The Zohan

Anyone got one or had one. What are they like to drive, anything to look out for and what sort of MPG.

Looking for a car for Jenny to use to commute, she does mostly country route to work to it needs to handle.

Matteeboy

Excellent cars. Handle brilliantly and reliable. Five star car in Evo mag.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

My mum is reluctantly selling hers as it's too low for my Dad, v low miles, full Toyota service history, hardtop and aircon.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...STRK:MESELX:IT

D

lozgti1

Not driven one but look like a great little sports car.Surely Toyota should be very reliable

Ayde

iTrader: (6)

The girlfriend has one, it's never missed a beat, they handle well and go well, especially once up in the revs. The only real problem is that they have very little storage space - bit behind the seats that's lockable, glovebox and cubbyhole on top of the dash and a bit of room around the spare tyre. You can also put stuff on the parcel shelf as long as the roof is up. Always leave them in gear too - handbrakes arent the best

Ayde.

Ayde

iTrader: (6)

Tyres are a funny size too, only a couple if manufacturers make them, think the last set cost her about £400 odd, look round on the forums though and you can go to slightly different profiles and widths to get a more common sized tyre.

Maz

iTrader: (34)

Very highly rated for handling and fun. Plus economical and reliable to boot.

tony de wonderful

I prefer the 2nd gen, a JDM turbo model.

3rd gen is a bit hairdressery.

The Zohan

Yup, that's what got me interested and being a Toyota (with few exceptions) they are reliable as a swiss watch. She only need 1-2 seats, was thinking about a BM 5 series Diesel but it is a lot of car to hustle down the lanes. If we go this route i think we will Keep the Honda as a family car as it has just sailed through another MOT and runs like new anyway.

Maz

iTrader: (34)

This isn't about you though.

The Zohan

I'll stick to my quad if i fancy the wind in what's left of my hair. It is really for Jenny although she isn't a hairdresser but i suppose she could always retrain She had a Mk1 MR2 and loved it but they are now very long in the tooth and also parts can be stupidly expensive, throttle cable was £92.00+VAT last time i looked

chris666

Great cars handle like a gocart but not as fast as it looks
very poor boot space
the only major problem with the car is the pre cats (fitted for usa)
which are located in the exhaust manifold some have been known to break up
then enter the engine via the vvti & egr system & kill the engine
some owners gut the manifolds to stop this,the car will still pass an mot
when looking at a car check to see if engine has been replaced as some have been destroyed by 50-60k

chris mr2oc member

The Zohan

Thanks, that's interesting, I'll take a look over on the MR2 forum as well

Matteeboy

2nd gen handles like a Morris Marina with too much power. Utter cack; my mate had an imported turbo running at 265bhp - he soon sold it.

3rd handles beautifully. If it had been fitted with the 190bhp 1.8 engine from the Celica, it would have been an easy Elise beater.

tony de wonderful

I heard you just need aftermarket sway bars etc to make the Mk2 handle decent. It's got a longer wheelbase than the Mk3 so more potential to handle big power. Mk2 cars did well in racing but not heard of the Mk3's doing more than ferry Hairdressers from a to b.

Matteeboy

Mk3s do very well in the MR2 Championships.

They may not have loads of power stock but they are much lighter and share running gear with the Elise S. The mk2 shares a chassis with a Vauxhall Viva.

Steve vRS

I've read that a decat and a chip will make 160+bhp on these.

However, as it's for your wife and the above information is superfluous to your needs, have you considered an MX5? Not that I am implying the 5 is s girls car, more that it is the obvious foil to an MR2. I could even mention MGF...

Steve

nik52wrx

MGF=Blown head gasket
MR2 over an MG any day of the week.

imprezajon

iTrader: (2)

had one of these before my impreza.
lovely car,handled like a go-kart after a couple of suspenison mods.
i only got rid because some lady decided to crash into it and wrote it off 6 months after i finished paying for it.
as said before, watch for pre-cat damage as it will cause engine failure.(as i found out first hand) but these can be removed. check for a white powdery substance in the exhaust exit pipes and check the car from a cold start.
loads of info on here.
http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB3/index.php

if you go for 1 get a facelift version. it had 16" wheels fitted at the rear. had a couple of upgraded suspension bracing and better interior. oh and the vents at the side are colour coordinated to the car rather than just plain black.

i would still have mine today if not been crashed into. but hey i got the impreza out of it .

The Zohan

Thanks for the replies, Going to look at a 01 model with 70k on the clock this weekend and will hopefully come home with it all things being equal.

The Zohan

That is a nice looking example and low miles, bit pricey for me, looking to spend around 3k at this point in time.

Lofty91

My other half had a facelift 04plate in silver with hard top and optional roll bar behind the seats.

Was a really fun car, obviously a big lack of power but more than makes up for it with fun go kart handling. I drove it over the butter tubs pass with the roof off and i was very impressed. The facelift is def worth the extra over the early models i think toyota sorted the pre cat issue on the face lift too.

They are prone for belt tensioner problems though so have a good listen while the engine is cold(its down the off side of the engine) think they are around £100 to replace.

Also I am around 6ft4" tall and found it a bit of a squeez at times. don't be put off by the boot space you can fit all sorts in the cubby holes and lockers behind the seats

Lofty91

Search you tube for team NA vs Team Turbo

Lofty91

And i'm sure TRD did a turbo package for the Mk3

The Zohan

Just 'won' this, should collect Sunday http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Matteeboy

Nice one - looks like a great example!

The Zohan

Yes it does, subject to everything being in order and as described we shall have it. Price seems fair.