So, you want a sports car. You think, maybe a Porsche or a Ferrari or something classic, but are turned off by the expense, quirks, and unreliability. Maybe a Honda/Acura NSX? That solves the reliability and drivability issues; it’s been thought of as the Accord of sports cars, but still prohibitively expensive. A Miata may not always be the answer, its FR layout is too pedestrian. For the discerning enthusiast, enter the Toyota MR2. This 1991 SW20 example was submitted by user PRA4SNW, and can be found listed on the North Carolina craigslist for $20,000.
“MR2” stands for midship rear drive two-seater, or midship runabout two-seater, depending on who you talk to. Either way, it’s a name that inarguably describes exactly what it is. In the 1980s, Toyota wanted to make a small, economical, but still fun to drive car, and the end result was the AW11 MR2 made with off-the-shelf components to simplify manufacturing. In a stunning example of simultaneous invention, Pontiac released a similar car made in similar ways and at around the same time as the new MR2. Car fanatics will know that I’m talking about the first production mid-engined car to come out of General Motors: the Pontiac Fiero.
Unlike the Fiero, however, Toyota had a plethora of reliable, rev-happy engines and transmissions to choose from. This example is powered by Toyota’s 2.2 liter, 130 horsepower, 5s-FE engine and 5-speed manual transmission powering the rear wheels. All of that sitting directly behind the passenger compartment can be heard and felt intimately, thanks to the t-top removable roof panels. 130 horsepower may not sound like much, but the car weighs a relatively feathery 2,600 pounds in this specification, with ideal weight distribution and mechanical feedback. Put simply: your butt dyno won’t care.
That’s really all that matters, right? Performance metrics are fine, but there will always be someone faster, more powerful, and/or able to pull more lateral Gs. A numbers game means you won’t ever be satisfied. If you buy a car that’s small, light, and fun to drive, you’re doing it right. That’s why the Miata is as successful as it is, it’s the ideal sports car. This MR2 just happens to be one of the best examples of that ideal sports car formula, despite the engine being in a different spot. It’s so perfect because it’s so well-designed, and this one is so well-preserved. After more than three decades on this planet, it’s only amassed 70,000 miles, and has been meticulously maintained to the point of near perfection. The seller loves this car, that’s clear from the description. As did the only other previous owner. So, potential future third owner, are you ready to daily your perfect sports car?
Another design that Toyota knocked outta the park. Cleaner lines, amazing handling, it’s what GM should’ve been planning the Fiero to ultimately become.
Instead they cheaped out then got it mostly right-then ended production as they had with the Corvair and others..
Has to be tough to sell something this fun, but maybe it’s a little too much to get in and out of at this point in their time.
BTW, Ben-“butt dyno” is an awesome description for describing the joy of driving low slung underpowered sports cars! 😆👍🏻
GM did what they always do, they launched a poorly executed example first in the Fiero, had the market all to themselves for a year or two while they make their customers into development engineers. Then a superior Asian competitor arrives to kick GM’s butt, and by the time GM fixes all of the issues that should have been addressed during development, sales are in the toilet due to their car’s crappy reputation, and the GM product disappears without a trace. The Fiero had an additional handicap to deal with, GM’s paranoia that the fire would steal sales from the Corvette. A completely unfounded fear, IMHO, due to the huge price difference between a Fiero and a Corvette, but such was life at GM in the 1980’s. Then GM repeated the mistake with the Opel GT/Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky triplets at the turn of the 21st Century.
Nice car. One of the best things Toyota ever built. If you don’t want to drive it just sit and look at it.
And if you want to just sit and look at it, don’t because this is a car that
Needs to be driven.
I test drove one of these against a Miata, and while I liked it a lot, I ultimately went with the Miata, for two (2) very important reasons. First, I wanted a real convertible, and either the T-Tops in this example, or the Targa Roof in the previous generation didn’t do it for me. The MR2 wouldn’t get a real convertible top until the third generation, the one after this example. Second, and more importantly, the dealers were doing the usual crap for a brand-new Toyota, adding a $3000 (or more) “Availability Charge” or “Additional Dealer Markup”, a.k.a. ADM Charge over list price for these. I’ve never paid list price for a new car, and had no intention of doing so when these were new.
Plus I assume that the Miata (I have 2) was peppier. I did have a contractor over in the UK (when I worked for a global pharma company) who had a 1st gen version. He hopped up the engine (don’t recall how) for weekend racing. He took me for a ride in Stevenage and we came out of an underpass and I swear all 4 tires came clear of the tarmac. It was hot.
As to dealer add ons, have you checked on what they’re trying to get for the new Corvettes? MSRP is/was $92K and dealers throughout the southeast were asking for up to $38K more. A buddy in Atlanta bought one at list price, but he was being offered from other dealers a price of almost $130K. In Burlington, NC, the dealer was asking $119K. Whether they were getting it, is not clear.
Greed is Good: For the Dealers, that is! For the customers, not so much. I’m not surprised that the markup on new Corvettes is $38k over “Sticker”. Disgusted, yes, but not at all surprised. Remember, when that Toyota was new, that was over thirty (30) years ago, so just based on inflation, I would expect that the ADM equivalent would probably be closer to $6k by now for the Toyota, if they made one today. New, that was a $20k car, it would be closer to $40k today.
BTW, I’ve had three (3) Miatas, a 1993, bought used in 1996, a 2004 Mazdaspeed edition, and my current ride, a 2013 Grand Touring PRHT. At one point, I cross shopped a Honda S2000, but it was a little too hard-edged as a daily driver for my taste, the Miata was easier to live with on a daily basis. The S2000 would have made a great track car, but been tough to live with during my daily commute, noisy and harsh.
The Honda Del Sol was closer to the Miata in concept, but the engine was in the wrong end of the car, and the Targa Top was a pain in the butt. The Europeans and the Japanese got a power retractible Targa Top, but we didn’t get that here in the States.
Smart buyers find a way to never pay ADM. THere are several high volume dealerships that sell Corvettes at sticker or below. They aren’t hard to find. It’s the “gotta get one right now” gang that doesn’t think twice about paying extra for their vehicles, video games, the list goes on and on.
I got my ’22 Bronco for 1K BELOW invoice when others were paying 25K OVER sticker to get one – what idiots! Yes, I waited longer, and did not mind doing that.
Bought wifey one of these (the turbo version!). It was an awesome car. It went with the divorce. Miss her. The car- NOT the wife!
It’s funny. When my car guy friends got together as young(er) men, back in the early 90’s? There wasn’t one guy that drove an Asian car, or threw around engine names like 5s-FE. This must be a left coast thing. When we said FE? We were talking about a Ford big block. Though, some women we knew drove these lil things. They thought they were cute.
When I was a kid, Detroit didn’t make cars like these even when someone made cars like these. If you wanted a two-seat, open top sports car, you bought a British, German or Italian car, then you either spent a lot of time on the phone to AAA, calling a tow truck, or hired a live-in mechanic with a valid passport to source parts from the old country and keep the thing running, LOL! The Japanese were the first to build a truly reliable sports car (Datsun 240Z) that didn’t leak oil or have an electrical system built by Lucas, the so-called “Prince of Darkness”!
Import tuners were the rage back then, and still are. U can pull insane ponies out of these little engines with some mods ( turbo kits). U want to see insane prices, check out the mid to late 90s Supras. Can’t touch a NA for under $50k. Factory turbo versions are over $100k. And those cars were flops when they launched in the US. They were meant to compete against the C4 Vette.
My 92. Long gone. Great handling, fun to drive. Easy to work on, dependable and well made. Before that I owned an 86. Also purchased used. No regrets. Admittedly, the most serious of this type of car I have owned was an 04 S2000. Not as Corolla-like as the MR-2s, but what a screamer.
I am a drop top guy, and of all of these types of cars, the 3rd Gen MR2 Spyder is the one for me. Nothing against the Miata, but they are too common and there is just something about a mid-engine layout that screams “sports car” loudly.
A couple of years ago, I came within minutes of going to look at one and I know I would have bought it, but it was at exactly the wrong time to buy a vehicle for me – just got laid off.
I can relate. I was an Electrical Engineer, working in eighties and nineties tech, and layoffs were almost routine, largely due to the collapse of several tech companies in the nineties. You have my sympathy, as it happened to most of us, myself included, in the nineties tech sector.
As it did to me, also, after I just bought my 04 S2000 with 18K miles on it. But…no job, no commute, and no pay. The guy I sold it to was very happy.