Who here has an mkI MR2? Should I get one for a DD?

[Jeff Lange]

85 had a complete suspension setup. Since most people are generally too stupid to drive a sporting car, toyota had to deal with lots of unhappy people who spun their brand new sports cars. So what do they do? make the car handle worse, how do they do that? Take the front swaybar out.

The interior stuff was like the changeover in 89 int he supras, the interior just became nicer.

It was the rear sway bar that was removed, and most 86's still have the mounting for it, just need to add it. They parts are available to add it to other years as well. Toyota put the rear sway bar back in in 1989 for the Supercharged models as well.

Having extensively driven an 86 MR2, 86 Corolla GT-S, and the Supra, I would say the MR2 is a great option for a daily driver! A lot of parts are interchangable with the Corolla, and they're simple to work on, once you figure out how to reach your hand into various places!

Also, fixing damage on them is relatively easy as well, but it depends how bad it is. Stuff like the front rad support is bolted on, which makes it easy to replace, plus if you're in a front-end collision, none of the major mechanical components get damaged.

They have a pretty large interior for 2 people, it feels very wide compared to my AE86 for example, it's pretty nice, though it has an "odd" look to it, and takes some getting used to. The shifter sits pretty high with the gas tank underneath it, and it feels a LOT better if you put a short shift kit in it.

As for all-weather driving, I've driven an MR2 in dry, wet, and snow/ice, and while it has a different feel to it and it's not quite as easy to pinpoint the point when you've gone too far, it is very controllable, and I would not say it is dangerous in any way. Provided you aren't a complete idiot, that is.

All that being said, it's a 20'ish year old car, just like your Supra, they're reliable if maintained, just like any other car, but I would suggest looking elsewhere (ie: newer) for a daily driver that will never let you down. AE101/AE102 Corollas (93-97) are fantastic, unbelievably reliable cars that are downright boring to drive. But they won't let you down!

For what it's worth.

Jeff

 

[IJ.]

^ Boring = good in this case

 

[Mr.PFloyd]

On the topic of this, Subaru aside, what are good reliable AWD cars? No trucks here.
I saw an audi 1.8t, and i know they share many components with the jetta. But are parts prices for these cars super expensive?

 

[mt01631]

MR2 is a fantastic DD, not sure what price they go for over with you but we can get them for buttons here plus they come with lots of free rust

I've owned all MR2s in my time (MK1, 2 and 3) and the MK1 is great fun, as said in earlier replies, very roomy inside, reliable, fun on twistys and quite cheap to run.

First thing is to make sure you have a good set of tyres, most horror stories come from folk with worn or cheap nasty tyres, also never lift off in a bend and you'll be fine.

Only thing to look out for other than normal things is the alternator, for some reason the water gets directed right over the top of it and they tend to go :aigo:

If you don't suffer from salt on your roads and rust then I can't think of anything else.

 

[ERA]

I don't know much about 'em, but driving my friends 85 N/A was pretty fun
Its like a big go-cart hah. I had pictured that it would be hard driving without powersteering so he says, but it wasn't at all.

The Supras a big car so it was really something else. The shifter felt like a joystick compared to the Supra heh. Im a pretty tall guy but sat comfortably in there. Cool car. Looks like a mini jet from a profile. I want one.

Pretty good shape for 218k miles - Doesn't even look like it.

 

[Isphius]

Put it this way, if you like the car, go buy it. test drive it, think you want to be stuck in it every day, then buy it. give or take Its going to break down as much as any car you buy, and it is still a toyota! and you wont crash it if your not an idiot like jeff said. I had an 01 mr2 spyder, while not really comparable, it was a great car. awesome on gas, turned heads everywhere, the freakin cops didnt even bother me in it. The lack of space gets old very fast though. One passenger, no luggage. I crashed it being an idiot doing donuts in the snow, but other than that it drives just like any other small car. goes, stops, turns, feels basically the same as long as your not driving like an ass. But as for my suggestion, Im not the kind of person to want to sell out and buy a sedan or lame FWD. personally i was looking for a miata or MR2 as a DD. The miatas are also annoyingly reliable but very inflated resale prices. My other option was a 318is e30 beemer. Expensive parts, but rwd. plenty of cool factor and will still get 30mpg and nice looking too. And there is the 240sx. you can sometimes find those cheap, but they have a lot of rice factor and people want way to much for them sometimes. My current DD is a porsche 924 S auto that i got for 2gs. it was an impluse buy. Not something i would suggest unless you want to sink money into it when you wear something out. But probably one of the nicest 80s cars ive ever driven.

 

[AW11inVa]

I have had several MK1's and but never a supra until recently but it is not currently driveable. I cant compare the two but I have enjoyed my MR2. It sticks to the road like glue and get good mileage. The only thing I dont like about them is that every one I have had has this really annoying steering wheel shake at 50+ MPH. I have dont just about everything to my current MK1 to get rid of it and it just will not go away. It will also leak oil from the distributor. The only real scary moment I had in my duece is one day on the way home I was taking a curve pretty fast and the car was holding well when I came upon some freshly mowed grass that had been sprayed on the road and when the rear wheels hit that patch she fish tailed on me a bit but I was able to slide in the direction of the road as it straitened out. Most people on the MR2 sites will say that the snap oversteer is not an issue with MR2 but rather the drivers doing something stupid. I feel there is a real lack in performance parts for the MK1 MR2 as well. But it is a fun driver, it is what it is.

It would be my second car. I looked for info on a MR2 board but I wanted to see if anyone with a supra (like me) can give advice and comparison between the two cars. I know a good deal about MR2's, especially how and why they are more likely to spin in bad circumstances. I realize they are a whole different type of car and shouldn't be anything like a supra, but my experiance in a supra should make any supra enthusiast's MR2 experiance valuable.
Someone who has driven or owns a mkIII supra AND a mkI MR2 so I could better decide if its a good idea to get one.
I'm looking for a primary source here for the most part, as it's an important decision considering it has to do with my safety. If you know about other things such as it's practicality of it's size or how well a 6 foot tall guy will fit in one..that's cool too cabin noise, ride...whatever u feel like sharing.

I don't think an MR2 would have been a good first car, but i've had the supra at least 2 years. no wrecks. a few close calls but nothing really serious, who doesn't have those?
Now that driving isn't new to me, I feel like an MR2 is not that bad of an idea, and 30mpg is VERY appealing right now as i'm getting around 19 in the supra.

I know i need to learn how to drive the MR2 at it's limit, and SURE it's going to slide much crazier in wet weather IF i loose control, but if i drive the speed limit it won't be bad right? The key is to not get to the point of loosing control...or so I believe.
I've heard it's a scary car from some, but others think that as long as you drive safe and sane, only pushing it for autocross or drag, you'll be fine. I'd like to believe the latter. However I also read that accident avoidance or carelessness even at low speed can be iffy, but i'd just have to be extra careful i guess?


Pros and con's i've found of me owning a MR2 for a DD....

PROS:

- good gas mileage I commute to school for about 10 minutes one way. not huge but its substantial with no job.
- I've read on mr2oc.com that they have a 5 star frontal crash test rating for passenger and driver
- Fun to drive (I've been on 4 wheels pretty much since i could pedal my kettcarr...i love driving. I like the supra and I know I would appriciate the car as more than just transportation given it's superb corning capabilities.
- mkI MR2's are generally cheaper than other vehicles i like. I'm not set on a SC model either because of reliability, gas mileage, and safety as a first time MR2 driver...so leaving those out lowers cost.
- i've heard good things about MR2 reliability.


CONS:

- wet weather driving is supposedly scary and can be dangerous (more so than any other vehicle layout)
- It's a small car, only 2 seats. BUT I dont have much I need to haul around...
- size could possibly hinder my safety in an accident? but i can't judge this one since I don't actually know...maybe its safer than the supra? i wouldn't know.
- might be a tad bit loud on the highway. I'd look into sound deadening material though, maybe that's a viable solution?
- less car to be seen by other drivers.


Soo with that said, along with any ideas you have, what do you think?

Figit

 

[AW11inVa]

Here is mine. It is a low mileage car that was in a flood and sat for 10 years before I got it and brought it back to life. I have a 4AGZE in it now with 257,000 miles and runs perfectly.

If you go to MR2 meets in an MK1 you are usually the minority LOL

 

[DonS1mpson]

DD + occasional track car = Miata.

 

[CPT Furious]

I owned an 85 MR2 for about 11 years and was my first car. Supra was the second. I sold the MR2 a couple of years ago since the family was getting bigger and the MR2 doesn't have a lot of built in utility to it.

However, I was able to get up to 41 mpg on the highway going from Oklahoma to Delaware and it served me well for many years. Fast? No...but it was sure fun to rev it hard. It was a great DD car and fun to play around with! I didn't have a whole lot of maintenance issues with the car, either.

Overall, fun car and reliable. I miss it...

I'm also 6'3" @ 225 lbs and I fit in it with room to spare. It's got plenty of room inside!

 

[Jeff Lange]

Only thing to look out for other than normal things is the alternator, for some reason the water gets directed right over the top of it and they tend to go :aigo:

They added an extra under cover to mid-88+ models to prevent this, there was a TSB on how to add it to earlier models. Unfortunately the part is now discontinued (I just tried to order one last week).

My roommate's MR2 suffered alternator failure which ended up causing a fire in the engine bay, the entire harness going through the firewall lit up, and I'm pretty sure it was caused by this. Harness and alternator were replaced and it's been fine since, but I've been trying to find one of those undercovers.

We're doing a GZE swap in the car now however and the alternator is on the other side of the engine, so I'm not sure if that is better or worse for this particular issue, but I'm still going to try to find that undercover.

Jeff