Setting the MR2 apart from the crowd is in-your-face styling, super light weight and a free-revving, mid-ship-mounted, 138-hp, four-cylinder engine. The sum of all these parts add up to a spastic little sports car that feels as natural dancing upon obtuse slip angles as it does cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway at sunset. Therein lies the magnificent duality of the MR2 Spyder: one part daily driver, two parts all-out sports car.
What makes the MR2 Spyder so endearing to the enthusiast is it proves to be entertaining even when driven at five-tenths. Having the heaviest parts of the car, namely the engine, transmission and driver, toward the center of the car, allows for some absolutely stunning driving dynamics. First of all, the braking abilities of the Spyder are spectacular. During our track testing at Buttonwillow, I found the tiny Toyota could be trail-braked, drama-free, into turns deeper than any other car in the field. And through the turns, even at low speeds, a sudden lift-throttle maneuver can persuade the rear wheels to step sideways. But don't let that intimidate you. The same ultra-centralized weight-distribution means that every single degree of vehicle rotation is controllable and progressive--making the Spyder every bit as forgiving as it should be. I love driving it. It loves being driven. To me, this is a match made in heaven. --Shiv Pathak
Toyota is a smart car company. It saw a market that has been occupied by only one car for the past 10 years and promptly built a competitor to the Mazda Miata. Not only did Toyota give the Miata some competition with the introduction of the MR2 Spyder, but it made the Spyder lighter, more powerful and located the engine in the only location that would allow even better weight distribution--behind the driver and in front of the rear wheels.
Our tests have shown the Toyota's new roadster is every bit the performer it needs to be to compete in its isolated market. With a very respectable zero-to-60 time of 6.9 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 15.1 seconds at 88 mph, Mister Two certainly gets the job done in a straight line. Dynamically, it's everything you'd expect in a 2,500-lb car--nimble, darty and a blast on any mountain road. With perhaps the quickest turn-in of any car on the list, the MR2 is pure joy on the track.
Daily driving in the MR2 is rewarding as well. Whether hammering around an off ramp or skipping through traffic, its chassis offers perhaps the best compromise of ride comfort and rigidity one could ask for in a small roadster--top up or down.
The bottom line with the MR2 is simple: It's a head-turning sports car with a classic mid-engine layout, decent power and incredible handling. What's not to like? --Josh Jacquot
"Spunky," I think, best describes the demeanor of the 2001 MR2 Spyder. Spunky power, spunky handling, in a spunky package.
Sales of the MR2 were never that stellar in years past for Toyota, despite the exotic mid-engine layout and available turbo and supercharged engines. This time around, foregoing luxury, weight and complexity has yielded a package both delightful in stock form, yet boasting vast aftermarket potential.
That the car is a flyweight, tipping the scales at a mere 2,195 lbs, does wonders for every facet of an already impressive performance envelope. Most notable is braking: Not only did the Spyder put down the best numbers during our test session, but the fade-free stoppers offered superb pedal feel and modulation for the duration of our testing. The car felt wonderfully quick in any gear, especially on the street, despite only packing 138 hp under the rear hatch, with the engine tractable at any rpm.
At Buttonwillow Raceway Park, I was able to carry more speed through the slow Zorro turns in the MR2 Spyder, by a good margin, than in any of the other cars. Brake late, turn in, drop the throttle (just a touch), and the car points perfectly and tracks toward the apex with such precision, you'd swear the berm was magnetized. Turn-in this good is usually reserved for cars with aftermarket pillow ball mounts, most likely a function of the light front-end of the MR2. Enter too hot into a turn and the car understeers in a very agreeable and correctable manner; take a turn perfectly and your reward is gaining on most any car in front.
That the Spyder never found itself in want of a staffer willing to dance during the track portion of our testing says much of the sheer fun to be had behind the wheel. As impressive as this car is in the slower stuff, I look forward to seeing the kind of damage it will do to the ranks of open-top autocrossing. The conspicuous absence of a limited slip may make itself more apparent on race tires, however.
It was perhaps with a nod to the number and popularity of aftermarket wide-body flare kits for the previous MR-2 that prompted Toyota to attach the body panels with bolts; between the Celica GT-S and the MR2 Spyder, Toyota is working very hard for our enthusiast affections.
The newly trend-savvy TRD offers a host of upgrades for the Spyder, most of them dress-up items. Not yet addressed, however, is that lovely, huge chunk of airspace between the exhaust manifold and the rear of the engine compartment that lies waiting for its gallant owner to stuff it with a large turbo. Boy-racer, parking lot brawler, stock broker or weekend vacationer, no MR2 Spyder owner will regret its purchase. --Jared Holstein