Hey guys,
I just know 90odd% of you are reading this title and bursting with opinions! 
I couldn't find another similar thread in these forums, so I thought I'd start one.
 
I've got ~1year left on my P's, so I'm in two minds, buy my first MR2 now (NA) or wait till I can drive a turbo.

The above doesn't really matter, just want to start a general discussion about the pro's and con's of all three engines (NA, turbo, BEAMS (VVT)).

To get things going...
> the MR2 is all about handling, do you really need a turbo to enjoy the day-to-day drive? For the track, I'd imagine a turbo is the way to go, but would you get bored driving a NA everyday to work/uni/shops/mates place/deli?
> What sort of performance gains do you get with a turbo over a NA or BEAMS, in terms of power, torque, where (in revs) you get torque, fuel consumption, driveability, etc.?
> MR2's (and Toyota's in general) are know for their reliability, how do the reliability of these three engines compare? (from this forum, it seems like they're all just as reliable as each other, so long as they're cared for properly)
 
What *I* want, is a car thats fun to drive, sporty, handles great, not a nightmare on fuel, reliable. Sounds to me like an MR2...
but what engine do I opt for?!
 
Again, less about me, more about discussion.
 
Cheers :)

I don't really get bored with my NA, you don't really get to push the car on the road anyway. Even on the track the NA's are a blast... but with the turbo models about the same price or even cheaper. Wait and get a turbo one, just cause you can push it more when you can and want to. 

My N/A is plenty fun. I bought it only a little while before I got off my P's. Definitely considered a turbo but decided against it in the end. I go to the track pretty regularly so with a turbo it'd be much faster and probably more fun, but it'll also go through fuel, brakes and tyres that much quicker. And the N/A engines are cheap. If I blow it up it won't cost much to replace (but if that does happen I'll probably do a turbo swap). At the track, it's always the guys with turbo engines that are wrenching spanners under the hood instead of driving. Granted, a standard turbo would be just as reliable as the N/A, but no one keeps them standard.

karnage
> the MR2 is all about handling, do you really need a turbo to enjoy the day-to-day drive? For the track, I'd imagine a turbo is the way to go, but would you get bored driving a NA everyday to work/uni/shops/mates place/deli?

No you don't need it, but its nice to be able to put your foot down at <4000 rpm and have it do something. Yes I would because with a turbo I can easily increase the boost etc, when I get bored.

karnage 
> What sort of performance gains do you get with a turbo over a NA or BEAMS, in terms of power, torque, where (in revs) you get torque, fuel consumption, driveability, etc.?

'Driveability' is very subjective. What may be great to drive for one person may be totally different for another. A turbo gives great torque to a small displacement engine that an NA simply doesn't have. After driving about my gfs 2ZZ-GE Celica, you really notice the torque difference when I drive mine.
Although, if you're worried about fuel consumption, consider the NA because the ECU dumps in tons of fuel at high revs and boost to keep things cool.

karnage
> MR2's (and Toyota's in general) are know for their reliability, how do the reliability of these three engines compare? (from this forum, it seems like they're all just as reliable as each other, so long as they're cared for properly)

They're all very very reliable with proper servicing and maintenance like any Toyota engine.

karnage
What *I* want, is a car thats fun to drive, sporty, handles great, not a nightmare on fuel, reliable. Sounds to me like an MR2...
but what engine do I opt for?!

Drive them all (if you can), then make a decision!

NA is still good, but you only have one problem. if you get bored with the power theres nothing you can do about it. with the turbo theres plenty you can do. all depends on how much you want to spend as well in mods, turbos can cost $$$ if you catch the boost bug lol
if you plan on doing hillclimb sort of trackwork an NA is more than enough.

I would assume you are just going to by an existing car ?
 
The Beams you wont find, so its N/A or Turbo. Drive both and see which one you like.
 
Just be aware with the Turbo there is a very high chance that it was a swapped engine as they weren't available in Australia so i would get it checked that everything works.
Drive it first start up and also warm

it's all down to personal preference and only you can acuratly make that decision for yourself. as mandalay said, drive both for yourself and make a decision.
 
i'd get an mr2 NA now, drive it, enjoy it, sort out the handling, don't worry about power, then when your off P's take a turbo for a spin and see if it's what you want. if not then you've had yrs of fun in your NA mr2 anyhow.
 
 

I would advise to get an NA as you mentioned a daily drive as well.
It will be an australian model, and you should be able to find a very standard one with service history (should be bulletproof). On normal roads the NA should be plenty of fun.
Dare i say it will be almost impossible to find a turbo one that hasnt been messed with in some way.
Dont forget to factor in $$$ for servicing, timing belt, suspension refresh etc depending on the car, and allow more for a car with mods.
Dont test drive a turbo, and you will be blissfully happy :D 

Don't forget the option of V6. The 1MZFE has a lot of torque, a good amount of HP with the mega-reliability and fuel economy of a Camry. It's can also be cheaper to do a V6 conversion with an SW20 then to do a BEAMS conversion.

Its cheaper to do a 2gr conversion than rebuild a Gen 2 turbo as I found out today