
-comfiest seats i've ever sat in
-awesome driving position
-good visibility/easy to drive/good fun when pressing on
-pretty refined on motorway, and will do 35mpg if you're into that, and average 29 day to day.
-goes like a bat out of hell (0-60 5.2s)
-very practical for what it is (he's been camping for 2 weeks with the mrs in it)
-cheap purchase cost/insurance/parts
What's not to like?
I liked mine. Too many tatty cheap chavved up boy racer versions around now though.
In standard form they are pretty fast, but they begin to lift at speed (around 130mph) to the point they dont feel safe as steering becomes so light.
Handling is not the best in standard form, Decent tyres make a difference. Early versions are lethal in the wrong hands in wet weather.
Usally when I say this I get told I am completely wrong, and their car was great blah blah blah.
I owned a rev 3 T bar, and drove a friends rev 1 for a bit.
In standard form they are pretty fast, but they begin to lift at speed (around 130mph) to the point they dont feel safe as steering becomes so light.
Handling is not the best in standard form, Decent tyres make a difference. Early versions are lethal in the wrong hands in wet weather.
Usally when I say this I get told I am completely wrong, and their car was great blah blah blah.
I owned a rev 3 T bar, and drove a friends rev 1 for a bit.
They were very popular at one time but unfortunately good examples are increasingly hard to find - I loved mine and travelled in lots of them over the years on road and track, a great little car.
Edit to add gratuitous pics of my old one...
Modifications weren't as affordable or as readily available in the UK back then so I only went up as far as 265bhp with the stock turbo and internals, IC etc - I did swap to the later spec brakes and made a few other adjustments too. I'd like another but I'd probably start with a rev3+ rather than a rev1 next time around.
Edit to add gratuitous pics of my old one...
Modifications weren't as affordable or as readily available in the UK back then so I only went up as far as 265bhp with the stock turbo and internals, IC etc - I did swap to the later spec brakes and made a few other adjustments too. I'd like another but I'd probably start with a rev3+ rather than a rev1 next time around.
Edited by thetapeworm on Sunday 4th December 21:35
They are great cars. When really pushing on the handling isn't so confidence inspiring - they can be a bit snappy, especially in the wet. Modding doesn't help as when you start upping the boost it gets more on-off than stock (which is actually very progressive).
as has been said, the driving position is excellent (far better than any Porsche I've sat in), they are comfortable long distance, fast, reliable and cheap. They are suprisingly heavy, which means they are more of a GT than a lightweight sportscar. Think of them as a junior 911 Turbo.
quite a few have been chavved up, and because they are cheap they get neglected. But good ones are out there.
as has been said, the driving position is excellent (far better than any Porsche I've sat in), they are comfortable long distance, fast, reliable and cheap. They are suprisingly heavy, which means they are more of a GT than a lightweight sportscar. Think of them as a junior 911 Turbo.
quite a few have been chavved up, and because they are cheap they get neglected. But good ones are out there.
I love mine, they can really shift and bother some very expensive cars.
Go for a rev 3+ and stick some decent tyres on it.
It was my first rwd car and im still alive but I do think rev1/2's were a bit lairy but I've never driven one so can't comment.
Just the usual take care in the wet etc don't drive like a knob. Once the back end swings out past a certain point it's very difficult to catch with all that weight over the rear wheels.
Great value for money cars I don't think you'd be disappointed!
Go for a rev 3+ and stick some decent tyres on it.
It was my first rwd car and im still alive but I do think rev1/2's were a bit lairy but I've never driven one so can't comment.
Just the usual take care in the wet etc don't drive like a knob. Once the back end swings out past a certain point it's very difficult to catch with all that weight over the rear wheels.
Great value for money cars I don't think you'd be disappointed!
DaveCWK said:
...Why is this not more popular than it is?
Was talking to my friend about his today and it's got me VERY interested. His is a 1994 rev3 GT T-bar, pretty much standard save for a water/air intercooler from a Celica GT4 and some 'low rise' headlamps (HID on dipped beam in projector modules)
As far as I can see:
-looks great, popup headlamp coolness yep
-interesting/fun roof tintop here but yep nice roof
-legendary 1990's Toyota reliability/durability if you keep the modifications sensible yep no real problems here at 70k miles
-comfiest seats i've ever sat in yep, drivers side has lumbar support and shoulder squeeze and other things aside from usual tilt/slide
-awesome driving position yep
-good visibility/easy to drive/good fun when pressing on visibility is the best in any car I've driven, small quarter glass is just perfect for lane-changing...
-pretty refined on motorway, and will do 35mpg if you're into that, and average 29 day to day. nah. I'd say 25, less if you use the turbo more than once every now and then
-goes like a bat out of hell (0-60 5.2s) yep
-very practical for what it is (he's been camping for 2 weeks with the mrs in it)yep, rear boot is enough for a small suitcase or 6-8 carrier bags, frunk is enough for a spare wheel or you can leave the spare and carry a beach inflatable
-cheap purchase cost/insurance/parts yep/nope/nope
What's not to like? Expensive parts. Hard to work on. Can bite if you don't know what you're doing, oversteer can be sudden in the wet.
Was talking to my friend about his today and it's got me VERY interested. His is a 1994 rev3 GT T-bar, pretty much standard save for a water/air intercooler from a Celica GT4 and some 'low rise' headlamps (HID on dipped beam in projector modules)
As far as I can see:
-looks great, popup headlamp coolness yep
-interesting/fun roof tintop here but yep nice roof
-legendary 1990's Toyota reliability/durability if you keep the modifications sensible yep no real problems here at 70k miles
-comfiest seats i've ever sat in yep, drivers side has lumbar support and shoulder squeeze and other things aside from usual tilt/slide
-awesome driving position yep
-good visibility/easy to drive/good fun when pressing on visibility is the best in any car I've driven, small quarter glass is just perfect for lane-changing...
-pretty refined on motorway, and will do 35mpg if you're into that, and average 29 day to day. nah. I'd say 25, less if you use the turbo more than once every now and then
-goes like a bat out of hell (0-60 5.2s) yep
-very practical for what it is (he's been camping for 2 weeks with the mrs in it)yep, rear boot is enough for a small suitcase or 6-8 carrier bags, frunk is enough for a spare wheel or you can leave the spare and carry a beach inflatable
-cheap purchase cost/insurance/parts yep/nope/nope
What's not to like? Expensive parts. Hard to work on. Can bite if you don't know what you're doing, oversteer can be sudden in the wet.
Loved my old one, would echo others comments incredibly fast for the money with light modifications (mainly increased boost pressure on the turbo) my car ran high 12 second qtr miles. Would also echo other comments that the handling wasn’t bad but certainly harder to drive fast on a track to the limit than many other sports cars I have owned, as turbo coming in does make judging the throttle exiting corners quite tricky. As they are getting older and more modified their reliability is being put increasingly to the test and some engines are now failing and requiring rebuilding. They do have a good following though in fact prices haven’t really dropped in the last 4yrs since I sold mine. Mpg not quite as high as 30mpg quoted and that’s using the more expensive high octane fuel.
GBTurbo said:
It was my first rwd car and im still alive but I do think rev1/2's were a bit lairy but I've never driven one so can't comment.
Rev 2+ mr2's all had the same wheel/suspension/braking setup as the later models, it was the rev1 that was different and hence the hairy chested and lairy one..The turbos are fantastic. I had a normally aspirated G-Ltd which was super comfortable and practical but would have liked to upgrade to a turbo. The brakes were no where near good enough for my 180hp car so I don't know how they'd stand up to turbos - were they a better spec?
If fuel consumption is your thing get a diesel, or the n/a car which does around 32 and used to manage 37 on a regular 45 mile dual carriageway commute.
Try and find a good rev 3 car, better suspension. It was easy to spin the rev 1 as it would snap into huge oversteer with little or no warning. The correct tyres improved things massively though.
As mentioned visibility is excellent. I've had a mig welder, the masks and gas bottles and a vax vacuum cleaner in my boot all at once and still had plenty of space left.
If fuel consumption is your thing get a diesel, or the n/a car which does around 32 and used to manage 37 on a regular 45 mile dual carriageway commute.
Try and find a good rev 3 car, better suspension. It was easy to spin the rev 1 as it would snap into huge oversteer with little or no warning. The correct tyres improved things massively though.
As mentioned visibility is excellent. I've had a mig welder, the masks and gas bottles and a vax vacuum cleaner in my boot all at once and still had plenty of space left.
Turbo Harry said:
Still miss my old one. Really cracking fun. Defies the old 'cheap, fast reliable - pick two' saying.
i loved mine went from a 80bhp clio to 220bhp (maybe more) mr2 rev2 tubby. loved that car had it at 19 and it taught me alot. catching the back end if provoked meant getting the opposite lock on BEFORE it starts to slide which is a little unnerving.
it was fortunate mine came with a blitz nur spec exhaust something
i latter found out cost quite alot.
it was fortunate mine came with a blitz nur spec exhaust something
i latter found out cost quite alot.
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