2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder a winner

OK, Now that I've had my 2003 MR2 for 6 months, I still stand by what I wrote below, but have realized that Toyota can do a lot to improve this wonderful vehicle. So, scan my plaudits (below the starred ****** line), read the new stuff in the next paragraph and then go to the "Cons." I still feel like I REALLY got my money's worth. If Toyota fixes my "Cons," I'll be a repeat customer.

NO PLACE TO GO WITH QUESTIONS. Example: there is a button just left of the steering wheel that is not in the owner's manual and no one at the dealer (in NY, not Wisconsin where I bought the car) could identify.

Virtually no trunk space. Driver's seat is too narrow. The left seat bolster presses in on my leg and becomes uncomfortable fairly quickly. It appears to have been designed for a smaller Japanese body-size. No glove box and engine compartment lights. Dealers are not well educated. No one in a major NY dealership, including the Shop Foreman, knew how to shift the sequential manual even though the MR2 has been out for over a year! He told me that his MR2 education was limited to a CD Rom that had been sent by the factory. Although it's a small matter, the little plastic plate on the convertible top release handle (in the top center of the top assembly) frequently pops out when I put the top down; prompting me to have to move the seats forward to find it on the floor.

Maneuvers through turns beautifully.
**********

At age 56, after having large SUV's for the past 12 years of my son's youth hockey career, I finally got my convertible. When I first saw a photo of the Toyota MR2 Spyder on the cover of an automotive magazine, the first thought that came to mind was "I hope it costs less than a Boxster because, if it runs as well as it looks, I'm going to buy one no matter what."

My test drive called to mind a combination of my first Ferrari in 1975 and my first MGB in 1980. Toyota engineers really know what they are doing. It's a 4-cylinder rocket. The 6-speed sequential transmission is a gas, and easy to master.

I picked up my new Spyder at Mark Motors in Wisconsin Rapids and drove it 1,200 miles back to Connecticut. I had planned to drive 6-700 miles the first day but it was such a driving pleasure that I didn't stop until the trip odometer read "950." As a young Army lieutenant in 1967, I regularly drove my 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix 900 miles in one shot. To be able to do more than that 35 years later speaks to the driveability and comfort of this wonderful vehicle. Despite nighttime temperatures of 16 degrees, the Spyder's cabin was airtight and relatively quiet for a convertible hurtling through the night at 80-90 mph.

The throaty growl of the engine, the admiring looks from young and old alike, and rocket acceleration all add up to a lot of fun for the money -- even if it were double the price (you can buy two MR2s for the price of a Porsche Boxter!).

If you don't need a trunk, I would heartily recommend the Spyder to anyone who loves to drive. I'm betting that it will be a classic in years to come.