Faults:

Head gasket leaked at about 150,000, but fixed with those seal liquid type thing that you put through the radiator. Starting to have head gasket problem again after 30,000 miles, and another one of those did help, so for $40 per 30,000 it isn't too bad.

Change the CV boots after about 120,000 miles.

General Comments:

It has superior control, if you upgrade the suspension in this car, you will enhance your driving experience.

The MR2 is small, and already has enough power to go anywhere, so to me safety issues are more important; you can upgrade the strut bars, sway bars and some damping control, new shocks every 50,000 miles, and it will last you a life time.

I put more than 100,000 miles on this car (original engine) and it still runs fine. Just take care of your car, any car, and it will last a very long time.

Faults:

Clutch replaced at 85,000 miles.

Alternator replaced at 100,000 miles.

Shocks replaced all round at 110,000 miles.

Gearbox feels tired and crunches a bit in 3rd.

Paint on the spoiler has started bubbling.

Aerial sometimes gets stuck.

General Comments:

The handling is brilliant due to the low suspension, mid-engine and rear wheel drive setup. Nothing much can keep up in the dry. It just sticks to the road with virtually no body-roll. You just have to treat it with respect in the wet. Decent tyres are important on this car.

Performance is good from the 2 litre 16v engine. It hits 60mph in about 7.7 seconds, which is more than respectable. Power delivery is smooth, and above 5000rpm it really shifts. Admittedly, the turbo model is about 2 seconds quicker up to 60mph, but much more thirsty.

The car looks great as standard with its sleek and curvy styling. You wouldn't believe the car was 14 years old. The black paintwork still shines almost like new. The interior looks nice with everything to hand. Mine has full electrics and air-con. You can adjust the steering wheel to suit. Imports have the best spec.

These cars are reliable and feel pretty solid being a Toyota. Mine has mostly only needed parts due to normal wear and tear. To be fair it's done 115k miles, but still drives nicely. I use it everyday for work.

General running costs are reasonable. Servicing can be done cheaply. Certain repair jobs can be expensive though. Insurance can be quite high for imports, but not too bad for UK cars.

I think these cars are great value-for-money, and I plan on upgrading to the turbo model soon.

Faults:

Radiator replaced. Ignition set replaced. Main rear seal oil leakage (expensive labour wise)

General Comments:

I'm glad I bought this MR2 when I did. The MR2 turbo only came as an import, and I found a perfect example only 4 years old at the time!

The first time I planted foot in this vehicle it was like this enormous surge forward, which bought an instant smile to my face and I knew I had to have it!

8 years on, the car still pulls like the day I bought it. Oil has been changed every 5000 kilometers to keep the turbo happy. I will recondition the turbo at around 150000 kilometers to keep things running the way they should. I am amazed at this cars reliability!

In stock standard form, the GTS MR2 has very impressive performance. I have tested it once, and it gave a 0-60 mph in 5.43 seconds and a quarter mile of 13.9 seconds. I'm not hugely interested in upgrading, just keeping everything running the way it should.

There are a lot of worn out mr2s out there, many that were imported at like 10 years old with a ridiculous 65000 kilometers on the clock. I will never understand why some people attempt to believe this is true, and then can't figure out why its not performing.

But if you do find a genuine one, they really are the best bang for your buck!