Dee33223

I really would like a second cheaper to fuel rwd open top beastie. I keep looking at Lotus Elise,Mr2 mk3's, and Smart Roadsters.

I want small light and fun. The Smart seems cheap def a bit on the camp side but has really good mpg. Any one have experience of them?. Can they be modded ok?, I know its a very small engine+ Turbo. The 10sec 0-60 is a bit slow. They look funky and for some sick reason i fancy one. Oh im also 6ft 1 and 17 stone will i fit in the thing?

subevo

was going to buy one a few years back.changed my mind when i found out the roof leaked like a sieve.maybe fixed by later models.one owner i met said his seatbelt was constantly wet.this was on the convertable model there was a coupe version which cost more and may be better. check out the owners forums for best advice.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

MR2

Frosticles

iTrader: (1)

Nice looking cars the Smart Roadster. I like to be different so I would have one.

acstua

iTrader: (1)

ive heard they are good fun little motors, but no 1st hand experience

Gotta love a Lotus over it though, as long as nothing breaks

The Zohan

+1

Andy M3

I thought I would post as the only person who as actually owned one

At the time I bought one I p/x'd my 12 month old modified 190hp Fabia vRS

I have no idea how it happened, but I didn't want to increase running costs but fancied specifically a roadster. I looked at a few but went for a yellow one with leather, heated seats, a/c, audio upgrade and paddles. The 80hp was left alone but I dropped a pipercross filter in the box IIRC.

The car was very light and was confidence inspiring, and once mastered, the gearbox was ok. It had loads of midrange punch and 2-6k rpm was usable. I didn't get on with the 16's that came with the car, very bouncy and the tyre walls were tiny and too stiff. I swapped for 15" 185 steelies which took some hammer before I settled on a 15" 205 alloy which was amazing at holding on.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...6034_2_2_2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...y2006010_2.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...Image023_2.jpg

Most things worked most of the time and the roof never leaked. But here are the issues. As a drivers car it does not work. If I went back in time I would get an MX5. The insurance is high, the servicing is expensive and every 8k IIRC. There are niggles and dealers can be a pain in the ***. The steering wheel is too big and the steering is the worst steering ever, think fiat punto on 'city mode'. There is literally no feel at all, brakes are average and the gearbox is a struggle in town or stop start situations. Also my mum has, a smart fortwo and that car has no slack between throttle and drive, my roadster used to almost slip. You ended up revving it to 2k before it bit. Merc said it was fine, it irritated the **** out of me.

However, it was amusing, boxed above it's weight point to point when you learnt whether it would grip or not and it did 40mpg all day. I would never modify this car as it would cost the earth. I wanted a genuine smaller steering wheel and at the time it was over £700. I also wanted the BRABUS centre exhaust and valance it was well into the thousands....

If you want to scratch that itch, but a low mileage mid spec example and buy a 'warranty direct' warranty.

This is @ cadwell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKPv54HShB8

quite steady

Dee33223

Cheers for replys guys. Was thinking i had made myself look a right plum on a macho car forum lusting after a very odd little motor. Mmmm Andy has put me off it...

"There is literally no feel at all"

Not good and not the rwd experience i was after. If im driving a light small car, i want it to feel alive. All the luxuries i dont care a jot, but i always want to feel im driving.
I think ill have to take a test drive in it, along with what you said and other issues, expensive modding(which i will want to do). Not adding up well.

As for Lotus Elise, def my #1 choice but they are so expensive for the non K series engined ones, Though for some reason you don't here the same engine probs when they are in the lotus??.
MR2(mk3?) is a good bet. I hear nothing but good things apart from image and engine is meant to be great. Not as tight as the lotus or a quick, but not far off and way cheaper. Ill do some more homework. Want my toy to be right!. Thanks to all for help on this.

what would scooby do

MK2 MR2...

scoobyster

There's pretty much no storage space at all in an MR2 mk3. Elises all leak I believe? MX5 is more practical, pretty much waterproof, great fun, but were designed in the late 80s when all is said and done, quite prone to rust too.

Dee33223

Mk2 mr2, dont like em at all!. mk1 and 3 are what its all about to me. Or am i missing something. I always feel the mk2 is to big and heavy. Although i have seen some seriously fast ones round this way.

Mx5 always gets big props. But it doesnt seem fast enough to warrant the poor mpg. I know everyone loves them, but price is also high for good uns due to this. If i wanted an ageing rust bucket i just have to look at my scoob.
All good feedback though keep em coming.

Andy M3

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...1500?logcode=p

Fuel consumption (combined) 37.6 mpg
0 - 62 mph 6.9 seconds
Top speed - 137 mph
Engine power - 160 bhp
Engine torque - 128 lbs/ft

£1695.

Biggest worry with these; head gasket which is why they are cheap.

http://www.headgasketdemons.co.uk/mg-tf-gasket.htm

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/mg/tf-2002.aspx?

Try one though, they are meant to be tight for the bigger frame. Failing that it is between the MX5 and the latest MR2

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...02.aspx?page=8

Dee33223

Cheers Andy , that's good of you lots of work there!

Looked at them also, very put off by head gasket failures. But i dont get it, is it not the same engine that's in the early Lotus Elise(that i can afford). Why is there not the same issues?. I read the Parkers review and they mention a VVT 1.8 engine. Is this a Rover one also? or poss Toyota VVT

I will need to try an MG, they are cheap as chips. But dont fancy it dying all the time. It wont matter how much fun it is if it's always letting me down. The old Scoob has been amazing for close to 7 years now, that's a main reason why i keep it.

Really appreciate the help in this. Will need to make a move before all soft tops rise in price. The MR2 is looking like the best for me so far. Will take major stick from wife and mates if i get one. Then it wil no doubt rain all summer

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

MX-5 designed in the 80's RWD drive but still awesome in the 10's. The Mk2.5 was the last of the old shape. Go for a Sport 6 speed box with LSD's and Bilsteins, leather heated seats and heated glass rear screen. Boot is big enough for a fair bit of shopping. They can leak if the drain holes are not cleaned out behind the hood.

http://www.sportingcars.co.uk/car.as...85&SortOrder=0

scoobynutta555

I've has 2 Elises and a mk3 mr2. I've never been interested in a Smart or a Mazda mx5.
The Elise is much more desirable than the mr2, it looks great and drives great with 49 mpg on normal unleaded. However, you can get a mk3 mr2 from around 2k and it's much easier to live with and still returns 47 mpg IIRC

I wouldn't worry too much about head gasket failure on an Elise, you can get it fixed for £500-600.

I'm running both a late s1 Elise and an Audi A4 convertible tdi. Bought over this winter to sell on in the summer. You're leaving it a bit late to be buying your convertible. Good examples of any of these 3 cars sell within hours from March onwards.

P1Fanatic

Never driven one but have several friends who've owned Mk3 MR2's and said they were an excellent drivers car with go kart handling and excellent reliability. My best mate had a '52 plate celica he took from 40k to 200k miles during the 6yrs he had it and didnt miss a beat over and above your normal consumables.