The Toyota MR2
Everybody loves a convertible sports car but when looking for a cheap one people invariably go for the Mazda MX5 as the obvious kneejerk choice. That’s fine but it makes the MX5, how do we put it?...a little bit common. However, we’d argue that the Toyota MR2 is much cooler option.
The Toyota MR2 is rarer, it’s better looking, and it’s got no boot or any of that practicality nonsense. In France Toyota had to change the name of the car because to the locals felts that MR2 sounded too much like an incredibly rude word. It can be said that the MR2 is also better to drive than the MX5. Both cars are two seat roadsters with rear wheel drive but while the Mazda has its engine up front the Toyota has its engine aligned in the middle of its chassis. What this does is make the MR2 turn a lot quicker and easier than the Mazda and that makes it feel a lot pointier and way more fun.
The 1.8 litre four cylinder petrol engine only has 138 Brake Horse Power (bhp) but what it gives you is a really nice rev hungry nature. Added to that is a credible top speed of 138 miles per hour which makes the car seriously fast. You could argue that the MR2 gives you the ultimate undiluted driving experience that a car like this should deliver.
Early MR2s did suffer some fairly catastrophic engine problems but they were all fixed by a facelift in 2002 which also brought with it a new six-speed manual gearbox to replace the previous five-speed transmission. It’s the six-speed version that we suggest you buy.
The stats:
Name: Toyota MR2
Years on sale: 2000 - 2007
Price on DesperateSeller.co.uk: £1000 - £6000
Owner rating: 4.5 out of 5
So, what you’re getting here is a mid-engined, rear drive, two seat convertible which isn’t a million miles away from being a Porsche Boxster. In fact, if you squint and use a little bit of imagination then it even looks a bit like a Boxster. However, unlike a Boxster you can get your hands on a decent Toyota MR2 for less than £3k! Feel free to start searching for Toyota MR2 cars on DesperateSeller.co.uk.
