mid middle life crisis anyone know anything about MR2 from 01 to 05, what they are like as a daily drive, consumption, practicality and problems? Change of car needed but a 80 mile commute as from 1st June, A roads, motorway and B roads.
Alternatives welcome

should be a good second hand buy

if I remember they have a habit of ingesting the precat back into the engine – worth checking it has been removed before this has happened as opposed to after…

Thanks will have a look any other views?

Drove a few, bought an MX5.

They drive nicely enough, no worries there, but(for me):
If you want a fast car, get a hot hatch. If you want a practical convertible, MX5, Peugeot, Golf, BMW etc. Bottom line, to make the mid engine a deal-breaker I’d want a lot more performance and track time. I was looking for pretty little convertible, practical as daily driver with good handling and low maintenance. Luggage space is the biggie for the MR2.

Same as midlifecrashes, though I also drove a MG TF. I also bought an MX5.

Luggage space in mid engine cars is minuscule – you could get away with it I’m sure, but for me it’s handy to be able to do a decent size shop on the way home from work.

Supposedly the MR2 can be a bit more of a pain to work on too, with the engine tucked away in the middle.

Thanks, just spoke to a owner in GP ‘s car park…not practical we enough, back to drawing board.

What’s your expectation of practicality? I know a few owners and my dad had one for quite a few years.

You can get a fair bit in the luggage area behind the seats if it’s packed properly. If it’s just you then you can get bigger stuff (up to big suitcases) behind the front passenger seat if slid forward. The front boot has a bit more space, more if you ditch the spare tyre for repair gunk.

BMW Z4 3.0.

Practical is….
Drive 80 mile round trip 5 days a week
Fit things in or on like bike or sports stuff
Fit shopping in
Enjoyable to drive

So my lupo TDI (remap) fits inside 29er….gets 60 plus to gallon…is a hootvto drive but needs to be replaced at ssome point….always had hot hatches and fancied a change.

A 3.0 Z4 will get 38-40mpg if it’s a manual and driven sensibly. You can get a bike (wheels off) in the boot.

If Lupo TDi is “enjoyable to drive” you’re not really looking for a sports car.

Ahhhh you do not know what is under the skin of the lupo…..

Don’t listen to Daffy, Lupo’s are great fun to drive, but they’re FWD so to some could never be ‘fun’.

MR2’s are great, the early ones had some minor faults, but will be sorted by now – post 2003 car don’t have them same faults, and have 6 speed boxes so would be more economical on your commute – but in reality, it’s the worst kind of car for your requirements apart from the fun bit – they’re tiny, the boot is tiny, so small that if you have the roof down, it’s full of roof.

^^ those tiny Lupos with a big, torquey engine are fun.

Luggage space in a mid-engine sports car doesn’t have to be terrible – the Boxster is surprisingly ‘practical’ (for a 2 seater).

When the time comes for the lupo to go I will cry…weighs nothing…engines remapped is a hoot yes bigger cara will beat it …suspensions tweak not silly lowered and they are rarer than hens teeth as are the gti s…..mr2 off the list.
Alternative s?

Every convertible 2-seater is terrible for carrying bikes unless you’re willing to lash it to a rollbar or it’s something like a Boxster that can have an ugly exoskeleton fitted for it.

This is what hot hatches exist for.

Fiat Barchetta as long as you dont mind LHD.
Look great and are decent to drive plus your unlikely to see another one.

Or go retro and find something like a late 80’s jap coupe like a Celica or Supra, Mitsubishi Starion etc.

A 3.0 Z4 will get 38-40mpg if it’s a manual and driven sensibly. You can get a bike (wheels off) in the boot.

How the hell do you get 40mpg from a 3L Z4?

We had a 2.5 and managed mid 20s, 24mpg over period of ownership I recall. Nice car though, at least it wS once the run flats had been changed.

mr2 off the list.
Alternative s?

Mk2 MR2? I know they’re getting on a bit but they still look the part (if they haven’t been chavved up) and are absolutely bombproof. I’ve had two in my time. Great cars, pretty much nothing other than service parts went wrong with either of them. And, despite the mid-engine layout, there’s a very useful boot in them. We managed suitcases for 2 weeks abroad in my old one. A single bike will fit in the passenger seat if you take the wheels off, or you can get a Saris bike rack (Saris Bones, maybe?) that fits over the spoiler at the back and takes two. If I tried I could get 30mpg from my rev2 turbo, so I reckon low 30s is easily achievable for a n/a one.

Very, very capable cars, especially in the turbo form, but the n/a still has 170-odd hp in certain guises. If I didn’t have a wife & kid to think about and was looking for a fun, capable 2-seater for sub-£3k, I’d be looking at another Mk2 MR2. Or a turbo/supercharged MX5.

We’ve had several mx5’s and a mk3 mr2. I prefered the mr2, it sounds like your minds made up though so I won’t try to convince you. Lovely little cars.

From my own personal experience mk3 MR2 – they don’t crash well and almost have no roll over protection. The handling is ‘lively’ as well.

MK1 MR2. That’s all

I looked at them and the MX5s.
Ended up with a 2003 MX5. It’s the only car we’ve got and is a wee bit more practical than the MR2.

If you’re looking for something for a long commute and doing shopping, the MX5 is definitely a better buy.

Decent sized boot and you can fit a hell of a lot of stuff on the parcel shelf if the roof is up.

MR2 suspension is a bit harder – my MX5 is quite supple, though it has Bilstein shocks (it’s the Sport model). Might be a bit comfier for the commute.

You can get two bikes on the back with a Saris Bones. I use the 3 bike one as it puts the bikes a bit further out so they won’t be bashing against the boot and bumper.

If you’re getting any convertible, try and get heated leather seats – make it usable with the roof down all year round.