ICON DRIVE TOYOTA MR2

(Mk2, 1989-1999) The Toyota MR2 offered mid-engined handling, two-door style and everyday usability. Does it still have the magic?

- By Charlie Harvey

IN the nineties, buyers were spoiled for choice when it came to affordable, fun sports cars. Toyota alone offered three takes on the formula - the Supra, Celica and the 'Midship Runabout 2-seater', or MR2.

While the rear-wheel-drive Supra was the most coveted and sought-after of the three coupés, and the Celica was a more modestly powered and accessible front-drive option, the MR2 arguably did more than any other model to democratise the mid-engined sports car recipe for the masses.

THE POOR MAN'S FERRARI

MENTION the Toyota MR2 to most people and the Mk2 version is likely to be the one that springs to mind. Of the three generations that were created, this one had the longest production run (from 1989 to 1999) and hit a sweet spot in terms of everyday usability.

While the first-generation Toyota MR2 was short and stubby with an angular design, the smoother, larger proportions of the Mk2 feel more appropriate for a true sports car. The later Mk3 took things in a completely different direction - it was available only as a roadster.

The Mk2 MR2 was informally referred to as the 'poor man's Ferrari', although it actually predates the Ferrari 355 with which its styling is so often compared. It's not really as much of a jibe as perhaps it was intended to be; after all, for Toyota - a brand that was better known for producing boring-but-dependable family cars - to be mentioned in the same breath as the Prancing Horse really should be seen as praise, not a barb.