Quick little addition: The precat was specifically made for it to be sold in the US...but only in California since their emission regulations were more strict than other states.
I've owned two Miata's. I liked 3rd Gen MR2, but they weren't available in Canada. But I still would have gone for a Miata, for the more usable trunk. But they definitely don't deserve hate. I kind of like the styling as well. Reminds me of a baby Boxster.
I've been a aw11 owner and enthusiast since April 1995, I still own the aw11 I bought then. I used to have 5 3/4 aw11's in my collection at one time, now I just have the 2 of them. I owned a mr-s spyder for a while in the past few years, unfortunately had to move it on. I must say, as much as I love my aw11's, the spyder is a awesome vehicle! Out of the box handled very well and the 1zz had enough power to punt it along prity damn good. The only mods I would have done other than the manual conversion I did on it is turbo the 1zz and put coilovers on it. Very underrated car.
Had my 2002 for a little over a year now, had to put in another engine bc the old one had knock but its worth the trouble. Extremely fun cars and gets noticed and appreciated by everyone.
Same. I love mine, already replaced the motor, new header, and put a good deal of suspension work into it. It's a real joy to drive. It's too bad that Canada has such a short summer. I really wish I could drive it more.
Bought mine after driving a Celica for a decade. Genuinely love the zz engines even if they're a tad weak, just lets you really squeeze everything out of them in regular driving without going too crazy. Love my Celica and MR-S. Next on my list is a Matrix XRS
I bought one last Saturday. Friend took my Honda CR-Z off me as she desperately needed a car, figured I'd get something fun. Got a red 2006 model with the 6 Speed, leather seats, brand new rear subframe & hardtop for 5300 Euro. Been loving it so far, and considering it's my daily driver, it's weirdly "practical" despite being completely impractical.
Wow, 2004+ are really rare, you found yourself a great deal if it's in a good condition, the hard top alone is 1-2k euro. Most of the Fl cars are 2003 and late 2002. And 2004 do have some changes in bracing and ride height, but it might be specific to the US-spec cars (it's kinda harder to find info specific to Euro-spec ones)
My sister bought one of these in 2000 when they first came out and used to lend it to me whenever she went away and so for around 6 years I regularly got to drive it for extended periods and I loved it. 23 years on & I now have my own. Only negative thing is that I always thought it was too quiet as standard so I fitted stainless manifold and so also removed any potential pre cat issues and fitted a quality Zero single exit exhaust so it now sounds like I think it should. I did buy a cheaper exhaust and it was loud & droned! The Zero exhaust is perfect 👍🏻😎. I have kept rest factory as Toyota pretty much nailed the suspension etc. They really benefit from good matching newish tires & for the geometry to be correct to. I fitted Toyos all round and for road use they are great. There are better ones if you intend to take on track regularly though.
What you said about not liking it until your drive it is so true. After I got to drive one I sold my 350Z and bought one. It's the nearest thing to a 1960 Porsche 356 I owned 50 years ago.
Wow and I was hesitating with a 350Z. What's wrong with the Nissan ? Not much feeling? It must be quite fast though (but quite the gas guzzling compared to this MR2)😅
@@GregosTH There's nothing 'wrong' with the 350Z per se; it's just that, in comparison, the MR2 feels so much more light and nimble and more of an extension of yourself (like a motorcycle). It also get about double the fuel economy of the 350Z. I actually thought I'd end up with an MX5 but the ones I've driven all the way back to 1990 just don't inspire me. IMO, the MR2 is a much better driver's car; plus, everybody's got a Miata.
@@Ozzienuck Thank you for your answer, yes that makes total sense, especially since I may use it quite regularly (not daily but almost) the fuel economy combined with a MR layout can be really interesting :) (plus they are cheaper, unbeatable smiles per gallon)
Nice compact semi sports car. Too bad you hardly see this car on the road in the Netherlands. Nice car to make nice tours on back roads on a summer day. 👍 Greetings Jos 👋🍀
Dankje Jos! Inderdaad heel zeldzaam, de Mx5 zie je meer en op zich is dat ook wel logisch. Praktischer, minder duur qua aanschaf en min of meer dezelfde prestaties
I don't know if ours in Australia were the same spec, but I rented one back in the day and it was the most fun car I've ever driven. Being so close to the ground with that handling, it was such an exciting driving experience! That one had a sequential auto gearbox with a little polished alloy gear knob and no paddle shifters. The gearbox felt a bit clunky at low speeds, was an absolute blast to use under revs. I was heartbroken when I contacted the company about renting it again, only to find out that it had been crashed - I never found a rental one ever again.
@@trailsdetails4061 I'm currently in a similar position. I own a 3rd gen MR2 and am considering to either replace it or 2ZZ swap it. What did you end up replacing it with?
Drove an '02 for for years. One amazing car. No storage. And that covers any complaints. Test drove the first and second gens. Respect them, but prefer the third overall.
I live in the UK and wanted a 2 seater convertible on a reasonable budget. Over here that left me with only few options. Porsche Boxster 986 - Going back 5 or so years, this would have likely been the first option and would have made me save up more money to find one. There used to be a time a decent 3.2 S could be had for reasonable money. A 2.7 could be had for not a lot of money considering the brand and was still a nice drivers car and interesting. However, now... they have shot up in value in the UK. Those 2.7s now cost the same as the 3.2 Ss used to and the Ss... add in the maintenance costs. However, a lot of that can be negated with a good honest independent specialist. BMW Z3 and Z4 - Z3s are creeping up in value here. The first Z4 is a beautiful car in my opinion. However, I have owned so many BMWs over the years, and being RWD with the lump in the front... it was doubly something not special. Having said that, a Z3 with the 1.9 engine is quite fun and really cheap... the straight 6s are obviously better for outright grunt, but the 4 pot revs nicely and is enough power to have fun with. I mean if an older version of this engine made the E30 318iS a decent car, why not the Z3? Other than the floppy bad handling of the Z3... Mazda MX5 Miata NB or NC - I don't fit into either car well unless mods are made to the seats or replaced with bucket seats nearly on the floor. Oh and the NBs are rusty here in the UK. NAs are just... too much for what they are and even more rusty. I have owned many front engined rear wheel drive cars, so for me it wasn't the answer despite the popular saying Miata Is Always The Answer. However, an NC with some mods is a great car. MG F or TF - Not an option many outside of Europe, or even the UK, will be familiar with. Decent enough mid engined convertible. Similar idea to MR2, Rover MG used a lot of existing parts, including the engine. More comfortable than most of the cars in this class if you got the earlier F. But, build quality was never great, rust is a real issue, and the engine (Rover K series) has a bad reputation for head gasket issues. However, I am a fan of the engine, it is quite an interesting compact light design - there was a reason Lotus used it in the early Elise. But, then there are reasons they swapped to the Toyota 1zz and 2zz engines... Various Kei Cars - I looked at a few of these. Some mid engine, some fwd, and so on. Really fun cars and I manage to fit in them better than the Miata. But, they cost a lot being a bit niche and sometimes getting spares is an issue. I would still love to scratch that Kei car itch though, but the potential maintenance costs put these out of the race. Smart Roadster - Mid engine, oddball, and good handling... lacking in power. A bit like a German Kei car. Prices for a Brabus one at the time of looking put me off and I have read your mechanic won' thank you for bringing one in for work. Ok, it isn't quite a convertible, but you can still get the open top experience. Toyota MR2\MRS\Spyder - Well, first of all, it is surprising how well this car can swallow up tall and broad drivers. I suppose, most mid engine cars do well in that regard. I would say the shape has aged well... still a like it or hate it design. Young people often ask me what it is as it was de-badged at some point. Sitting inside it, it does feel plastic Toyota of its time, but then a lot of the cars on this list aren't actually any better. Driving is fun and darty without feeling like you're on a knife edge. It changes direction really well and the 1ZZ isn't the worst engine either. Ok, you do need to rev it out, but it is enough power to make you smile. Being fairly mundane regarding engine and transmission, it isn't bad on maintenance. In the UK (and Europe, I think) all cars came with an LSD, which does help. But the gearing is long... another quirk of the Euro spec cars, I believe. On a twisty road, you might as well only use 2, 3, and 4 (rarely). In the UK price wise, these are still flying under the radar despite all the youtube love they have been getting over the past 5 years. Without a hardtop you can get them for £1500 to £2000 for a nice one. The hard top can easily make the price jump up a fair bit as it and the fitting hardware can resell for around £1000. Cheapest 2ZZ swapped car I saw was £3500, but was a track car with some battle scars and no doubt a tired engine... but had all the conversion parts and decent handling upgrades. It also helps I have a great UK MR2 breaker specialist in my area, JSPEC. They've helped me source a few parts. I am nearing 1 year of ownership, and as my 3rd car... I still managed to put 4k miles on it. I use it for most short journeys as it isn't the best car on the motorways, even with the long long gearing in the Euro spec cars. 6th is really only good for cruising, you need to downshift to 5th or 4th to make it accelerate. Looking to rebuild my gearbox with gears 1 to 5 from a 2zz Celica, keep the stock 6th and obviously the LSD. That is meant to make the 1zz even more fun to drive and means I am a step closer to 2zz swap ready.
Damn dude that's quite the story! And I totally agree, I'm 6 foot 1 and I don't feel cramped at all in this MR2 unlike an MX-5 where I do feel quite cramped. I've also looked into swapping this engine for a 2ZZ but I decided to sell this MR2. Not because it's a bad car, but because I've done a lot of things with it and now it's time for a new fun weekend car.
Did you get that gearbox rebuild done and if you did, who did it? Cooksport? I hillclimb and sprint mine and would love closer 1 - 5 with the standard 6th!
always wanted one of those, been slowly saving cash since 2016, just after getting my fn2 type-r as a daily - its arguably a better car in all ways besides the fun factor, yet i still always wanted one of those. So people hating it for it not having popups or not having good cargospace (which was never the point of an mr2) and making the prices and parts of them cheaper makes is positive to me. Truthfully, im always happy to see an mr2 aw11 or zzw30 (im only partial to the sw20 since its more of a GT car in my mind, and there are better alternatives to that), since mr2s of any gen. are somewhat rare in my country, i barely see a few when going to the capital in my country for an auto event such as jdm car season closing Arguably one of the bigger downsides (besides mentioned) is that the engine is not pushing all that much power, but for the chassis that weighs 900-1100kg its plenty, well you can always 2zz swap . Additionally the styling: call it unpopular/controversial opinion but i find "cute" styling better than everything being "aggressive" As for the mentioned mechanical downsides: its a 20ish year old car, so most of the pre-cats or oil-ring were replaced/sorted out, worse-case its not: if you wrench on the vehicle by yourself, while time consuming - not too bad of a thing to do
In the Netherlands where every road is flat and straight you don't understand how good this car really is. It's in a " touge" situation that this car really shines
Having mine for more than a year, it was the biggest financial mistake in my life considering that I was stupid enough not to check compression before buying it (forums told me facelift cars are safe, so I didn't bother that much), so I've overpaid for it and had to put a new engine (I did put a 2006 short block with revised pistons to be safe that I'm not swapping one oil burner for another), and later I did crash it not long after breaking the engine in, and decided to fix it instead of selling it (either option would have put me in a huge loss). So I'm like twice the purchase price into it. And to add insult to injury I was in the process of moving to another country due to the war and stuff (talk about financial mistakes: burning your cash on a car while your country is being invaded and you dunno what's gonna happen to you tomorrow, but maybe not knowing if you get to live another day does play a role in such kind of irrational and emotional decisions). So that car did happen to put me through some troubles (though it was me at fault, not the car), but every time I drove it after weeks or months without it I could totally feel that it was still worth it, that vehicle never stopped putting a smile on my face, and the kind of emotional attachment I have to it never happened with my previous cars, at least not to that extent: be it a Skoda Octavia that has been 9 years in my family and was my first car, or Focus ST that was my first fast car. It's not a fast vehicle, and not the best one in any regard, not even the best for it's price, but the wind blowing in your face, the low seating position, that rough 4-pot screaming (mine's got TTE exhaust, which adds a bit of drama to it) while linearly building up power, the analogue feel of it, the lightness, especially of its front end, the mid-engine feel, the weighting and feel of all the controls, the heaps of steering feedback, it all comes together so nicely, it all just feels so right. And on top of that it's really easy to drive unless you're dancing on the limit (it can rear its mid-engine head on ya if you're extremely uncareful, and good luck catching it, so some respect is still required), you can still commute in it like in any normal car, I'd even go as far as saying it's easier to drive in a city than a lot of them, due to great visibility (unless with the top on), small size, relatively large engine for its weight and just having what is in fact a commuter engine and drivetrain, with just a little bit of spice added to it, so gearshift and clutch are nice and easy to operate. The only thing it lacks driver-experience wise is a shorter final drive with better-spaced ratios (euro 6-speed feels more like 5-speed with 6th added to it, which what it essentially is, it's a shame they didn't put euro 1zz celica gearbox in it) and a lighter crankshaft/flywheel, it doesn't rev as fast as miatas of the day which is a bit sad for a sportscar, higher rev limit would be also nice but 7k is still okay considering it's just an engine from Avensis with a great torque band for a small N/A from the 00s.
Oil burning was only a problem in the first years. They fixed that in '03 with the face lift version. It was the oil burning that broke down the precats. '03+ models are more rare and are the ones to get. I've had mine for 21 years and it doesn't burn a drop of oil.
i think the difference between this and others "muscle jdm cars" is that they are faster in acceleration with their big turbo engines,but once they are launched and have to cornering,man this is on another level
Gen 2 looked like a mini Ferrari. This looks like a cute little Hello Kitty car. And crème de la crème is pronounced KREHM not KREEM. Obsessed with spreadsheets? What the heck does that mean?
The Gen 3 is often dubbed a baby Porsche Boxster. Sorry I mispronounced it, I meant spec sheets. Basically people who focus way too much on numbers without taking into consideration how a car actually drives
I drove these cars off the ships...not a bad car but stock...neither underrated or overhated...well maybe overhated a bit...unless you bought the horrible smg
Quick little addition: The precat was specifically made for it to be sold in the US...but only in California since their emission regulations were more strict than other states.
Nobody hates the car. On the contrary, it's getting more and more attention and prices are going up!
yeah us prices are ridiculous, with that one can get a molested 986 base.
It's sad because it's such a good chassis. I'm glad they are a trade secret. I would never trade my '05 k24/6speed tuned MRS for anything.
I've owned two Miata's. I liked 3rd Gen MR2, but they weren't available in Canada. But I still would have gone for a Miata, for the more usable trunk. But they definitely don't deserve hate. I kind of like the styling as well. Reminds me of a baby Boxster.
I've been a aw11 owner and enthusiast since April 1995, I still own the aw11 I bought then. I used to have 5 3/4 aw11's in my collection at one time, now I just have the 2 of them.
I owned a mr-s spyder for a while in the past few years, unfortunately had to move it on. I must say, as much as I love my aw11's, the spyder is a awesome vehicle! Out of the box handled very well and the 1zz had enough power to punt it along prity damn good.
The only mods I would have done other than the manual conversion I did on it is turbo the 1zz and put coilovers on it. Very underrated car.
Had my 2002 for a little over a year now, had to put in another engine bc the old one had knock but its worth the trouble. Extremely fun cars and gets noticed and appreciated by everyone.
I bought mine this spring. Its been awesome!
Smiles per gallon is what this car is all about :)
Same. I love mine, already replaced the motor, new header, and put a good deal of suspension work into it. It's a real joy to drive. It's too bad that Canada has such a short summer. I really wish I could drive it more.
Love me some ZZW30 MR2’s! From owning one brand new from Toyota dealer in 2002 to my current one
Hell yeah!
Bought mine after driving a Celica for a decade. Genuinely love the zz engines even if they're a tad weak, just lets you really squeeze everything out of them in regular driving without going too crazy. Love my Celica and MR-S. Next on my list is a Matrix XRS
I have both the matrix is the first one that I bought I love it gas saver. Then I just bought an MR2 spyder I can’t not be happier.
@@mj.alopez Nice! Yeah I love mine as well. I am looking at Matrix XRS, unsure if a 2zz model exists with AWD but i may get one soon
I bought one last Saturday.
Friend took my Honda CR-Z off me as she desperately needed a car, figured I'd get something fun.
Got a red 2006 model with the 6 Speed, leather seats, brand new rear subframe & hardtop for 5300 Euro.
Been loving it so far, and considering it's my daily driver, it's weirdly "practical" despite being completely impractical.
where tf u foudn one for 5k??' here start at 10k in italy
@@MARCO-rq2ph Got lucky I guess. The only other facelift for sale was 7500, and was from 2003.
Wow, 2004+ are really rare, you found yourself a great deal if it's in a good condition, the hard top alone is 1-2k euro. Most of the Fl cars are 2003 and late 2002. And 2004 do have some changes in bracing and ride height, but it might be specific to the US-spec cars (it's kinda harder to find info specific to Euro-spec ones)
My sister bought one of these in 2000 when they first came out and used to lend it to me whenever she went away and so for around 6 years I regularly got to drive it for extended periods and I loved it. 23 years on & I now have my own. Only negative thing is that I always thought it was too quiet as standard so I fitted stainless manifold and so also removed any potential pre cat issues and fitted a quality Zero single exit exhaust so it now sounds like I think it should. I did buy a cheaper exhaust and it was loud & droned! The Zero exhaust is perfect 👍🏻😎. I have kept rest factory as Toyota pretty much nailed the suspension etc. They really benefit from good matching newish tires & for the geometry to be correct to. I fitted Toyos all round and for road use they are great. There are better ones if you intend to take on track regularly though.
What you said about not liking it until your drive it is so true. After I got to drive one I sold my 350Z and bought one. It's the nearest thing to a 1960 Porsche 356 I owned 50 years ago.
Wow and I was hesitating with a 350Z. What's wrong with the Nissan ? Not much feeling? It must be quite fast though (but quite the gas guzzling compared to this MR2)😅
@@GregosTH Let me put it this way...if you were going into battle the 350Z would be a battle axe; the MR2 would be a rapier. I just prefer the rapier.
@@GregosTH There's nothing 'wrong' with the 350Z per se; it's just that, in comparison, the MR2 feels so much more light and nimble and more of an extension of yourself (like a motorcycle). It also get about double the fuel economy of the 350Z. I actually thought I'd end up with an MX5 but the ones I've driven all the way back to 1990 just don't inspire me. IMO, the MR2 is a much better driver's car; plus, everybody's got a Miata.
@@Ozzienuck Thank you for your answer, yes that makes total sense, especially since I may use it quite regularly (not daily but almost) the fuel economy combined with a MR layout can be really interesting :) (plus they are cheaper, unbeatable smiles per gallon)
@@Ozzienuck Rapier is quick and swift, deadly indeed 😁
Nice compact semi sports car. Too bad you hardly see this car on the road in the Netherlands. Nice car to make nice tours on back roads on a summer day. 👍 Greetings Jos 👋🍀
Dankje Jos! Inderdaad heel zeldzaam, de Mx5 zie je meer en op zich is dat ook wel logisch. Praktischer, minder duur qua aanschaf en min of meer dezelfde prestaties
I don't know if ours in Australia were the same spec, but I rented one back in the day and it was the most fun car I've ever driven. Being so close to the ground with that handling, it was such an exciting driving experience! That one had a sequential auto gearbox with a little polished alloy gear knob and no paddle shifters. The gearbox felt a bit clunky at low speeds, was an absolute blast to use under revs. I was heartbroken when I contacted the company about renting it again, only to find out that it had been crashed - I never found a rental one ever again.
Aussie ones are SMT only if I'm not mistaken, but conversion kits exist from Monkey Wrench Racing
@@Agu_Ra There are a few factory manuals in Australia, the smt conversion is relatively easy, I did mine without some expensive kit.
I just 2zz swapped my zzw30, and it feels almost exactly the same as my old 1zz. Until you hit 6000rpm, then oh boy, the real fun begins!
Dude hell yeah! I considered doing it for mine but I decided to sell this little gem, and use the money to buy a new fun weekend car :)
@@trailsdetails4061 I'm currently in a similar position. I own a 3rd gen MR2 and am considering to either replace it or 2ZZ swap it. What did you end up replacing it with?
@@MrSbeve mine is still bone stock :)
Drove an '02 for for years. One amazing car. No storage. And that covers any complaints. Test drove the first and second gens. Respect them, but prefer the third overall.
I live in the UK and wanted a 2 seater convertible on a reasonable budget. Over here that left me with only few options.
Porsche Boxster 986 - Going back 5 or so years, this would have likely been the first option and would have made me save up more money to find one. There used to be a time a decent 3.2 S could be had for reasonable money. A 2.7 could be had for not a lot of money considering the brand and was still a nice drivers car and interesting. However, now... they have shot up in value in the UK. Those 2.7s now cost the same as the 3.2 Ss used to and the Ss... add in the maintenance costs. However, a lot of that can be negated with a good honest independent specialist.
BMW Z3 and Z4 - Z3s are creeping up in value here. The first Z4 is a beautiful car in my opinion. However, I have owned so many BMWs over the years, and being RWD with the lump in the front... it was doubly something not special. Having said that, a Z3 with the 1.9 engine is quite fun and really cheap... the straight 6s are obviously better for outright grunt, but the 4 pot revs nicely and is enough power to have fun with. I mean if an older version of this engine made the E30 318iS a decent car, why not the Z3? Other than the floppy bad handling of the Z3...
Mazda MX5 Miata NB or NC - I don't fit into either car well unless mods are made to the seats or replaced with bucket seats nearly on the floor. Oh and the NBs are rusty here in the UK. NAs are just... too much for what they are and even more rusty. I have owned many front engined rear wheel drive cars, so for me it wasn't the answer despite the popular saying Miata Is Always The Answer. However, an NC with some mods is a great car.
MG F or TF - Not an option many outside of Europe, or even the UK, will be familiar with. Decent enough mid engined convertible. Similar idea to MR2, Rover MG used a lot of existing parts, including the engine. More comfortable than most of the cars in this class if you got the earlier F. But, build quality was never great, rust is a real issue, and the engine (Rover K series) has a bad reputation for head gasket issues. However, I am a fan of the engine, it is quite an interesting compact light design - there was a reason Lotus used it in the early Elise. But, then there are reasons they swapped to the Toyota 1zz and 2zz engines...
Various Kei Cars - I looked at a few of these. Some mid engine, some fwd, and so on. Really fun cars and I manage to fit in them better than the Miata. But, they cost a lot being a bit niche and sometimes getting spares is an issue. I would still love to scratch that Kei car itch though, but the potential maintenance costs put these out of the race.
Smart Roadster - Mid engine, oddball, and good handling... lacking in power. A bit like a German Kei car. Prices for a Brabus one at the time of looking put me off and I have read your mechanic won' thank you for bringing one in for work. Ok, it isn't quite a convertible, but you can still get the open top experience.
Toyota MR2\MRS\Spyder - Well, first of all, it is surprising how well this car can swallow up tall and broad drivers. I suppose, most mid engine cars do well in that regard. I would say the shape has aged well... still a like it or hate it design. Young people often ask me what it is as it was de-badged at some point. Sitting inside it, it does feel plastic Toyota of its time, but then a lot of the cars on this list aren't actually any better. Driving is fun and darty without feeling like you're on a knife edge. It changes direction really well and the 1ZZ isn't the worst engine either. Ok, you do need to rev it out, but it is enough power to make you smile. Being fairly mundane regarding engine and transmission, it isn't bad on maintenance.
In the UK (and Europe, I think) all cars came with an LSD, which does help. But the gearing is long... another quirk of the Euro spec cars, I believe. On a twisty road, you might as well only use 2, 3, and 4 (rarely). In the UK price wise, these are still flying under the radar despite all the youtube love they have been getting over the past 5 years. Without a hardtop you can get them for £1500 to £2000 for a nice one. The hard top can easily make the price jump up a fair bit as it and the fitting hardware can resell for around £1000. Cheapest 2ZZ swapped car I saw was £3500, but was a track car with some battle scars and no doubt a tired engine... but had all the conversion parts and decent handling upgrades. It also helps I have a great UK MR2 breaker specialist in my area, JSPEC. They've helped me source a few parts.
I am nearing 1 year of ownership, and as my 3rd car... I still managed to put 4k miles on it. I use it for most short journeys as it isn't the best car on the motorways, even with the long long gearing in the Euro spec cars. 6th is really only good for cruising, you need to downshift to 5th or 4th to make it accelerate. Looking to rebuild my gearbox with gears 1 to 5 from a 2zz Celica, keep the stock 6th and obviously the LSD. That is meant to make the 1zz even more fun to drive and means I am a step closer to 2zz swap ready.
Damn dude that's quite the story! And I totally agree, I'm 6 foot 1 and I don't feel cramped at all in this MR2 unlike an MX-5 where I do feel quite cramped. I've also looked into swapping this engine for a 2ZZ but I decided to sell this MR2. Not because it's a bad car, but because I've done a lot of things with it and now it's time for a new fun weekend car.
Did you get that gearbox rebuild done and if you did, who did it? Cooksport? I hillclimb and sprint mine and would love closer 1 - 5 with the standard 6th!
always wanted one of those, been slowly saving cash since 2016, just after getting my fn2 type-r as a daily - its arguably a better car in all ways besides the fun factor, yet i still always wanted one of those.
So people hating it for it not having popups or not having good cargospace (which was never the point of an mr2) and making the prices and parts of them cheaper makes is positive to me.
Truthfully, im always happy to see an mr2 aw11 or zzw30 (im only partial to the sw20 since its more of a GT car in my mind, and there are better alternatives to that), since mr2s of any gen. are somewhat rare in my country, i barely see a few when going to the capital in my country for an auto event such as jdm car season closing
Arguably one of the bigger downsides (besides mentioned) is that the engine is not pushing all that much power, but for the chassis that weighs 900-1100kg its plenty, well you can always 2zz swap . Additionally the styling: call it unpopular/controversial opinion but i find "cute" styling better than everything being "aggressive"
As for the mentioned mechanical downsides: its a 20ish year old car, so most of the pre-cats or oil-ring were replaced/sorted out, worse-case its not: if you wrench on the vehicle by yourself, while time consuming - not too bad of a thing to do
In the Netherlands where every road is flat and straight you don't understand how good this car really is. It's in a " touge" situation that this car really shines
grate video keep up the awesome work keep building your confidence
"Oh, tunnel... I hope you can hear this..." >>> Nope. xD
Love the car. Great video. Cheers!
Having mine for more than a year, it was the biggest financial mistake in my life considering that I was stupid enough not to check compression before buying it (forums told me facelift cars are safe, so I didn't bother that much), so I've overpaid for it and had to put a new engine (I did put a 2006 short block with revised pistons to be safe that I'm not swapping one oil burner for another), and later I did crash it not long after breaking the engine in, and decided to fix it instead of selling it (either option would have put me in a huge loss). So I'm like twice the purchase price into it. And to add insult to injury I was in the process of moving to another country due to the war and stuff (talk about financial mistakes: burning your cash on a car while your country is being invaded and you dunno what's gonna happen to you tomorrow, but maybe not knowing if you get to live another day does play a role in such kind of irrational and emotional decisions). So that car did happen to put me through some troubles (though it was me at fault, not the car), but every time I drove it after weeks or months without it I could totally feel that it was still worth it, that vehicle never stopped putting a smile on my face, and the kind of emotional attachment I have to it never happened with my previous cars, at least not to that extent: be it a Skoda Octavia that has been 9 years in my family and was my first car, or Focus ST that was my first fast car.
It's not a fast vehicle, and not the best one in any regard, not even the best for it's price, but the wind blowing in your face, the low seating position, that rough 4-pot screaming (mine's got TTE exhaust, which adds a bit of drama to it) while linearly building up power, the analogue feel of it, the lightness, especially of its front end, the mid-engine feel, the weighting and feel of all the controls, the heaps of steering feedback, it all comes together so nicely, it all just feels so right. And on top of that it's really easy to drive unless you're dancing on the limit (it can rear its mid-engine head on ya if you're extremely uncareful, and good luck catching it, so some respect is still required), you can still commute in it like in any normal car, I'd even go as far as saying it's easier to drive in a city than a lot of them, due to great visibility (unless with the top on), small size, relatively large engine for its weight and just having what is in fact a commuter engine and drivetrain, with just a little bit of spice added to it, so gearshift and clutch are nice and easy to operate. The only thing it lacks driver-experience wise is a shorter final drive with better-spaced ratios (euro 6-speed feels more like 5-speed with 6th added to it, which what it essentially is, it's a shame they didn't put euro 1zz celica gearbox in it) and a lighter crankshaft/flywheel, it doesn't rev as fast as miatas of the day which is a bit sad for a sportscar, higher rev limit would be also nice but 7k is still okay considering it's just an engine from Avensis with a great torque band for a small N/A from the 00s.
Oil burning was only a problem in the first years. They fixed that in '03 with the face lift version. It was the oil burning that broke down the precats. '03+ models are more rare and are the ones to get. I've had mine for 21 years and it doesn't burn a drop of oil.
FL cars are considered to be less prone to oil burning, but some of them are still affected. Learned that the hard way.
i think the difference between this and others "muscle jdm cars" is that they are faster in acceleration with their big turbo engines,but once they are launched and have to cornering,man this is on another level
FrankensteinMotorworks has done significant 2AR (I4) & 2GR (V6) development for 3rd gen MR2 swaps
I remember when these were able to be bought for $3000. Oh how I miss those days
No storage? Awwww.... my X1/9 has a trunk in the front and the back! Love the MR2 though.
It is closer to the original, but it never goes well when the new model is less car for more money....
I have: 91 turbo..... ; ) ................ Q: Does aftermarket have rings that solve the ring problem?
More people are doing the 2arfe engine swap. You get the same hp as the 2zz but about 40 ftlbs more torque.
People hating it are the ones who've never driven one.
I own a 2002 MR2. Drive one on a twisty road. iykyk
stupid fun to drift in forza 1
Gen 2 looked like a mini Ferrari. This looks like a cute little Hello Kitty car. And crème de la crème is pronounced KREHM not KREEM. Obsessed with spreadsheets? What the heck does that mean?
The Gen 3 is often dubbed a baby Porsche Boxster. Sorry I mispronounced it, I meant spec sheets. Basically people who focus way too much on numbers without taking into consideration how a car actually drives
That sounds just like a Pontiac Vibe GT. Same amount of road noise as the MR2
nice
16k to 18 k in Portugal, luky gys
Mr S!
Indeed, it is a MRS
@@dbnpoldermans4120this is an MR2. In the US they are called MR S
I drove these cars off the ships...not a bad car but stock...neither underrated or overhated...well maybe overhated a bit...unless you bought the horrible smg
Holy shit wow private server guy likes cars?
No it’s not a clapped one is 10k
But its ugly
I don't like it.. it's ugly as hell... that's why they stopped making it... nobody wanted it... should of stuck with the 80s design..
They sold thousands of them.... LOL
No way, man. There is absolutely no way…
🐹 🛞
:)