Advantages: Quick, Cheap, Reliable, Great looking car
Disadvantages: Like all cars of its age rust is a problem

...I Love my Toyota MR2 mk1 T-BAR 1988. For its age it feels and looks better than anything I see on the roads nowadays. The styling of older cars was retro with all the cool vents and square shapes etc. Now u just get curves and all new cars look the same and are all about comfort and safety. I bought my MR2 in February for a measly £700. It needed work so I got all rust off and a complete respray for £450 from my local garage in Alrewas, he was very helpful and if anybody wants his contact number please get in touch with me. Very nippy 1.6 Engine, Great styling and classic car insurance. What more could you want. Great fun :) Being a Toyota it is also easy to get the parts despite the age. I would not recommend going direct to Toyota as the parts are a small fortune, try internet searches and local garages etc. i found toyota... Read review

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Advantages: proper sports car, reliable, flip up headlights
Disadvantages: short on power, noisy on motorways/high speed

...that Toyota were using an their rally cars in the early 90's, and got banned for it so it must work. Because it's only a 2 litre wheezier it feels slow and underpowered, it will take you to 60 in 7.7 seconds and top out at 140ish, 50 more BHP wouldn't go a miss here but I think you get that if you buy a turbo one. A good point about all engines in these is that they are non-interference build that means that if the timing belt which should be changed every sixty thousand miles snaps it won't do any damage. Car won't drive of course but tow it down to a dealer and they will time it up, put a new belt on and should run. Quite bizarrely the earlier Mk 1 MR2's are faster with the smaller 1.6 engine in, but if you can find an Mk 1 that hasn't rotted away or been 'Pimped' it must be the one Lord Lucan is towing Shergar around in. Another reason... Read review

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Advantages: A real drivers car, great fun to drive, very nippy, looks great
Disadvantages: Limited boot space and can be a bit wayward in the wet

...I have owned my 1989 Toyota MR2 1.6i mid engined Coupe now for 6 Years and I have no major complaints. The car still manages to turn heads and is very nippy, 0-60 in under 8 seconds and personally a top speed of 136mph (on a race course I made add:) Electric windows, wing mirrors and central locking and enough room under the seats for a CD multi-Changer and amplifier if required. The boots capacity amounts to maybe a sports bag and football along with some additional room behind the seats for a couple of small bags or jackets. No problem to me but something to bear in mind if this is your main car. One word of caution and this applies to most rear wheel sports cars is that when turning in the wet you can sometimes end up going sideways or backwards as I can testify to. Once you get used to the way the car handles... Read review

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Advantages: Handling, speed, fun, economy
Disadvantages: Luggage space and image, if you are shallow

...I bought a G reg Mark 1 MR2 in July, and have been driving it since. The reason I bought it was because I wanted a fun car to tinker with and to learn a bit of car restoration. The MK1 MR2 is an iconic machine, for many the archetypal sports car of the 80s, and I used to adore them as a teenager. They have received much of a ribbing in recent years being a “hairdresser’s car”. While this doesn’t bother me at all, it is complete nonsense. The MK1 MR2 is a performance car first and foremost. The 1.6 twin-cam engine is a fore-runner of the variable valve timing system on the modern Toyotas (VVT-i), Hondas(VTEC) and Fords(ZETEC). Up to about 4200 revs, the two inlet valves and two outlet valves per cylinder operate in synchronicity, providing plenty of torque, and not a little power. Above 4200 revs, the valves... Read review

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Advantages: looks / pace / free from woosy driver aids / brilliant steering
Disadvantages: attracts attention e.g thiefs and police

...I purchased a 77,000 FSH white t-bar motor for the measly sum of £1395. As i'm a student still at college this money took a while to save up but for that type of money the MR2 has lived up to my expectations. My options for a new car where between a 205 GTi (immposible to find a good one), a ford capri 2.8L or a MK1 MR2. I didn't need long to deceide. With its clean cut angular curves and those pop up headlights the MR2 easily sums up my ideal motor. This review is as much an appraisal of the MK1 MR2 as an attack on the european bureaucrats who blight modern motoring with their rules and regulations. The MR2 would not pass any NCAP safety ratings. The MR2 would not have been built today as its angular looks are so far away from modern cars that more and more seem to look like bubbles. Even Toyota are guilty of this i.e the Yaris... Read review

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Advantages: When it works and the road is bone dry it handles well.
Disadvantages: If a rabbit so much as pees in your path, expect to crash. Engine trouble!!

.... In the saftey of my workplace i typed 'MR2 Roadster snow' into google and was informed by numerous owners of this 'toy' car that the best thing to do when in an MR2 and encountering snow is to pull the thing over and walk! I would have been prepared to attempt to forgive the car for these failings because lets face it; its a sexy looking little thing, reminiscent of a Boxter in many people's opinion...but then the engine exploded...oh yes my X-reg with 56,000 miles and full service history simply gave up the ghost and started rattling like a drug addict locked up in a prison cell for 2 weeks. I immediately took it into the Toyota dealership in Bolton and an hour later the mechanic theatrically emerged, sucking his teeth like only the finest mechanics can do, proclaiming that this low mileage, fsh vehicle 'needs a new engine'. But don't worry... Read review

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Advantages: great fun to drive!
Disadvantages: Tiny boot

...I am just compelled to write a review on the new and improved Kitty mobile. Having passed my test over two years ago and being over the ripe age of 25 now I fancied something with a bit more poke, but that wouldn’t cost me the Earth to run or insure. My last car being a Peugeot 106 was super economical. I'm sure it ran on dust to be honest, as I only used to fill it up every other week with ten pounds. It was a bum hole to drive though. The brakes were horrendous and I always felt like I was sitting on top of the steering wheel with my face pushed up against the window. Mr Fluff then proceeded to buy a Toyota MR2 MK2 late last year. Which made me think, hang on a minute..Miss Fluff wants a piece of the action! But not wanting a 2 Litre engine to fill with petrol and then go short journeys just to work and the like. So after trawling... Read review

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Advantages: Style, Handling, Low Insurance / Running Costs
Disadvantages: Slighty underpowered, Storage space

...A few months ago - I was having problems with a car that I had purchased. I owned ( and still have it sat on my drive at the moment ) an 'X' reg Alfa Romeo 166. I had been having problems with this car for a while, and happened to notice a few cars I was interested in at a local garage when driving past one day. I stopped, and looked around at the cars that I had previously seen, including a Subaru Impresa, and a few others. My friend then pointed out this little Silver Convertible tucked away at the back of the forecourt. As I walked slowly over, I realised that this was a Toyota MR-2 Roadster. It was immaculate, a really clean and tidy, looked after car. The garage was actually closed when I was looking around, and I thought that I would go and check it out the following day. The actual design of the car is subtle - its... Read review

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Advantages: GREAT LOOKS,SOLID TOYOTA RELIABLITY,COMFORTABLE INTERIOR
Disadvantages: DOESNT LIKE WET WEATHER,SPARE PARTS COSTS,HARD SUSPENSION,INTERIOR NOISE

...i got my car 2 years ago freshly imported from the land of the rising sun i paid £4000 for it and it came with about 51000 on the clock and was a auction grade 4 which is a good grade, the car interior body work overall condition was great alot better than the uk versions i had been to see for the same money. well..what do you want to know ..ill tell you the car itself has great looks alot better than the previous model and the new mr-s shape, the interior although like most toyota cars is a little dark and drab but the seats are fully adjustable and the driving position again are fully adjustable as well as all the little buttons switches air con,stereo are very easy to reach and adjust without having to take your eyes off the road.mine come with a tbar and ive seen mr2s with sun roofs but they dont look the part compared... Read review

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Advantages: brilliant fun, great looks, no room for passengers!
Disadvantages: no room for shopping/luggage/anything else!

...The MKI MR2 is simply a brilliant car! For less than £2000 you can get a 2 seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive sports car that is brilliant fun and, 15 years on, can still turn heads. The driving position is low down and very comfy with acres of leg room in the passenger seat. The 1.6 engine sounds great and the car has excellent road handling. Inside there are no mod cons but you do get central locking, electric windows and a sunroof that lifts out completely. Reliability and build is excellent - it has a few rattles now but nothing more. This is definitely a driver’s car - it has no real practical use with a boot than you can only fit about 4 bags of shopping in!... Read review

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