Toyota MR2 1.8 VVti thoughts?

rgzcampbell

rgzcampbell

rgzcampbell

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I'm currently thinking about changing cars and I've come across a Toyota MR2 1.8VVti close to me on a 2001 plate with 46K and FSH for £6,500. Looking around this seems a good price for that particular model I'm just wondering if there is anyone on the forum who owns one or has any experience of them?

Specs according to parkers 1794 / 4 138bhp 131mph 7.7secs, 38mpg, ig13

Servicing costs? - It will do less than 10k miles a year
Any niggles / reliability issues?

Lastly any alternatives you would recomend? I'm 24 with 1yr NCB clean licence and live in a very good postcode.
 
Nice little cars, and the price doesn't sound too bad either. There's not a great deal to say really no major faults or problems with them as far as I know, and as long as they're serviced they'll run for a good while yet.

The only other car (2 seater roadster) worth looking at is going to be the MX-5. A better car all round, but not a massive amount in it.
 
I'd say that was a good buy and an informed choice. This incarnation of the Mr2 has gone back to the original ethos of light weight coupled with ample, rather than, excessive power and is all the better for it. It's nimble, pretty quick, relatively economical, reliable and running costs shouldn't be bad either.

The usual disclaimers apply regarding a (relatively) young driver in a mid engined rear drive car blah blah blah (I had my first 'moment' in an original Mr2 and it was enoguh of a brown trouser moment to stay with me until this day so beware!) Seriously though, it will need respect but that's not a bad thing in these days of electronic gizmos and drivers aids.

Alternatives? Mx5 maybe...there aren't many true alternatives imho
 
I had a look at an MR2 before buying my MX5.
The MR2 is a little lighter and apparently a little faster overall. The interior is also slightly better IMO than a mk2.
The downsides are that it has ZERO boot space, just some small boxes behind the seats, meaning that it's a good deal less user friendly than the MX5. In addition, I'm told that some people prefer the handling of the MX5, but that's probably personal preference.

What you should be doing is look at both, I'd have been very happy with an MR2 if I didn't need any interior space.
 
I love the Mk3 MR2, as Sukebe has pointed out though, they have virtually no boot space. I personally prefer the looks of the MR2 to the MX5 too.
 
Yeah I think they're nice too. Never driven one. The semi-auto, grey, hard top, 17" Speedline Turini's with 205/195 tyres. Similar to this...



A 1.7 Puma would be another to consider.
 
Thanks for the replies. I have considered an MX-5 and I realise there is not a lot between the MR2 and MX-5. The lack of bootspace is not a problem there is always the passenger seat if needed.

I prefer the look of the MR2 to the MX-5 plus there is not a lot of them about up here.

Stepping away from a 2 seater roadster what else would 6.5K get me in terms of similar performance, age, insurance etc?
 
Nice cars, I really do want to drive one at some point, as has been said they went back to the original 'idea' with the mk3, not huge power and lovely handling :)

Parts aren't going to be cheap, but on the other hand Toyota are very good for reliability...

MX-5 is the only thing I can think of that would be another option to consider, FR means it should be slightly nicer when the rear end does step out, but personally I drive a mk1 mr2 and don't find it too bad when the rear steps out, not had any huge moments in it...
 
For <£7k you'd get a new Celica, might even get a VVTL-i one (190bhp) - but I've heard rumours that high milege VVTL-i's suffer a few problems. Not sure if there's anything in it though.

You could get an Octavia vRS, early Leon Cupra, ST170, even a Scooby. All depends what type of car you wanted.
 
SKILL said:
Parts aren't going to be cheap
Click to expand...

I'm currently on my fourth Toyota and never found parts to be any more expensive than any other brand. Plus the main dealers are streets ahead of most in terms of professionalism.
 
SKILL said:
Parts aren't going to be cheap, but on the other hand Toyota are very good for reliability...
Click to expand...

See this is the thing - high parts costs + high probability of faliure = no, just as low parts cost + above average probability of issues does not neccesarily mean no.

However with the Toyota, it is very, very unlikely you will ever need to replace any non consumable parts :)
 
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