Toyota MR-2 1.8 Roadster specs

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45632735/toyota-ft-se-electric-sports-car-concept-revealed/

Everything about this car was engineered as Colin Chapman would have advised, simplify and add lightness. The 2004 model had optional limited slip differential which is a very worthwhile item. The front wheel and tire combo only weighs 34 pounds each, while the rears weigh 39 pounds each. A truly lightweight sports car weighing around 2175 pounds without the spare tire, jacks, and floor mats. Only a few problems with the car: the styling is only so so; the 1zz engine has only 138 horsepower, and some things are a bit flimsy. Handling is tire limited, but tossable. Very fun to drive. Not very practical though, the frunk is rather small, and the cockpit is tight. So far this is the lightest rear wheel drive sports car that I have driven. The mid-engine layout is excellent for its lower polar moment of inertia, and superior ability to put down power coming out of corners. Braking is good as well, but the grip is tire dependent and the same goes for cornering. I found it easy to probe the limits with this car. Not much understeer, and no stability control though, so it rewards good driving. Fun mid-engine sports car experience, just a bit underpowered for higher speeds. Decent fuel economy, but it revs high all the time due to acceleration gearing. Around 4000 rpm on the highway.

I used to not take this car that seriously because of the power output. But for what it is, it's pretty fast. And obviously better than a Miata :) pretty equal in price too.

Bruhhhhh

Budget Porsche Boxster :)

Also, I guess MR-2 stands for mid-engine rear-wheel drive 2 seats.

Im guessing that included shipping too?

Thats not a bad deal really, S.Drives all 4 corners at $375.00, Thats about the price for ONE of my rear tyres lol But mine are bigger and of a different spec, So its predicted. Yokohama makes great tyres though, Im thinking about switching them as ive had them for a good while,(And i dont go to track days as much as i used to, So it would almost be a waste) But they have been really good too me.

These are the ones im currently looking into at the moment, But of course price and size also come into play, Id like something grippy, But with a slightly different feel, Dont particularly care about the snow/rain part, Ive been fine with the A048s so far.

Toyo Proxes R888
Yokohama AD08R
BFGoodRich G-Force Rival
Bridgestone Potenza RE070R R2 RFT
Dunlop Direzza ZII
Hankook Ventus R-S3

@BR2+ The O.E. Bridgestone RE-040s are currently $149 per front tire, and $229 per rear tire. The Yokohama S.drives only cost $72 and $87, so it was an easy choice. All four tires came to only $374 shipped to my door.

@Shaggy yep, they are tiny tires! On the other hand they are also very light: the front 195/50-15 tires weigh 19 lbs each, and are on 15X6 inch wheels that only weigh 15 lbs. Thus each front wheel/tire combo is 34 lbs! The rear 205/45-16s are 21 lbs each with an 18 lb wheel, the rear combined weight is only 39 lbs. I think my Spider weighs only about 2175 lbs without my mass in it. :)

I believe compact cars from the early 90s ran on 195s.

I also would have went with the Yokohamas over the RE040s, They make fantastic tyres, I myself on my 34 have been running AO48s for awhile, No problems, Although you could have opted for the AVS Sport, Or the Parada Spec-2s or even Neova AD08, But depends on what you want, Or need in your pursue. Btw, How much did those run you? And what was the difference on the Bridgestones?..

But man, Been awhile since ive seen tyres that small, 195s lol

I finally got some new tires for the 2004 Spyder. The BFG tires were out of stock at the Tire Rack, and I didn't want the expensive O.E. Bridgestone RE-040s, so I got the other O.E. tire for the Spyder: the Yokohama S.drive in 195/50-15 front, 205/45-16 rear. They were mounted and balanced at the Wheel Works here in Fairfield California. I then had them align the car with me in the driver's seat. It makes a difference (I could see the alignment monitor from the driver's seat), especially with a near 200 lb bodybuilder in a less than 2200 lb Toyota MR2 Spyder. :)

I finally found an avatar from the internet of a 2004 Spyder with a small enough KB size to use, groovy. Unfortunately I have worn out the tires on my Spyder after only 9k miles. Oh well that's the cost of running back roads at 9/10s race pace. The front tires went first (worn smooth on the inside, but not much tread anywhere), and the rears are well over half gone as well. Ordered some BF Goodrich g-force Comp2s from the Tire Rack in a slightly different size than stock (not much available in the O.E. size except the expensive Bridgestone RE-040s that came on the car).

@Piorun
Continuing my discussion of the MR2 Roadster: the early model years 2000 to 2002 have some engine issues, the main one concerns pre-cat failure which will cause engine failure when parts get sucked into the combustion chambers. The later model years (facelift models) 2003 to 2005 don't have any problems. The handling and braking is excellent. Corner entry is better than a 2002 Corvette convertible or 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 with Brembo package. Mid corner is about equal to those two cars. Corner exit is similar to the Corvette (slightly better in fact), and noticeably better than the Mustang. Straight away speed is not equal to either though (the Mustang is slightly quicker than the Corvette), it is in fact kinda slow on straights. That is the trade off to get such excellent fuel economy, a small engine with only 138 bhp. Great fun on back roads with short straights. :)

@Piorun
Yeah, I am quite happy with this car. It gets over 30 miles per U.S. gallon of fuel. Cargo room is minimal, but taking out the spare tire adds a front trunk (what some owners call a "frunk"). I have been to my family's original home country of Denmark, and it does get kinda cold compared to Northern California. Here the MR2 Roadster is fine year round, but if I lived in Denmark or North Germany (Schleswig area), I would invest in another set of wheels with some good winter tyres on them. Equipt thus, the MR2 should be okay in a Danish winter. I use mine as my daily driver, commuter car. On rare occasions I will borrow my father's Mustang GT to get more cargo room. :)

PS, And Viking a smal question for you, are You happy with the car? Its possible to use it evry day even its a roadster? And how Do You think it would work whole season in country like Denmark, where its some rain and cold during winter? Havie it some issues that need to be fixed or tuned in aftermarket? Also what can You tell about driving dynimics? Is it feel good? Thnaks.

@Piorun
Very well said.

Wow, didnt know that its mid engined.
Seems to be great car to play with.
A proper sport-roadster.
The machine that You can/should to start adventure with cars.
It also look good in black.
Nothing to shame be about, not like MX-5 that seems more "girly"/"oldboy"

I found a comparison test in Auto Motor und Sport:

0-80 km/h 5,6
0-100 km/h 7,9
0-120 km/h 11,3
0-130 km/h 13,2
0-160 km/h 21,0
0-180 km/h 28,1

Here is the link: http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/vergleichstest/drei-spass-roadster-mit-mittelmotor-759673.html?show=3

@FastestLaps or other administrator
Could you change the date of introduction for this car. This is the original manual transmission MR2 introduced late in 1999 for the 2000 model year. There was a facelift for the 2003 model year, but most of the performance specifications (like horsepower for instance) stayed the same. Thanks.

@JoinR you do have fine skills. I competed in SCCA Solo II for ten years, but you are at least as good as I am. (okay, you are probably better than I am). :)

@ JoinR: So that was you driving in that video, You've got skills, dude. BTW; Welcome to FastestLaps.com. :)

Thank you! :) That's all I have on my channel. I own the car since winter, so don't have much experience with it. Until June I had stock suspension, but on those videos there are not valid laps with lap times, just some raw footage. Btw these were my very first track events in my life, so I'm still a rookie. :) I remember at Slovakiaring it was the first time I was going at 180 kph, then two laps later I just heard the tires squealing at 150 kph, it was crazy :))
Looking back with my current experience (haha not more than a thousand miles) I could find some seconds but there is always place to improve. There will be two more events this season, I'll surely upload some videos about them, although not at Hungaroring, but on smaller tracks.
I created a tumblr profile where I upload the best pictures, check it out if interested: mr2ontrack dot tumblr dot com

@JoinR your videos are great, and welcome to the site! :) Since I have an MR-2 as well (my car is the black one on the right of the page), I have been looking for more lap times to add. Do you have any videos with stock suspension? Basically the rules state that no "tuned/modified" cars are allowed (this rule of course applies to cars used in lap times as well). Thanks.

Haha good to find my videos here :))
At Hungaroring last time I almost got under 2:22 on new tires, but ran out of fuel in the last corner, bad luck :(
Btw these semi-slicks have very good grip, almost like Toyo R888. On stock suspension once I could get under 2:25, but on stock tires it would be above 2:30 I'm sure.

I probably posted this before, but the dealership made a video of my car long before I purchased it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpk8wzeInfQ

@ Viking: LOL, The give-away was when I saw the car reach 135 KPH. I thought to myself "The MR2 can only reach 131 MPH, this must be metric." :D

LOL yes of course it is in kilometers per hour. The track is in Hungary, and the car only has 138 hp/140 ps. :) Nice corner speeds for that track though.

@ Viking: Was the speed in that video in KPH?, those numbers looked awfully big for MPH.

@Shaggy
Well driven lap, and I wish I could add the lap time. But that Spyder has Koni dampers, and H&R springs. Newer ultra high performance tires as well, but lots of owners upgrade twelve year old cars with better tires. Only slightly modified then, so I would guess a completely stock MR2 Spyder would be only a little slower if driven with as much skill as this driver.