4000 Mile Review

This opinion is a review of my Toyota MR2 Spyder after 4000 miles, with a few six-hour drives, three-hour drives, and lots of city driving thrown in. It covers what I love and what I am disappointed about, and to whom I would recommend this car. At the end I also cover the “no storage” complaint that many reviews have mentioned.

Overall, I love my car. It is a beautiful car to look at, and receives endless compliments. It also is truly exciting and enjoyable to drive. It is the performance more than the look that makes the car exciting to drive. The car was designed and built by Toyota to be exactly what it is, and that’s an open roadster. There are no compromises in this car to make it any less than that. On the contrary, some “Would be nice to have’s” have been sacrificed to make the car better at what its best at, performing.

I like the look of the car from almost all angles. I wish it were a little longer or taller, but not much really. More than half of the people that holler out to me as I drive by say “nice Porsche” (they are nearly indiscernible from the front, except for the different colored emblem on the hood). A lot of people come up to me and are just glad to finally see the car for real. As there are so few available, I think it will continue that way.

The car drives impressively. It has a 140 hp engine and only weighs around 2000 lbs, so the car drives as if it had more power than you’d expect. The power is available at all speeds, whether at a stop light, passing at thirty, passing at seventy, or passing uphill at seventy-five on the expressway. I’ve been able to cruise at around 80 mph on hilly expressways and not had a problem at all. The top speed I’ve gotten it to is about 85mph. I know it can go faster, but I don’t know how well it handles at those speeds. It has very good control up into the 80’s though. I have yet to regret a maneuver because of lack of power. With that said however, this isn’t a muscle car. It doesn’t have the 200+ horsepower engines in many muscle cars. If you want a muscle-convertible, this isn’t it. But if you want a convertible with exceptional power, this is it.

The car handles like a dream. The driving sensation can be likened to slalom skiing, or a watercraft ride. The curves have a very smooth, enjoyable quality to them. I think that the low center of gravity and the mid-mount engine have a lot to do with this. I haven’t felt the g-force inertia that I feel in other cars around sharp turns. I just test drove a BMW coupe today and was surprised at the amount of inertia I felt around corners. The BMW itself handled the corner extremely well, but I was not expecting the inertial force. If you’re into that force thing this car doesn’t have it, but what I prefer is the slalom feeling, when you can take turn after turn really tight, and not be moved about the cabin that much. Don’t get the idea you can’t feel the turns! It is a very pleasurable ride.

Braking? Phenomenal! It is very responsive and smooth. Popular Mechanics just reviewed seven convertibles in their September issue, and they claim that the Toyota Spyder stopped in the shortest distance of any car they have ever tested, ever! I have found myself in more than one instance were I was going faster than I thought, and had to brake in a shorter distance than I had planned, and the car can do it, and do it without throwing you against the seatbelts. I have never seen a car brake as smoothly as this car does, another very exhilarating feature.

The top is easy to handle. Putting it up or down only takes a few seconds. I can always put the top up without getting out of the car, but more often than not I have to get out of the car to put the top down. The car looks great with the top up though. A lot of people say they like driving with the top up as much as with the top down. It could use a sunroof however J.

Now with performance aside, lets attack the creature comforts. The car seat is probably my biggest complaint. It lacks lumbar support. Since its not electrically adjusted, its been hard to find that sweet spot and keep it. As soon as you need something out from behind the seat or want to put the rear wind deflector up (nice feature) you need to lean the seat forward and you lose the sweet spot. I drove six hours, with a couple stops (no cruise control) and felt good until the last hour. Then my back started killing me, and continued bothering me all weekend. However, I adjusted the seats a lot on the way back, and didn’t have any trouble.

I’m 6’1” and about 160 lbs. The car fits very well for me. If I were much above 200 lbs, I don’t think it would be very comfortable. But that’s for people to decide for themselves. I’m also glad I’m not any taller. It’s hard to see stoplights sometimes because the front window frame will be in the way, or if the top is up its even worse.

I’m not too impressed with the stereo sound, but that has a lot to do with the small cabin space. It’s just not ideal for great sound.

And finally, the storage space! Contrary to what others say, I think it has plenty of it! This is obviously not a family car or “my only car” to own. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a car built to be an open roadster, and it is. I have bought two small soft side duffle bags from EMS, (yellow, very nice) and they fit in the storage space behind the seats just fine. I may have even been able to get middle-sized bags so that they’d be longer, but I wouldn’t pack them full. Above the spare tire, a full backpack fits easily. Now to me, if my gal and me want to go on a weekend trip somewhere, I don’t want to take a lot of stuff! I think it ruins the experience. The idea of a simple enjoyable performing car driving to the Cape or to a lighthouse B & B with any more than a few days clothes is beyond me. And when I go shopping, I never buy more than a few bags worth of stuff anyway. So to me the complaints are overblown. Enjoy the car as it is.


The transmission on the car is manual, which is the only type available. It shifts very easily. The stick has a short throw between gears and the car doesn't jump or lurch when you let off the clutch. Its all very smooth.

Also, the seat I have is the cloth, but its not an ordinary cloth seat. Its actually a specific type of material designed to hold your body, and keep you from sliding around. I think leather would look nicer, but this does grip you, sort of like velcro. It's kind of neat. I have the black interior on a silver exterior. It is a nice color combo. I was a little disappointed with the plastic interior but the aluminum pedals and chrome door handles are a nice touch. The Tach is in the center of the dash and the speedometer is to the left. Nice touch. Some of the radio buttons are also hard to reach behind the stick shift.

The car has been averaging about 31-33 mpg depending on my mix of driving conditions. The engine likes to run at 80 mph. To drive 60, you need to coast alot.

The steering is responsive and takes a little getting used to. My first drive in it felt like I was in a go-kart. I would overturn and then turn back, etc. I've also once or twice turned into the curb because it turns so quickly. But I've gotten used to it and now find it very smooth. On the highway it doesn't wander, which is what I was worried about. It's pretty much point and go.

And finally, this is my first convertible. I didn't even really look around at any others. It was more of an impulse purchase. I knew I was tired of seeing Miata's and Mustang's and couldn't afford the Honda, Audi or BMW. So this was a perfect match when it came out. I drive Honda's otherwise and now find the Honda steering very laborious. Maybe I should get a Celica instead. Hmmmm.....

Thanks for reading my review!
Have fun driving! Hope this was helpful!