MR2 Mk II. Do They Look Dated ?

I had no idea there was a secret underground club of 30 something housewives driving rwd mid engined sports cars, perhaps we should invite them to the motors meet?
 
megakid said:
Im getting more and more tempted with these mainly because they're so impractical - perfect for what I want!

I just keep remembering Jez's incident and it keeps putting me off... :confused: :(
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dont crash it then?
 
surely it would be common sense to not chose to do something where youre not sure what the outcome will be.

everyone must have a clue whats likely to happen if you gas it mid bend. fewer people will know whats likely to happen if you lift mid bend... but if you simply dont know what your car is likely to do... dont drive fast ffs
 
Motoring can be totally unpredictable even at low speeds though, but your right when driving something will 200bhp+ through the rear wheels you have to give it some respect or it'll try to spit you into the nearest hedge.
 
the NA cars are (IMO) worse lol the have no LSD so when the rear got away on those it did some odd things, wasnt keen on that at all.

mine had 270rwbhp and was much nicer to drive over the limits, more forgiving and definately more predictable

blinding cars for the money tho, just spectacularly impractical lol
 
divine_madness said:
It looks good but it does look like a 90s car. It's not the sort of thing I could see anyone releasing in the next year or two.
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Thats a good thing as they are a 80's car. ;)

Rev3.JPG
 
Von Luck said:
Eidolon - certainly.

Don't want to cause offence, but the relative hairdresser-ness of a car has nothing to do with performance or ability (see Audi TT - which reeks of curling-tongs despite being another great car).

It's down to image and who tends to drive them - which around here is usually 30-something, slightly overweight women with big hair.
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No offence taken :) (I'm never offended by anyone calling them hairdressers cars)

I've owned my MR2 for 3 years now and can't say that I've seen any of these mid 30's women driving them. Most of the owners I've seen are late 20's petrolhead Jap nutter types. The mid 30's women are driving MGFs aren't they?

Von Luck said:
The only person I know who owns a tubby is a bit of a poseur, hence my impression that they're hairdresser cars.

Just my opinion though - and I do love their looks, just wouldn't buy one myself. Same with the VX220/Elise - just screams 'look at me' a bit too much.
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I can't deny being a little bit of a poseur but I actually didn't try to buy a T-bar model, I just wanted a RWD turbo'd Jap car and the MR2 fit the bill. Now that I've had the topless experience however I love it hence why the MR2 replacement is likely to be a VX220 turbo. If the only reason I wanted the car was to pose however I wouldn't have wasted money on the turbo model, I'd have stuck to a cheaper UK spec one instead.
 
MrLOL said:
it does look dated, but nowhere near as much as other cars from its generation do.

the pop up headlights thing is another big give away. pop up headlights are so 80s !
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Whats wrong with a car from the 80's having something that was popular in the 80's?

The MK2 was in production for around 10 years, which is pretty good.

As for the handling with my car beeing lowered and decent tyres on it I have never had much of a problem with it what so ever. :cool:
 
moss said:
they can be quite a handful even for experienced drivers.
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and Jez as well ;)

j/k.
moss said:
Motoring can be totally unpredictable even at low speeds though, but your right when driving something will 200bhp+ through the rear wheels you have to give it some respect or it'll try to spit you into the nearest hedge.
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it's not the rear drive aspect that makes this car a handful.it's the fact it's mid-engined.
MrLOL said:
the pop up headlights thing is another big give away. pop up headlights are so 80s !
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dunno if i'd agree with that.
to be honest, pop-up lights are one of the major design differences that make me prefer the design of the 355 to that of the 360.
 
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megakid said:
Im getting more and more tempted with these mainly because they're so impractical - perfect for what I want!

I just keep remembering Jez's incident and it keeps putting me off... :confused: :(
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I thrashed it from day one, and it didnt pay off, if you drive a bit wrecklessly as i tend to do then they arnt for you. If you are the type who has self control when behind the wheel and stuff then they handle excellently and shouldnt be too dangerous. I'd get one again if i didnt mind throwing another 3-4k down the toilet as crashing it would be a matter of when, not if.

I'd wait until you have a good few years of performance car driving under your belt, ive got loads of experience in nutty cars for my age, but it obviously wasnt enough.
 
I think the design has held up to the test of time pretty well. I'd love to have a blast in one but not the sort of car I would personally like to own.
 
Jez said:
I thrashed it from day one, and it didnt pay off, if you drive a bit wrecklessly as i tend to do then they arnt for you. If you are the type who has self control when behind the wheel and stuff then they handle excellently and shouldnt be too dangerous. I'd get one again if i didnt mind throwing another 3-4k down the toilet as crashing it would be a matter of when, not if.

I'd wait until you have a good few years of performance car driving under your belt, ive got loads of experience in nutty cars for my age, but it obviously wasnt enough.
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yeah, was a bad episode. what do you drive now ?
 
Company ride, seat leon tdi

Looking for a nice summer car but undecided on what to get and still trying to justify it to myself as the leon is completely paid up.
 
no offence or anything, but its a really bad idea to get into any car and just thrash it. as you know cars are lethal when it goes wrong. the leon will be fogiving etc but if you get it wrong badly enough, you may not kill yourself due to the solidity of the thing, but you could kill others.

i know im sounding like an old fart, but cars are lethal. the MR2 is/was a car that will just chuck you off if you make an error, but the leon will just breed ineptitude. i just hope it doesnt lead to one massive smash up ! lol
 
To be fair though any car no matter how fast or slow is potentially dangerous and accidents do happen in spite of whether the car is powerful or not. It all depends on the mentality and skill of the driver behind the wheel. Heck I hoon around on my bike which in terms of BHP/Tonne is well over 2x as powerful as the MR2 turbo, but I know my limits and take it easy when I feel I'm going beyond my skill, however I could still get it wrong and hurt myself big time on a bike with half the power.

I think a lot of people think "RWD" - keep away!! It's all about self control, and only you know how far that goes. There is no generic rule that states, drive and MR2 and you WILL die or crash it. That's just silly.
 
Agreed Will.

The MR2 I have has the twin entry turbo so you get boost earlier. I am not a top end speeder, preferring acceleration but I am always careful on the bends as a RWD, mid-engined, 236bhp turbo charged car will bite if too much metal is given around the corner.

As for the poseur value, I see the point but thats not why I got it. It was a whim thing as my mate was seling his to get a Scooby and I always had an eye for the MkII. This one just happened to be a turbo. I love it but I treat it with respect as most performance car owners do.
 
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