Your handy 1991–95 Toyota MR2 (MKII) buyer’s guide

The turbocharged engine is far and away more desirable. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder (dubbed 3S-GTE) offered a nice, square 200 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque. That extra punched changed the dynamic equation in a big way. As an early ’90s turbocharged engine, throttle response was not its strong suit, but you can’t argue with the numbers.
Neither can you argue with the car’s handling reputation. Mention you drive a MKII MR2 and it won’t be long before someone asks you whether the lift-off snap oversteer is truly as bad as everyone says it is. “Yes, it was really that bad,” confirms Justin Burnash, a former MR2 tuner and current seller of MR2 parts, who is Co-Owner of the car giveaway and apparel site PrimeDriven.com. “Toyota revised the rear suspension geometry in 1993 and increased wheel size from 14 inch to 15 inch and all of this made a substantial improvement.” According to Justin, however, the MR2’s bad rep is more the fault of the buying public than the car itself: “People who normally drove Corollas and Civics were all of a sudden driving MR2s like they drove their underpowered FWD commuter cars and chaos ensued.”