Drove an MR2 Spyder turbo

geekdaddy

geekdaddy

X1/9 Learner's Permit...
So the wifey and I went to the local Toyota dealership to pick-out some colors for a Highlander fleet vehicle I'm ordering.

Found a 2000 MR2 Spyder there with 28K on the odo, several TRD suspension mods and a turbo setup. No idea WHY the dealer accepted this vehicle from the owner. He was apparently a 57 year-old guy who bought and modified it but recently experienced some major health problems and could no longer drive it...

Looked away, drove off the lot to run some errands. ....and then came back. I just had to take a closer look since the car was in amazing physical condition. And then I drove it.

Holy cow -- it was fast and handled extremely well. I'm guessing somewhere around 250HP-ish. Problem is, if I purchase it I can't keep my Fiat and an MR2. The MR2 has a lot of engine mods which could spell trouble. Even if it was a PERFECT car I don't know that I could part with my X. I've invested too much of myself into all the work I've put into it -- I'd feel like I betrayed the old girl.

But I am still kinda looking at the MR2. Probably won't pull the trigger but it's very intriguing.
 
Simple answer

Take the money you would put into buying the MR2 and put it toward a MWB K20 conversion instead!
 
My son had a first gen MR2 for a year, I really liked that car. Somehow not the "soul" the X has, the Italian connection, little cousin to the super cars, all that, but I would like another MR2 someday.
 
I couldn't do it...

The MR2 was fast and fun. Like our X's, the market seems to undervalue them. A lot of fun for the $$$.

But I really like my X. I have a lot of myself invested in her.
AND this community is the best :)
 
I liked the first gen MR2 so much, that I had three of them! the first one I traded in for a 928 S, the second got stolen, and the third I traded it in for a supra turbo. Today I was looking at the classifieds, looking for one, before reading this post. I tell you, those cars were gems in their day. Besides all the love and affection I have for the X, I have to admit that the first gen MR2 was way superior in every aspect of performance and reliability. I found no setbacks ever. And the style was nice. I would have no problems buying today a 1986 survivor in black, or two tone anthracite/silver.
 
The first gen MR2 was indeed a great car. The things I didn't like about it are the interior and the much closer to econo car seating height. The exterior lacked design consistency but wasn't horrifying. Storage is extremely limited, nothing like the amazing packaging design done by Bertone.

Clearly the reliability and performance of the cars was night and day better than an X. The fact that one could easily put in a Black or Silver top late model engine into one is just icing on the cake.

Rust is likely as bad or worse than the X1/9 and the location of the battery is Porsche 914 bad.

I would still enjoy owning one.

The later version which looks like a Ferrari wanna be just never appealed to me: too heavy; an interior that was just off and depending on which year one had some rather scary handling. The Spider was just ugly and had a sad interior, it also was rather underwhelming to drive and that most of the torsional rigidity of the car was the result of bolt in braces was always disturbing to me.

The MR2 from a performance standpoint showed what Fiat?Bertone should have done, the general design of the X is far superior but was just never developed to the point it should have been engine wise.

I still would rather own an X than an MR2, I would love too see what a 182/310 series twin cam engine would be like in our cars as it is based off of our current SOHC engines. The 310 series from Brazil certainly seems like a nice one to pursue given its larger displacement and 132 horses out of the box. Keeps it Fiat and seems like a worthwhile upgrade path. We just need a member from Brazil to gather up a few to ship up to us :)
 
Yeah,no kidding!

Starting to really like this iteration of the Mister 2. The wisdom says they weren't up to the others but every year they seem more appealing and this one is soooo nice.
 
I could never stomach the interior of the first gen MR2...way too "Japanese econobox" of a look for me.

The first gen MR2 had the distinct advantage of being in both the "copycat" position and the follow-on position to the X1/9, so as to learn from the Bertone design as well as take advantage of over a decade's worth of new design and manufacturing technologies that had been developed since the X was first on the drawing board.

I have to think that if FIAT's and Bertone's contemporary overall financial conditions had been better, they would have designed and rolled out for the mid-80s a new X that would have been at least as good as the two mainstream competitors, the original MR2 and the Fiero.
 
There are maybe 3...

early MR2 in our neighborhood in varying degrees of decrepitude. Actually one is pretty nice but you are right about the interior-just kind of vulgar. For me it is mainly the chunkiness of the seat pieces and the whole Transformers aesthetic. The X is no model of ergonomic perfection but you could not call it vulgar. Still the Mr.2s outsides look pretty good against the anodyne stuff coming out of Japan now (the Subaru BRZ / Scion something-or-other, being notable exceptions).
 
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