What's this mean?

[808]

Someone told me that:
"Id reccommend the MK2 turbo. Buy one of the later revisions though, the earlier ones (upto 3 if I remember correctly) are death traps."
What year is he talking about? And whats the exact full name of the car he is reccommending?

[johnr]

Originally Posted by 808

Someone told me that:
"Id reccommend the MK2 turbo. Buy one of the later revisions though, the earlier ones (upto 3 if I remember correctly) are death traps."
What year is he talking about? And whats the exact full name of the car he is reccommending?

I haven't read all the reviews on all the years, however it is known that MR2s are not safety tanks if involved in a high speed crash. (God be with you) A MR2 has a basic like fiberglass shell skirting and not a heavy duty frame. Someone may have info your looking for. This may give you a bit more info http://www.mr2.com/Safety.html.

[andyb16]

They are safer than you think. JekylandHyde has a whole web page devoted to MR2 crashes. There are a couple pretty horrendous ones where the driver walks away unhurt. I think there was one where the car was basically cut in half and the driver was fine. They're only really dangerous if hit from the side, front and rear collisions aren't too bad, plenty of crumply stuff before you get to the passenger compartment.

The earlier MK2s have different suspension setups than the newer ones, so a lot of people say they are safer because there is not as much oversteer, but mid-engine cars take some practice to handle anyway. In the hands of a responsible driver, I would say they are nowhere near being a "deathtrap".

[808]

thanks for the info i'll be checking up on those sites once i finish this post. Could you tell me what the "earlier models" would be. what year? like '91? or is it older?

[MR2Jedi]

I would hardly call them death traps... they are prolly as safe as any Honda, Cavalier, Neon, etc.
'85-'89=Gen 1 (AW11, N/A & Suprcharged)
'90-'95=Gen II(SW20 , Turbo & N/A)
2000-'05=Gen III(Spyder) discontinued, last production year being '05

I'm not aware of them having fiberglass shells. I have both gen II and gen III, and both have metal bodies. not sure about gen I, but I think they are metal too. maybe some of the other guys can substantiate that.

[808]

sweet. thanks alot for the info.
c-ya round

[Drifting Dane]

What your friend was probably talking about is the fact that 91-92 MR2s (both NA and turbo) had rear suspensions that caused the rear wheels to toe out under hard cornering, creating difficult to control oversteer... a reason why many MR2s have untimely ends.

Luckily MR2s are in fact tough little buggers (i would know, my father just crashed mine).

But from 93+, the second generation MR2s had revised rear suspension (and front, but that is kind of irrelevant to our situation) which fixed this 'problem' so it was more forgiving to your average driver.

Full name of the 'death trap' i beleive your friend to be talking about: 91-92 MR2 (NA and turbo)