Well, after building my own MX5, I (*the police) decided I needed something a bit more refined and well built for day to day use, which considering I only ever use the M60 is probably fair.
I said quite a while ago that my next car would definitely be a MK3 MR2... I meant it at the time, but soon forgot once I got into my MX5 project. I went through a phase of wanting all sorts, from Lexus Soarers to an old TVR... But once the need for a new car arose I had to be sensible which meant it was down to an MR2 or a MK2.5 MX5. I went to see several MR2's, and a couple of MX5's, and while it seems you do get way more for your money with an MX5, finding a good one proved to be very difficult. I went to see a black MX5 S-VT with a hard top (pretty much perfect spec for me) which was literally just covered in scratches, chip touch ups and the rear arch was full of filler. Shame as it looked uber clean from about 10 feet away!
Anyway, onto the MR2. It's a 2002 pre-facelift model which is something I've had to compromise on as I really, really wanted a facelift model. It's also Silver, which is another thing I'm not too keen on; I'd have ideally liked a black or red one, but they're few and far between in decent spec and the price range I was looking at! The plus points of this car are that it's got a genuine hardtop in excellent condition, full leather also in brilliant condition, and hella service history. It's done just under 72k which, with no timing belts to worry about, is nothing.
There are a couple of issues, which I played heavily on when trying to get some money off; firstly it's in need of a new Lambda sensor as it's throwing up a fault code (bought an OBDII reader just to double check) £80 for a genuine Denso item. And also the wheels are heavily corroded which can be easily sorted once the weather turns a bit nicer - 3 tins of wheel paint and some wet and dry to sort.
To drive, it's fantastic. Turn in is instant - it feels very 'pointy', the steering rack is very quick and it's hard to provoke the rear end (although it has let go once or twice on me... you've got to be quick!) Interestingly, all UK MR2's came as standard with a Torsen LSD - something I didn't know until after I'd bought this car. It was only when the facelift arrived in 2003 that magazines etc started making a point of it being fitted, and so I thought my car didn't have one fitted, which made the first properly wet roundabout I came to quite.. exciting!
The gear change is an odd one.. I can't quite decide if there isn't much feel, or if the gearbox itself is just far better and much less notchy than the one in my MX5.
Plenty of feel through the brakes, and they're very strong... although I think the handbrake needs some adjustment as it's already let me down once! Gently rolled into my housemates car the other morning which was quite confusing.
The engine feels Very torquey which is something I didn't expect. Pulls nicely from 2k all the way to the redline at 7k. It's quite linear, there doesn't really feel like there's a midrange kick which I was sort of expecting with it having VVT-i. Sounds okay, it's a bit quiet, but it doesn't make a bad noise - just not terribly exciting, especially considering the engine is just behind you!
IMO, it's better in every way than an MX5. It feels like more of a drivers car as standard, it's more refined, it's probably just as comfortable (can't really remember what my MX5 was like as standard now!) Only downside is the lack of storage; but other than the odd trip to Tesco, I don't need something with a lot of space inside.
It's properly homo, I know. But it's ridiculously good to drive, and a massive step up in quality from what I've gotten used to over the past few months. Other than removing the pre-cats ASAP, I've no major plans as of yet although I'm not going to say I'll keep it standard, because that'd be a lie. I'm quite keen on adding the facelift parts, giving it a bit of a drop, and possibly some nicer wheels. We'll see..
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
I've given it a bit of a clean since those were taken, so I'll update this thread with new pictures and probably all the 'progress' I make on it!
Thanks for looking
I said quite a while ago that my next car would definitely be a MK3 MR2... I meant it at the time, but soon forgot once I got into my MX5 project. I went through a phase of wanting all sorts, from Lexus Soarers to an old TVR... But once the need for a new car arose I had to be sensible which meant it was down to an MR2 or a MK2.5 MX5. I went to see several MR2's, and a couple of MX5's, and while it seems you do get way more for your money with an MX5, finding a good one proved to be very difficult. I went to see a black MX5 S-VT with a hard top (pretty much perfect spec for me) which was literally just covered in scratches, chip touch ups and the rear arch was full of filler. Shame as it looked uber clean from about 10 feet away!
Anyway, onto the MR2. It's a 2002 pre-facelift model which is something I've had to compromise on as I really, really wanted a facelift model. It's also Silver, which is another thing I'm not too keen on; I'd have ideally liked a black or red one, but they're few and far between in decent spec and the price range I was looking at! The plus points of this car are that it's got a genuine hardtop in excellent condition, full leather also in brilliant condition, and hella service history. It's done just under 72k which, with no timing belts to worry about, is nothing.
There are a couple of issues, which I played heavily on when trying to get some money off; firstly it's in need of a new Lambda sensor as it's throwing up a fault code (bought an OBDII reader just to double check) £80 for a genuine Denso item. And also the wheels are heavily corroded which can be easily sorted once the weather turns a bit nicer - 3 tins of wheel paint and some wet and dry to sort.
To drive, it's fantastic. Turn in is instant - it feels very 'pointy', the steering rack is very quick and it's hard to provoke the rear end (although it has let go once or twice on me... you've got to be quick!) Interestingly, all UK MR2's came as standard with a Torsen LSD - something I didn't know until after I'd bought this car. It was only when the facelift arrived in 2003 that magazines etc started making a point of it being fitted, and so I thought my car didn't have one fitted, which made the first properly wet roundabout I came to quite.. exciting!
The gear change is an odd one.. I can't quite decide if there isn't much feel, or if the gearbox itself is just far better and much less notchy than the one in my MX5.
Plenty of feel through the brakes, and they're very strong... although I think the handbrake needs some adjustment as it's already let me down once! Gently rolled into my housemates car the other morning which was quite confusing.
The engine feels Very torquey which is something I didn't expect. Pulls nicely from 2k all the way to the redline at 7k. It's quite linear, there doesn't really feel like there's a midrange kick which I was sort of expecting with it having VVT-i. Sounds okay, it's a bit quiet, but it doesn't make a bad noise - just not terribly exciting, especially considering the engine is just behind you!
IMO, it's better in every way than an MX5. It feels like more of a drivers car as standard, it's more refined, it's probably just as comfortable (can't really remember what my MX5 was like as standard now!) Only downside is the lack of storage; but other than the odd trip to Tesco, I don't need something with a lot of space inside.
It's properly homo, I know. But it's ridiculously good to drive, and a massive step up in quality from what I've gotten used to over the past few months. Other than removing the pre-cats ASAP, I've no major plans as of yet although I'm not going to say I'll keep it standard, because that'd be a lie. I'm quite keen on adding the facelift parts, giving it a bit of a drop, and possibly some nicer wheels. We'll see..
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
MR2 Roadster by j0eyD, on Flickr
I've given it a bit of a clean since those were taken, so I'll update this thread with new pictures and probably all the 'progress' I make on it!
Thanks for looking
