the camry V6 also iirc has a taller 5th gear so would be better when cruising/hwy runs.
 
for comparison, my st185 gt4 has a rebuilt gen3 with gt2560 running 15psi, it has the long ratio CS grpA box (2500rpm in [link=mailto:5th@100kph]5th@100kph[/link]) about 300 less than std E15x boxes attached to 3sgtes.
 
i average 10k/L.

oh, reason i mentioned that is too show the difference the gearbox can make, i'm getting the same or better fuel economy but have to drive 4 wheels and my car weighs and extra 150odd KG.

I reckon the 2GR would give decent fuel economy. With a 6 speed it's a match made in heaven :D
Since you're getting you're first MR2 and getting off P's, I'd probably be inclined to get a tubby one myself, but Gen 3+. Definitely try before you buy. Any car regardless of induction will be money pits if they aren't taken care off. Still, less things to break with an NA hehe
Goodluck!

Just ace - but what if you're not driving on a freeway/HWY? I average about 30 km/h if i'm commuting in peak hour....lucky to get out of 1st. May as well remove 5th to stop it collecting dust.
 
I don't understand why people seem to think that a 6 CYLINDER is more economical. So what its newer and has an econo head but you're having to inject 2 more cylinders not to mention 3.5 litres. Don't want to use family cars as an example, but look what Ford has done with the new Falcon "EcoBoost" - 4 cylinder turbo with great driveability and benchmark economy for such as heavy boat of a car.
 
 
 

lol, if your not doing any freeway and spend all your life in 30kph traffic why have a motor bike or mr2? or gears 3-5? get a bicycle, go round traffic.
 
for me to and from work it's mixed between lights with a stretch of 80kph road
 
if your bunny hoping clutch in /out all the way to work then i'd say the little 2L motor turbo would be more economical at idle perhaps?....LOL
 
but yeh, as i said somehwere else recently, "turbo does not equal bad fuel economy."

lol nah I don't normally use the 2 to commute, only on **** days like today where its raining, 12 degrees. Heater and radio is great haha
Motorbike easily goes thru traffic (its not a BMW tourer LOL), I normally filter through nearly every set of lights :)
the turbos only have a rep for poor fuel economy because of the stock ECU dumping fuel at high revs/boost. I'm lucky to hit 7 pound on the way to work. Don't boost it and the dumping simply doesn't happen.
 
 
 

I've owned both NA and turbo, bought the NA when I was on my p's also and it did a great job. Just the feel of the mr2 was enough for me on my p's but as soon as I got off my p's I bought the first hardtop turbo mr2 I could find (don't do that make sure it's in good condition first... Haha) as I wanted more power and leather seats.... It is a lot easy to find a NA mr2 that hasn't been stuffed with than a turbo one, which is a good thing trust me. But if I was you I would still wait the year and find a turbo mr2. 

yer, thinking I'll wait and go a tubby.
 
want one that is stock (may be looking for a while!) as i'll be using it everyday, and not gonna buy now, sell and buy another in about a year. also think there is more of a market for the turbo imports, hard to find many (good) n/a's up for grabs.
 
I agree with a lot that's been posted, v6 conversion would be a nice project, but bigger heavier (?) engine than an I4 turbo, not much difference in power (I think), reliability doesn't increase, fuel is if anything worse, more likely to run into issues seeing as i've never done an engine swap and car would be a daily.
 
also, I'm a rather mild mannered driver (in general), so hopefully turbo wouldn't be spooling all that much (thinking of fuel) but is there in case i need it ;)
 
so IMO, 3sgte > 3sge > v6  (that is, 'more preferred than')
3sgte sounds more fun, 3sge is if you wanna be tight on fuel, but want a midship, v6 is if you want a nice project, something different (why not go v6TT or v8, just chop out your boot! lol)
 
should make a thread comparing 3sgte vs SR20DET, actually surprised that all the silvia fans think so highly of this engine, thought they'd be more biased...

The newer V6 is meant to be lighter than 3SGTE apparently, being made from lighter alloys and no intercooler/extra plumbing. Also the turbo engine, like 3sge, has iron block. There are good late model N/As out there, they just carry a hefty price :(
 
3SGTE vs SR20DET would be interesting indeed. 3S runs 10-13 psi stock I think and SR runs about 7 psi stock, and both put out roughly similar power. So if the SR was given equal boost, it should make more power than our 3S I guess. And I don't doubt the SR can handle more even with alum block.

That's a big can of worms. You won't find any clean winner IMO. All the 4banger turbos have weaknesses. On the extreme end, you'll find a lot of mucking around with all. But for 3S pride, the Japs always give them respect.

All have some bottom end weakness, most except 3S have cylinder head issues. All lift heads with massive power/boost. VE of the heads can't really be compared cos there's so many variants. Poor intercooling usually hurts the 3S output. IMO, the 3S is the most robust. Those I've seen with high mileage & known history still get the job done & last. Non interference engine unlike the others & no lifter problems etc. Aftermarket support is weak though, but at least block & crank upgrades come from cheaper Toyotas. Unlike with SR20's where you go custom or aftermarket.