Faults:

My alternator broke and had to be replaced.

The driver side leather seat have started to wear badly.

I have some electrical problems with the headlights.

I had to replace the rack end pinion, because I hit a curb real bad one day.

The engine doesn't crank up that nice any more, but all it needs is some ignition-cleaning.

The driver's side power window switch gave up. It would cost $300 from the Toyota dealer and none of the junkyards have it. I'll have to pay $300 I guess.

Clutch is slipping and needs to be replaced soon.

The synchronizers have begun to wear.

The front brake rotors need to be replaced soon as well.

General Comments:

This car is really reliable. I drive it every day and I am really pushing its limits all the time. I even drove it up to Philadelphia from Miami and back one time. It handled it with no problem. The car didn't give me any serious mechanical problems so far.

This car has some hidden power. I did 8 seconds (0-60) with the stock engine and maxed it out at 125mph. Compared to its 1.6L 112hp engine and 18 years, it's pretty good. What I really love about it is its high revs loving engine. It starts getting powerful at 4500rpm and. Until that it pretty much has no pickup. The red line is at 7000rpm.

What I really miss is a supercharger. It gives you a little more performance, but it's needed. So if you can buy the supercharged model.

It also loves gas. It's only a 1.6, but does only about 17 miles with a gallon. My brother's Lincoln Town Car does the same... with a V8 in it. On the other hand I have the A/C on all year and I drive like a maniac.

The car handles like it's on rails. No wonder it was awarded for best handling car of the year when it came out.

I heard some people complain about not having enough space for a nice stereo. Well there really isn't much space, but I did put a bazooka behind each seat and even fit a 12 CD-changer on top of the passenger-side bazooka. I also replaced the stock speakers on the front and I put a 400W Rockford Fosquate under the driver seat. Sounds real good.

It is a very good first car if you like sporty driving. I am going to look for a faster car soon, but I know I will miss my MR2.

Faults:

The car has given me no mechanical trouble in the nine months that I have owned it.

The window seals have leaked since before I acquired the car and are in need of replacement. These are tough to find.

There are very small patches of rust in locations where the paint had been chipped.

The front speakers are original and need replacement.

The air conditioner does not work presently. I have easily acquired the parts needed to convert it to R134 A.

Finding an air filter for this car requires the Internet or a dealer because auto parts stores do not stock it.

General Comments:

This car is absolutely a dream. It is fun to drive as fast or slow as you like. I love the way it holds the road in the corners. It feels like driving a race car, but is totally reliable and cheap to operate.

The car uses very little gas, only holds 3 quarts of oil (I use synthetic), and never breaks. It couldn't be cheaper to operate.

My particular car has had a few modifications. The engine was rebuilt when the previous owner decided to race it in SC-CA races. These are races for street legal cars on a track which are run individually. He also replaced the shocks with good gas shocks. The car also has a high performance ignition and muffler. You cannot tell any of these things just by looking at the car and I don't believe they add very much power either. The car was only raced once.

I drive the car every day. I love the fact that my beater car is so nice and dependable, but I really like the fact that I can drive it hard and it will respond. I drive it hard a lot.