Why I swapped my MX-5 for a Toyota MR2 – and won't look back

The two previous cars I’ve bought – a Fiat Coupé 20v and a Mk2 Mazda MX-5 – were, to put it politely, howling ruins. Both were at rock bottom of the value curve on account of being rotters, which meant I ended up paying far more on the upkeep of them than I’d have liked. I soon got frustrated with this extra expense and subsequently got rid. So when I caught my annual bout of car-buying fever, I decided I’d try to get something a bit nicer this time. Another MX-5 was considered, but I wanted something different. I thought about a BMW Z3, an MGF or even an MG Midget. What I really wanted was a mid-engined four-cylinder machine with a sub-tonne kerb weight, a small footprint and a removable hard top. But I couldn’t afford a Lotus Elise, so I bought this 2004 Toyota MR2 instead. After weeks of trawling the classifieds, this one stood out the most: it was in my favourite factory colour, had fewer than 90,000 miles and looked tidy in pictures. And it was even better in real life. What’s more, seeing how immaculate the seller’s ‘E34’ BMW 5 Series was gave me a sense that it had been looked after. I knew on the test drive that it was just what I was looking for and I’ve never been happier to part with £3500. It comes with the all-important hard top – ironically, something I’ve yet to take off – and some TTE rallying goodies in the shape of a roll bar and fruity exhaust. I think I’m in love from the off. Learning and loving mid-engined handling A drive along the soaking-wet country roads of rural Dorset has really cemented my love of my pint-sized Toyota. Truth be told, for the first few weeks I was a bit nervous about finding my limits in the MR2: I didn’t have a huge amount of experience of driving mid-engined cars and I’d heard quite a few stories about this little sports car humbling many drivers by spinning them backwards through a hedge. But many dry drives in my first month of ownership taught me how to respect this joyous roadster. I’d come home from work and have the urge to just slink behind the wheel and head for the hills as fast as its 1.8-litre four-pot would allow me, quickly learning how to adapt my driving to explore the handling characteristics of something with the engine in the wrong place. That said, I was still a little anxious when it came to wet weather – at least until I joined a group of old friends for a blast around some roads I know like the back of my hand. Keeping up with the pack, I realised that I was more in tune with the dynamics than I had expected. The engine weighs down the driving wheels nicely, giving great grip in the faster corners, while the limited-slip differential turned low-speed hairpins into minor hero moments. It has been a long time since I’ve fallen for a car as much as I’ve done with the MR2. Fresh Avons revitalise tyred Toyota A little drive up to the Welsh valleys with some colleagues revealed the existence of a slow and irritating puncture on my Toyota MR2, with the tyre becoming almost completely flat by the time I reached our incredibly rural rendezvous point. The tyre pump from a BMW M3 CS Touring saved the day, letting me limp home and figure out what to do next. Inspecting all four tyres, I noticed that the tread was, while still legal, worn down fairly significantly. They hadn't had too much depth on them when I bought the car. So naturally I decided it was time to treat my pride and joy to some new shoes. After much deliberating, I settled on a pair of Avon ZV7s for the rear. I’d driven a few cars shod with them before (it’s the OEM tyre on the Morgan Plus Four, for example) and liked not just their grip but also the progressiveness with which traction fell away at their limit. The tyre shop from which I bought them kept messing me around with the fitting date, so I had them changed by the brilliant people at AJU Motorsport in Poole. So far, I'm impressed: traction is great and the manner of breakaway is just as I'd hoped.

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Why I swapped my MX-5 for a Toyota MR2 – and won't look back

After running a Fiat Coupe and MX-5, it was time to give a mid-engined sportster a try

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Why I swapped my MX-5 for a Toyota MR2 – and won't look back

After running a Fiat Coupe and MX-5, it was time to give a mid-engined sportster a try

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