Could I get some advice on first sports car please?

[Ragamundo]

Hi everyone,

In about 6 months reckon i'll have about 3-4k to spend on my first performance car. Have been driving 4yrs, with 2yrs ncb. It will be for the daily drive and any travelling etc, but as i'm only driving about 10-20 miles every day to work I doubt my annual mileage will be much more than 8-9k.

Been looking at the Mk2 MR2 turbo's... It seems to have the right combination of raw power, st-your-pants speed and reliability! Also seem to have fallen in love with how it looks! Not so keen on the mx-5, though the general consensus seems to be the mx-5 is better for lots of reasons. I cannot, unfortunately justify buying one as my sister owns one!

I've had a peugeot 306 1.4, punto 1.3, and now i'm with a 1.6 escort... not really the best precursors before buying a performance car, but what the hell! I've got very little financial commitments for the next year so thought i'd treat myself.

So yeah, just starting on what is hopefully a few years of driving something a bit sparkier, and could use some advice from the boffins!

Thanks!

[slipstream 1985]

perfect car. i did exactly the same, went 1.2 clio mk1 1.4 306 1.4 clio to mr2 turbo rev2. take your time to learn how the car acts but it wont be long until it feels slow. had mine two years and never got into trouble with it.... except with the law of course.

[Ragamundo]

Thanks Slipstream... I have to ask the question though... How many carrier bags can you fit in it?

[davepoth]

Go for an MX-5 first, the handling is much more forgiving.

[Defcon5]

182?

[Daniel1]

if not an mx-5 i would opt for an MR2

[sawman]

my first non fwd car was a mk1 mr2, still have fond memories of it.

Edited by sawman on Saturday 24th July 16:51

[slipstream 1985]

Ragamundo said:

Thanks Slipstream... I have to ask the question though... How many carrier bags can you fit in it?

plenty. heck the mk2 mr2 can be a 3 seater

i got loads behind the seat more than enough for 2 people for 2 weeks even with a passenger... infact im forgetting it has a boot! the boot is big you CAN fit 2 golf sets in there and plenty of shopping. do it its a brilliant 1st sports car as a daily driver.

davepoth said:

Go for an MX-5 first, the handling is much more forgiving.

why?

[The Lukas]

slipstream 1985 said:

davepoth said:

Go for an MX-5 first, the handling is much more forgiving.

why?

Less power, and a weight distribution the OP is more used too?

[Ragamundo]

I figure i've got to learn how to drive a mid-engine car sooner or later...

[The Lukas]

Ragamundo said:

I figure i've got to learn how to drive a mid-engine car sooner or later...

Of course, before the 355 you may want some practice

Don't discount MGFs straight away, not bad cars, especially for the money. But I'd go MR2.

[The Nur]

The boot on a mk2 MR2 is unbelievably big. You could fit a person in in relative comfort (not in bits either!)

[Edmundo2]

TVR S3or wedge?

[speedtwelve]

Had both the Mk1 MX5 and MR2 Turbo. I wouldn't discount the Mazda if I were you, notwithstanding your sister having one! The MX5 I found to have slightly better steering, and a more responsive and inertia-free chassis. It is easy to go sideways in the wet, safely and at low-speeds. The MR2T is massively faster, has better brakes, well-made and rust-resistant, and overall gave me more of an adrenaline rush than the MX5 when catapulting along the straights towards the next corner on a fun B-road.

Be aware that an MR2T isn't exactly going to be frugal; mine ran standard boost and returned around 22 mpg, and they must be run on super unleaded. Access to the engine is a PITA (alternator removal is a dropped-subframe job, for example). The MX5 is much easier to work on; parts are comically cheap too. I paid £50 for a pair of front discs on my Mazda.

It's important to have decent tyres and geo setup on the MR2T. Look in the IMOC MR2 forum coming into winter and see the number of MR2T crashes start to mount-up. Loads are stacked coming off wet roundabouts etc because too much right foot is applied. Apply some restraint, however, and the car is perfectly able to make decent progress when the weather is poor. Just remember it has a fairly large amount of torque going through the rear wheels when on-boost, and that it has a low polar moment of inertia, being mid-engined. I tended to avoid deliberate power-oversteer on the road in mine!

Similar performance, and slightly easier to drive quickly compared to the Toyota, is a forced-induction MX5. I've driven both supercharged & turbo'd Mk1s, and they're great, great fun. Can be had for your budget too.

The TVRs mentioned above are also a good shout.

Edited by speedtwelve on Saturday 24th July 18:18

[MilleniumFalcon]

In your price range, go for Rev3 Turbos up (basically, 1994/L reg on)

More forgiving suspension that the earlier revisions, bigger brakes (although the rev2's (1992-93)share these) and engine upgrades (ditched the airflow meter, better turbo etc.)

As said before, they are tyre and geo sensitive.

Im on my 5th now!

Have a look at the owners clubs (IMOC/MR2OC) plenty for sale at the moment. You wont go wrong with joining either, and the US MR2OC has a scary amount of technical knowledge.

[MarJay]

Ragamundo said:

Thanks Slipstream... I have to ask the question though... How many carrier bags can you fit in it?

A lot, the boot isn't estate car massive but it is deep. However, any food you put in the boot will be very hot by the time you get home from the supermarket.