Which MR2 Turbo?
 

Im looking at possibly getting an early 90s MR2 turbo as my next car but to someone who has never considered this car before there seems to be a massive number of variations. A quick autotrader search reveals terms like...

TOYOTA MR2 GT G LIMITED T/BAR
MR2 GT Turbo T Bar
TOYOTA MR2, Silver, 'Non Turbo' 2.0 GTi, G-Limited

Can anybody in the know fill in a bit of details on the car? From what I can make out there is a turbo and non turbo. I would ideally like the turbo - what sort of power output do these engines have? Also has anybody lived with an MR2 turbo and can tell it how it is regarding reliability etc?

Thanks

David

Had both a non turbo, and a turbo. Both t-bar's.

Non turbo was great, except lacking in power.
Turbo had the lot. Make sure its an ABS equipped car, you'll regret it if you don't. Lowered cars go through tyres quicker, and if its a T-bar, try the local jet wash to see if the roof leaks. Personally, I'd get a turbo, but beware. You wont get more than 250 miles out of £44 of Optimax and insurance will be easily be £500+.

Go into the purchase with your eyes open, and you wont be disappointed. Oh, and try and buy a standard car as well. Good luck

There are various revisions, if you can stretch to it get a rev 3 onwards (1994+ and has round rear lights) as they do away with the airflow sensor and use a MAP sensor - in short better fuel economy and easier to tune, as well as having more power from the outset. rev 1 and 2 have around 220bhp, while rev 3 onwards are around 230-40bhp, but are quite easily tuned to 270bhp and above.

I had a rev 1 Turbo before I bought my impreza, it was a bit of a nightmare, but this was probably down to the fact that it was a bit tatty when I bought it. The bottom end went so it needed a new engine, went through 3 alternators (it's easy to spill oil on them as they sit under the filler), sheared the driveshaft bolts off twice and had to drill them out, had to replace the suspension, the thermostat broke, the exhaust fell off, the steering rack went, my lights stopped working, the t-bar roof leaked, the clutch went, then 2 months later the release bearing went too......all in all a bit of a disaster, but I believe they can be reliable cars if you get a good one from the outset.

Very quick and great handling cars.

I had a rev 1 turbo which was good fun and never had any of the above problems.

Carefull in the wet though whichever one you pick as the boost kicks in and the cars got a mind of its own LOL

You get a turbo t-bar and tintop. Power for a Rev 1 and Rev 2 is 220bhp. When you go to a revision 3 the power went up to 240 or 260 bhp not 100% sure.

The only difference between the Rev 3 and earlier models (engine wise) is there are a few different sensors and different ecu. You can fit these bits to a rev 1 or 2 to increase the power on standard parts.

Rev 1 or 2 didn't come with LSD and handling is supposed to be a bit poor in them. I've never had problems with mine. You have to take it a little easy in the rain. I've driven it most of the winter with cheap poor tyres on it and it's fun.

As far as I am aware there is only one variation of the turbo which is the GT model. THEY ARE ALL IMPORTS. The turbo was only made on an import. You get a UK GT which is not a turbo.

As pointed out the Rev 3 is easier to modify if you're looking for big power or the magic 300bhp. If you're looking at fitting an Power FC to the Rev 1 or 2 then you need to upgrade the car to a Rev 3 spec to fit it. (Unless you buy a special modified Power FC which is a little more expensive and rare)

The tubby is easily modified. You can slap any tuning bits on it and rag the tits out of it (as long as you service it well) and it'll drive for ages. They don't have FRAGILE engines like the Subaru. Loads of people slap a full exhaust, induction kit and boost controller on the Standard ECU and it runs fine.

As said most T-bars let water in. You can change the rubber seals or get special stuff to stop this. If I had the choice again I'd prob go for a tintop as I hardly take the roof off cause it's a pain in the arse.

There are loads of cars to choose from. You see them all the time from £1800 upwards. I got a good deal on mine (1990 rev 1). It was a cat c write off with only 40k miles on the clock.

Easiest way to tell a turbo and non is to look at the engine cover. On the turbo the vent is raised. On a non turbo its not.

It was 240, but a filter and exhaust change usually sees them at around 260-270bhp.

The turbo was available in GT and GTS variants. The GT was the higher spec of the two with leather, some toys, and from rev 3 onwards a LSD as stansard.

It was available as an option on them, my Rev 1 had an LSD and handled well.

MR2 Turbo - Miles of smiles!!!!

Had one, no bother for 2 years, sometimes wish i still had it!

:D