TOYOTA MR2 road test reports and car reviews

Toyota MR2 MK3 Roadster (manual) 2001

I have had mine just over 2 years. In that time I have had brake discs replaced and a full set of Toyo’s fitted which improved it greatly. It only let me down once, when the battery died on me, other than that, trouble free, joyful motoring. If you are thinking of getting one go for one with the hard-top which will cost more, but you will be grateful for it in the winter months: it also stiffens the car a bit and makes it a tauter drive wheras you do notice a bit of chassis flex at speeds with the roof off and top down. The only real word of warning is to treat it with respect in the wet, ’cos like all rear wheel drive cars it can bite you in the ass if you get too enthusiastic. I don’t know why people moan about the standard stereo, mine sounds fine and its plenty loud enough for anyone to destroy their hearing. It’s relatively cheap to insure, good on fuel (for a sports car), reasonable service costs but with the bonus of 10K intervals!! I think it’s one of the most attractive roadsters out there. Pose factor is high - and people regularly let you out at junctions, which doesn’t seem to happen a lot to BMW or Porsche drivers. Some people call this the poor man’s Boxter, which I do get, but honestly I would rather have the MR2 because you get a HUGE amount of bang for your buck, without the cost disadvantages or the resentment that other road users seem to dish out to more expensive marques. A fabulous little car. Who can knock it? It’s fast, good looking, reasonable to run, handles great and puts a huge grin on your face.