2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder

Toyota resurrected and redesigned its MR2 sports car to stop Mazda from having all the fun in the 2-seat inexpensive roadster realm. That motivation led to a 3rd-generation Spyder aimed at kids of all ages with semi-flush bank accounts and a spare slot in the garage. Price of entry starts at $23,585 and even fully loaded won't top $25,150. Although by no means a car for everyone, the new MR2 offsets some of its less-practical aspects as a daily driver with a magnum load of sheer driving pleasure.


At first glance, the MR2's exterior aesthetics tend to polarize public opinion into those who see beauty in the chunky, can't-tell-if-it's-coming-or-going motif and those who don't. Give Toyota credit for not following Mazda's freshened-retro look to the letter. Since only about 25,000 MR2s will be brought over per annum, a single-trim, one-size-fits-all philosophy defines equipment-loading in this spunky sportster. Standard fare includes a CD audio system, air conditioning, a raft of power-assists (everything except the top), a handy wind deflector, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. The only extras offered are leather seat and door trim ($620), faux carbon-fiber dash trim ($369), floor mats ($62) and wheel locks ($52).

Nestled amidship, the MR2's enthusiastic 1.8-liter DOHC four repays a heavy throttle foot with plenty of enthusiasm and a purposeful exhaust note.

True to previous form, the new MR2 packs its engine amidship. Shared with the Celica GT, this lusty DOHC four-banger uses variable valve-timing technology to boost its power peak to a stratospheric 6,400 rpm, where 138 horses are chomping at their bits. Its 125 lb.-ft. of torque peak comes at 4,400 revs, a figure also well beyond that of your average family sedan. Clearly designed for maximum driver involvement, standard operating mode in this petite point-and-shooter calls for a heavy right foot, a right hand on the shifter, and an eye wired to the tach. To complement the basic intimacy of its man/machine interface, the MR2's engine provides a sonic sensation distinctly different from the Toyota norm. Its aggressive rumble at idle turns into enough high-rpm howl to perk the eyebrows of any Formula 1 enthusiast in a two-block radius. Paired with the standard 5-speed manual transmission, this little screamer sent our test car sprinting from 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds and through the quarter mile in 15.2 ticks at 88.8 mph. Countering the go power are vented disc brakes at all corners. Augmented with standard ABS, they halted our tester from 60 mph in just 116 feet.

A well-sorted suspension and quick, responsive steering make this racy roadster a first-rate travel-mate no matter how demanding the road becomes.

Once in motion, the MR2 Spyder is a neat, nimble ballerina of an automobile. Shod with 185/55VR15 tires up front and 205/55VR15s in the rear, it snaps toward corner apexes like a whippet within nipping distance of a rabbit. Electrically assisted rack-and-pinion steering is quick and sufficiently sensitive to instantly telegraph important news from the road right to your finger tips. Although torsional stiffness in the unibody could use some tweaking, the car's 2,200-pound weight and rear-biased balance gives it a grace that not even the most tightly tuned sport sedan can muster. Virtually all evil tendencies have been tuned out of the MR2's strut-suspended chassis, which results in safe, predictable understeer at the limit of adhesion and overall manners mild enough for inexperienced skill-level pilots to emerge unscathed from even fairly serious command blunders.


That said, we did observe two lapses of goodness in the MR2's dynamic profile: too-late braking into a decreasing-radius bend will, on rare occasion, swing the tail luridly wide and hasty, and power-on exits from corners tend to make the inside drive tire spin fruitlessly as it searches for bite. Although the basic ride quality is not harsh, it does tend to get a bit jiggly over certain road surfaces, and rough pavement can cause the erect top to rattle annoyingly at times.