MR2 - Year One Review

eringobragh

MR2 - Year One Review

Mk2 SW20 3SGE GT TBAR - 2L



Coming to my first year of ownership and share my impressions of the mk2 so far.

Maintenance:

I haven't done huge mileage but so far the issues have been minimal. Oil Consumption is little or none, its barely moved on the dip stick

Issues I've had was a burst radiator (solved by installing front mesh) and a parasatic battery drain from a faulty alarm siren..non-issues tbh

Parts are easily got anywhere and lots of 2's being broken so spares are plentiful

Just 2 new back tyres on her aswell


Petrol Consumption:

I'm averaging 29.38 MPG over the last 2000 miles according to my iPhone app..this is a mixed bag of 50/50 Urban / Motorway...but you dont drive these cars for fuel economy


Mid Engine Handling

Tyres are key here..mine came with 195s on the rear and had 1 or 2 incidents before I changed them to Falken Ze912 225s...these help alot but you are still liable to 'sideways' action in the wet difference is it was much easier to 'rectify' the situation on the 225s..:)

Performance

Mines an NA and was dynoed by Urban at 160bhp..feels alot faster when you are that low to the ground..acceleation is great..but like any of these japanese performance cars...you need to move up the revs...the car will certainly give the smile factor!


Asthetics

Probably what drew me to the MR2 was its looks..to me it has remained timeless, yet retro with its popup lights.

Tax

Tax isn't the worst - €660 - With a country obsessed with fuel efficient,low tax bean can cars, it has its advanatges there is a varying level of MR2s on the various car sale sites going anywhere from 500 - 3000 depending on age, condition, etc.

Insurance

I'm not long out of the risk bracket age wise but I was still getting 4 figure €€€€ quotes from most of the insurance companies however I have to hand it to 123.ie who quoted me a competitive quote for the 2. This year it comes in at €526 fully comp

Storage

The boot can be a tight queeze but I have managed to fit a set of golf clubs and 2 bags in it. The cabin has a couple of storage places which are quite handy

"Cop Magnet" / "Thief Magnet" Car

Maybe I've been lucky but I was talked out of buying an MR2 but a number of people using the cop magnet and thief magnet arguement.

Regarding the cop magnet, I've been through checkpoints they don't bat an eyelid at the 2.

On the thief magnet..like any of these type cars they will always attract scum, as long as the proper systems are in place it will deter them from attempting anything.



Annoyances

Toyota OEM peeling wheels - guaranteed to happen
Leaky Tbar roof - guaranteed to happen
Paint 'Bubbling' - some of these mk2s are over 20years old its to be expected!
Sticky Brake Calipers - guaranteed to happen


In a nutshell

Likes

TBar Roof
Can be naughty in the wet
Midship Engine
Comfortable Seats
Gear Stick Position
Heated Mirrors


Dislikes:

Tbar Roof..Leaks
Can be naughty in the wet
Small Boot
Wheres the cup holders? :P
Swirl marks




To summarise...I hope this review encourages at least one person to buy one, they are great bang for the buck and its a fun car to drive..I look forward to driving it , couple that with the great community at www.mr2.ie...I'm won't be going anywhere for a while

eringobragh

eringobragh wrote: »

............



To summarise...I hope this review encourages at least one person to buy one.............

Might well get one soon (ish), won't be your review that encouraged me though

They're a great car and the 3SGE is a fine engine for what it is.

eringobragh

RoverJames wrote: »

Might well get one soon (ish), won't be your review that encouraged me though

They're a great car and the 3SGE is a fine engine for what it is.

Good luck with that you won't regret it.

Go for rev3 onwards if you can as the rear has a complete facelift.

Wealth of knowledge on mr2.ie on what to look for when buying :cool:

unkel

Nice write-up

It must have lost a bit of power over the years, I though these had a few more horses? How much did the car set you back last year?

smokie72

I've owned a gt tbar for the past 4 years and I do agree with you that they are a great car to drive. Mine is a 98 rev 5 and I was wondering why yours is a 00 reg. I thought they stopped production of the sw20 in 99 when they introduced the mark 3.

eringobragh

unkel wrote: »

Nice write-up

It must have lost a bit of power over the years, I though these had a few more horses? How much did the car set you back last year?

Nope the revision 5 left the factory with 168bhp which is dynoed at the flywheel,,,so effectively its lost nothing.

The turbos are 240bhp though.:eek:

Car cost €1900...but you could call it €2500 as I just got the timing belt, etc done staright away when I got it as I knew I was going to hang on to it. :cool:

...the revision5 is a very rare model to source though.

eringobragh

smokie72 wrote: »

I've owned a gt tbar for the past 4 years and I do agree with you that they are a great car to drive. Mine is a 98 rev 5 and I was wondering why yours is a 00 reg. I thought they stopped production of the sw20 in 99 when they introduced the mark 3.

Car was built in Nov 99 but registered in 00..theres a few on them out there but Ive yet to see one in this country

stephenmarr

@OP get down to your toyota dealer and order up some Eccentric T-Top Guides for the T-Bar leaking problems gone.
http://www.emspowered.com/storefront/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=61_62_64_79&products_id=535
worked on my MR2
Turbo Rev3 GT T-Bar 275bhp

eringobragh

stephenmarr wrote: »

@OP get down to your toyota dealer and order up some Eccentric T-Top Guides for the T-Bar leaking problems gone.
http://www.emspowered.com/storefront/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=61_62_64_79&products_id=535
worked on my MR2

got them and worked for a while...but I changed the glass as I've mismatching colours so reckon i'll swap the seals there.

smokie72

Thought I post a picture of mr2. Use to be my daily drive but I only use it now as a weekend car.:cool:

eringobragh

smokie72 wrote: »

Thought I post a picture of mr2. Use to be my daily drive but I only use it now as a weekend car.:cool:

Nice...I hope my rev5 wheels will be looking like them...were they refurbed at all?

smokie72

Yes they were refurbed by the previous owner. If I had the money I would get a full body respray, it's starting to fade in certain areas. Hard to think the mark 2 chassis design is nearly 25 years old now. I was going to sell mine but they don't make them like that anymore and I would regret it if I did sell it. It did take me a while thought to find a clean mr2 that wasn't abused and I have driven 35k trouble free miles since I bought her.

Pottler

Anyone else find the MR2 to be an engine beyond its chassis? They just beg to be driven on, but the handling cant cope with the speed. Can get scary if you really push it and the ditch is always beckoning. Tyres are critical - if they are worn or a poor Make you just can't use the speed as the handling totally goes out the window. I had one a long while ago and got shut after a month or two as I reckoned it would bite me badly eventually..

Senna

The sw20 chassis can more than handle the power of the NA, as long as its kept standard and with the correct suspension geometry, the weak link is usually the person behind the wheel.
Absolutely love these cars, on my second one now, its a beams engine but i use it as a daily driver and get 35mpg (i reckon i could get more if i tried).

No good pics on this laptop;

stephenmarr

@eringobragh
get some black silicone sealant and spread it over the rubbers of the T-Bar Glass where it meets up with the glass on the doors.
put some talc on the rubbers of the body frame and on the black silicone which you have spread on the T-Bar glass.
now place the T-Bar glass on the frame and lock it down.
leave it overnight and when its cured remove the T-Bar (the talc prevents the silicone from sticking to the rubbers on the body frame) and trim the silicone and now you should have no more leaking

Heres a picture guide
http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/know-your-2-knowledge-base/mr2-mk2.html?kbartid=207

Pottler

Senna wrote: »

The sw20 chassis can more than handle the power of the NA, as long as its kept standard and with the correct suspension geometry, the weak link is usually the person behind the wheel.
Absolutely love these cars, on my second one now, its a beams engine but i use it as a daily driver and get 35mpg (i reckon i could get more if i tried).

No good pics on this laptop;

cussed me down

mloc123

Wish I held onto mine. Had a rev3(95) turbo about 5 years ago, considering a cheap NA at the moment as it wouldn't be a daily driver.

scamalert

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3338857 240hp anyone looking for proper mr2 take a look at this,seems like nothing missing dream car and probably could be insured as a classic,also owner is sound and knows all bits and peaces about these cars.almost bought it myself but still am in danger zone with insurance and wouldnt get a quote ,had a chat with few other sellers that went cheaper and never got proper responses or time to look at the car,its like they put an an add and after that no sorry,cant show it till next week or no answer at all o_O .Its this or supra as these cars are definitely future classics,that Japanese managed to design 20 ago and its still most of the powerful and eye catching cars that you turn your head when seen one,not like nowadays cars that dont even last 3 years without major breaking or paint starting to peel off.

eringobragh

scamalert wrote: »

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3338857 240hp anyone looking for proper mr2 take a look at this,seems like nothing missing dream car and probably could be insured as a classic,also owner is sound and knows all bits and peaces about these cars.almost bought it myself but still am in danger zone with insurance and wouldnt get a quote ,had a chat with few other sellers that went cheaper and never got proper responses or time to look at the car,its like they put an an add and after that no sorry,cant show it till next week or no answer at all o_O .Its this or supra as these cars are definitely future classics,that Japanese managed to design 20 ago and its still most of the powerful and eye catching cars that you turn your head when seen one,not like nowadays cars that dont even last 3 years without major breaking or paint starting to peel off.

Not loving the wheels ...but stick on the rev2 5 spokes and a polish of the paint and it would be a lovely car

Senna

MR2 are going for ridiculous money and for 2.5k you could get a nice clean REV5 NA or at least a REV3 Turbo. But you will have to wade through a load of rubbish before getting a good one.

eringobragh

Senna wrote: »

MR2 are going for ridiculous money and for 2.5k you could get a nice clean REV5 NA or at least a REV3 Turbo. But you will have to wade through a load of rubbish before getting a good one.

Yep...couldn't believe what they were going for when I got back from Australia...they were 5000euros and upwards when I was looking at them in 2009 :eek:

Chriscl1

i bought one and loved it, i let my brother drive it and he made me an offer to buy it on the spot!! the thing is he has no ncb so insurance is too high so its still at my house so i still get to take her out for a rip haha. he has to sell it now.

smokie72

I bought my revision 5 mr2 nearly 5 years ago and paid 7500 euros for it but that was the market at the time. I bought it from a private seller, they were going for 12000+ euros for the same spec from a dealer:eek:. It's not just the mr2, the second hand car trade has depreciated big time over the same period. Sign of the times we are in now. It took me several months to find a mr2 that wasn't abused. Don't regret getting one thought:D

ShadowHearth

thats what i loved about mr2 too, op. driving position is amazing. I love driving position in mx5, but mr2 blows it out of the water. like you said - you dont need to have loads of power to feel like fun driving.


160hp after so many years - WOOOOOW. thats in normal non beams engine? i hear beams engines lose hp very fast.

eringobragh

ShadowHearth wrote: »

thats what i loved about mr2 too, op. driving position is amazing. I love driving position in mx5, but mr2 blows it out of the water. like you said - you dont need to have loads of power to feel like fun driving.


160hp after so many years - WOOOOOW. thats in normal non beams engine? i hear beams engines lose hp very fast.

Yeah its a non-beams 3SGE engine...its hard to drive a 'normal' car after the 2....