2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder Review: MRS Winding Road

Full review of Toyota MR2 Spyder, also known as the MRS. Is it fast? Can it be a daily? Is it worth buying??
MR2 Turbo Review: • 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo ...
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[@gsk5161]

I've been DD mine for 10 yrs, bottom line is that it's a great car for city driving. Your like a hummingbird darting in and out of traffic, it's awesome.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Nice!

[@matthewyang2792]

Great review. The spyder does understeer from factory. I had to tune it out with a rear sway bar. The car handled way better after that. Lift off oversteer is an excuse for newbs.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Haha true. Thanks for watching!

[@raviolitrail]

Yes sir, more rear spring or sway. This guy doesn't know MR cars at all. Probably looked for 2 minutes online and found some autox setups.

[@AutomotiveAnatomy]

Simon is such a cool and supportive dude. Loved the review and it looks like an awesome car!

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Thanks for watching man! It's a fun car for sure. Simon is ok I guess

[@AutomotiveAnatomy]

@@SnowWhiteMR2 Simon is ok lol I would suggest you leave the road camera the entire time. I really enjoyed the review

[@ninjashidan]

I've owned a mrs for over 5 years. I like it better than my previous Supra. It's truly an underdog which I like. It's not for everyone but I'm trying to buy a second one.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

It's definitely a more focused car than the Supra. Thanks for watching!

[@mechtech104]

Super informative review ! Subbed

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Glad it helped! Thanks for the support!

[@BrillanteCarDetailingAdelaide]

Yah your video really good I got the last one of the mr2 Toyota spider black one I love it I’m planing to modify engine but it’s a great car ,a lot of people start looking for the last generation,

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Thanks for watching!!

[@PlaneTMRS]

Pretty good review! I would agree to you, the standart tire size is set up very much towards understeer but dont get fooled, you can still make it slide when driving on the edge :P And yes its not a car for the straigt line with the 1zz engine. I would recommend searching for a facelift model. It will take so much stress off you, not having to worry about tooo much about your precats :D

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

I agree! Although, this very car which is a facelift ended up having a precat issue ☹️ Thanks for watching!

[@PlaneTMRS]

@@SnowWhiteMR2 oh thats unfortunate! but yeah the precats are really something to look out for

[@heilong79]

This is a series 2 car(or has series 2 "upgrades") with the 16" at the rear, I guess they dialed in the understeer to make it more safe, I have a series 1 and it has a square set up from factory, I am from Europe and we got an LSD as standard also. As far as modding goes 2zz and look to Lotus for inspiration ie: lightness and bracing. Snap you just mentioned the Lotus thing while I was typing.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Yes it is! I believe the revision started in 2003. LSD was an option over here, not a lot of cars had it. Glad we're on the same page haha! Thanks for watching!

[@LupinYonderboy]

Keep it above 4000rpm ( Which isn't always easy ) on the 2nd cam profile and it's got enough for country road driving but definitely not highway pulls.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

I didn't think the 1ZZ actually had a second cam profile haha. Either way it's definitely an engine you want to rev out. Thanks for watching!

[@LupinYonderboy]

@@SnowWhiteMR2 Well, more accurately the vvti system adjusts valve intake timing. It's Toyota VTECH kinda. Just past 4000 and it's a noticeable surge in power. As the car only has 138hp you want to get as much of that power as you can so keeping it above 4000 really changes the character of the engine.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

@@LupinYonderboy agreed!

[@PlaneTMRS]

@@LupinYonderboy watch out not to mix up VVTI and VVTLI. VVTLI is the VTEC equivalent you are talking about with having a second cam profil but i would still agree that even with VVTI, which is only changing the cam timing instead of the lift, a power increase is really noticable above 4000 rpm!

[@LupinYonderboy]

@@PlaneTMRS I had the 2ZZ swap done and now the switch over is even more noticeable but it's up at 6000rpm which is tricky, revs to 8000+

[@jozsefizsak]

Thanks for this informative video. I disliked the spyder for a long time since I don't find the styling attractive and the SW20 suites my taste and requirements so well. It was a disappointing follow-up to me, not that it was even available in Canada. I would appreciate a convertible top perhaps once a year for a few minutes.and the extreme lack of storage means you really can't take a trip in this one. All that said, you helped convince me that the MRS is actually a pretty nice car that will surely suit some people. Having owned the original Mini Cooper S, I can appreciate the tremendous benefits of very low weight along with excellent suspension. Colin Chapman was no fool.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

SW20 is definitely the better looking car, but of course that's subject. And yeah I wouldn't really use the convetible top either. I had no idea the MRS wasn't sold in Canada! Thanks for watching!

[@hottiehothurr4]

GREAT REVEIW

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Thank you for watching!

[@alexgrzeskowiak5328]

Agreed. Spyder really tends to understeer, mostly on the corner exit.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Thanks for watching!

[@arlenburgin2392]

It will be a collector's car

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Maybe!

[@exionem]

Would you recommend a roll bar since this vehicle doesn´t come with it ? My old Miata did include them and seems a little safer.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

If you're going on track it's required. If not it's up to you but solid roll bar is nvr a bad idea

[@davidcollin7466]

every one thinks the mr2 mk3 is slow even tho they have not driven one 140bhp and only weighs 960kg !! mr2 mk1 0-60 is 8.3s - mr2 0-60 is 7.7s - mr2 mk2 2.0 turbo 0-60 is 5.7s - mr2 mk3 0-60 is 7.7s !! so its only slower than the 2.0 turbo !! you would think this is a 0-60 9.0s car the way some people who have not driven it talk ! i know there a good fun car i bought one last year glad i did !!

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Enjoy your car and thanks for watching!!

[@andy8034]

I noticed most reviewers of the mr2 doesnt mention if a small suitcase will fit in the back storage. It looks roomy in the video. Is it not big enough for a small suitcase?

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Hard to say exactly, but I think a soft duffle or backpack is probably your best bet

[@rj8954]

It won't fit a small suitcase unless you removed the plastic trim pieces in the back storage area.

[@audieo575]

I love driving my 2003 Spyder far more than my 2008 BMW M5 with V10

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

V different personalities!

[@robertpearce5553]

Add a PPE HEADER and free flow cat and monkey wrench intake you get 20 more HP and torque and swap out stock wheels get RPF1S and save 6lbs per corner changes car completely

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

PPE headers and down pipe do make a surprising difference! Thanks for watching

[@SenorChuubs]

it looks like hes going so fast lmaoo. hes gonna fly off the hill

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Haha just trying to test the car. Thanks for watching!!

[@SenorChuubs]

@@SnowWhiteMR2 i loved watching your video dude! I think i might buy one. theres a couple in my area

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

@@SenorChuubs thanks so much and good luck!

[@kevinlee9342]

Nvr thought of this car as fast

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Haha a lot of people don't

[@ninetynineRXY]

Only the prev gen MR2 is known for snap oversteer cause of the heavier block. Why are you making a video about a car you know nothing about?

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

The 2nd gen MR2 definitely is most well known for it (although even that isn't really true), but many people think the same thing about the first generation and third. That said, I suggest you make a better video to correct any misinformation I'm spreading. Thanks for watching!

[@cduncan5690]

Oh man, there is so much misinformation in this video. Where do I begin? Fast refers to top speed and with 138hp I doubt it could get to 120mph, so not fast. I suppose what you are referring to is the feel of quickness to actually being quick. I've owned one these and it didn't feel quick at all, the recorded 0-60 time of 7.2 seconds is proof. It isn't quick on track either. NC MX-5 is quicker and those are only consider quick next to the older models. Lastly, please do not recommend tracking this car with square tires especially when you have never tracked one and have very limited track experience. All mid engined cars, even professional race cars run a staggered wheel and tire setup for a reason. I'm not going to explain why here but you should do more homework before making these posts. I appreciate you love for MR2s as I've owned two generations and they are very fun cars. However, please make sure you are bringing facts to these videos because there are people who watch these videos and treat everything you say as fact.

[@SnowWhiteMR2]

Good thing you cleared all that up

[@rxrotaryguy7]

If you watched the video David clearly explained what he meant by fast. Square vs stagger setup is subjective and there no right way to setup the car since everyone has different preference. The car was setup to understeer from the factory and i prefer like to have a more balanced handling so that why i switched to a square tire setup.

[@Haddedam]

I have been tracking MRs for 5 years now and sqare setup is the way to go since there's no weight at front anyway so front is lacking grip (especially unde light accelaration which you're supposed to give it at corners) It's slow to run it on non square. And it's very, very fast on track, my 1zz has gotten faster laptimes on track than: sw20, sw20 turbo, 450hp r33 skyline, gt500 mustang, audi rs3, endless list of bmw's and audis with more power than it. All in time attack/competition so you can't claim they weren't racing. It suffers on tracks with long straights cause but with good square setup on wide tyres it punches up super hard and prints you trophies. Even if I was loosing constantly I'd still run it cause it's an insane car to have on track once you get it on coilovers and good tyres. Sure miatas with turbos on slicks are faster but they're on slicks. But that's my experience.

[@OldAssSax]

I've run a ZZW30 extensively on track and use a square setup because I'm not a fucking idiot.

[@LupinYonderboy]

I've done 120mph on the autobahn, it took a while in 6th so I should have dropped down to 5th really. I had the car full luggage and a full luggage rack on the back.