2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder - The Mid Engine Manual You Forgot (POV Binaural Audio) 

i love the old three spoke toyota/mazda steering wheels.

Don't forget that the 2zz is basically a drop in swap for 190hp! You can basically drop in the engine, trans, and ECU from a Celica GTS without changing anything else. Then you have something akin to a boxster S in power/weight, but probably much cheaper to maintain!

The MrS remains the unsung hero of all time

MR2 gen 1 was such a pleasure to behold. A mini super car. The subsequent gens do not disappoint, but that first gen was so iconic.

The wind whistling is because he didn't raise the windbreaker glass behind the seats. It folds down for when you have the top up.

You should do a 2zz 6sp 2000+ Toyota Celica GT-S. Those things were underrated imo, and there is still minimal to no coverage in the mainstream car community

Love how every late 90s and early 00s toyota shared a steering wheel lol

With 2zz swap and some chassis mod's, hard top, racing bucket seats, aero mods, etc. this thing becomes a serious track/backroad weapon. Definitely underrated car.

Small heads up, you can flip up the wind deflector that's just below the soft top release lever. With that up and the top down, the whistling on highway speeds is gone

One of the top starter cars on Gran Turismo 3. Always liked it in yellow. Nostalgia is one hell of a drug.

I've got an e85 z4, nd1 miata, and mr2 spyder. Of the 3, the mr2 is the slowest but it is hands down the favorite. It is just a joyful and light little car that loves to rip through tight corners.

Proud owner of 05 k20 swapped mrs. This car is something special. Nothing on the road feels like it except lotus elise Ive driven 94 nsx, porsche cayman, boxter, honda s2000, 450whp c5z and nothing i mentioned handles like mrs. Mrs feels like you are driving a backpack thats right behind your back

This one is sorely underrated! I really liked its design when I was a kid.

Hey this is the car I saw you with! Cool to meet you Tedward (formerly Tenjamin lmao!)

My 2000 mr2 is at 265,000 miles and going up. Great car!

I own one of these that I did a DIY 2zz swap and it is a ton of fun. I've heard people complain about this generation not having enough power, but it's frankly not that hard to drop a 2zz in and the mid-engine feel along with the handling is unique among any of the other regular cars produced in the 2000s. Miatas may be fun, but they can't hold a candle to this!

Thank You Tedward!! I got a huge smile when I saw that thumbnail. I have not seen that gen MR2 in about 5 years. This car is a forgotten classic. Light as can be with "just enough power." Grippy and docile. Put this on an autocross or back road and let the fun begin!

When Tedward posts and it’s a stick shift, I drop everything

This is the best choice to buy if you can't swing the purchase/maintenance price of an early Boxster. Glad to see it on the channel.

The poor man’s lotus!!!

I love mr2’s so much! When that first gen car came out it was so exotic looking!! I wanted one so bad!!

Really hope they bring back the MR2 with the GR corolla powertrain

Had one for two years as a side car. It was super fun to drive, I miss it sometimes.

Tedwards an average sized dude and his hands look gigantic when operating the glovebox and switchgear 😂😂😂 love these fun little Japanese sports cars from this era.

Spent my mid twenties in this! Never failed to give me joy! I miss it dearly😢

Drove mine that I used to own all the way from New England to the dragon and back, it can be done but you’ll need to pack advil

always love it when i see one of these on the road

I have an 03 Spyder and absolutely adore it. Glad you got to enjoy one!

Great little cars, I’ve owned one as my first car since high school and have lover every bit of it

Really glad you recognize it for what it is! Never heard that whistle in the many MR2s I've driven, but mine sure rattles inside haha

ever since I got into cars the mr2 or mr2 spyder has always been my dream car to build, i like other cars more but i will for sure build an mr2 at some point in my life

ted you are a wizard. I was just starting to look at getting one of these for a track toy once I came up on the money, and up comes this video lol. keep up the good work man

Was not expecting to see you review my car today! All the reviews of these seem dated or like a "you need to do..." list. You also sound pretty unbiased towards the mk3 which is refreshing. Also, I understand why not, but if you can find someone to let you drive their 2zz I highly recommend it for the intake noise alone (something missing from a stock 1zz). Cheers!

I have always loved this car. I thought they were gems when I was a kid. And I still think they are now.

Those wheels looks great… simple and sharp!

I watch your vids and always joke to myself that you’ll do a MR2 Spyder one day. Just took mine out yesterday. Hard to find a cheaper fun mid engine car.

My mother had an MR2 with the SMT. It was interesting for its time, because it didn’t have paddles, it had buttons on the wheel to shift (alongside the usual shift knob in the center).

Met tedward at a meet at black falcon pier about a month ago. Awesome guy! also sweet video man!

Hey I own one of these! It’s my “super sensible daily driver”. It gets like 35 mpg on the highway, despite the short gears, and the storage space isn’t really an issue for me. Mine’s a facelift one, so fog lights and a couple other visual changes, and supposedly burns less oil and has less risk of pre-cat failure. And it hasn’t killed me even once! I think it sounds better than it has any right to, since the intake is right behind your head. Love the way it handles. I’ve allegedly gotten it sideways in the rain and it’s fun if you have quick hands. The steering is good, although I think it’s electric not hydraulic like you said. The clutch and shifter are kinda meh. Having a passenger, or the AC, or even just a bunch of water bottles in the passenger seat really affects acceleration lmao.

I have a scion tc manual I keep as an extra car when I miss shifting. it’s just so anlong, simple and easy to drive around town in for what it is. The steering wheel in this reminded me of it. 😌 small manual Toyota or Honda’s love em

Debating one of these versus a gen one BMW Z4 3.0 roadster, leaning towards the Z4 but boy do I love these little frog faced fellas

Ive always really liked these things, as a kid I thought they looked like tiny Porsche Carrera GTs

How a close ratio gearbox make everthing most fun!

My dad had one. it was very fun to drive if he still had it I would drive it and maybe learn manual on it

These are amazing

Can you make a video driving the Mr2 sw20 turbo? Love the videos!!

Thanks for the video Tedward! Good old memories of my car before I crashed it (don't do stupid things in mid-engine cars in wet, kids), should get it back from a body shop soon though.

Such a lovely car and in a really nice shape on top of that. I never really thought about that but you possibly found me a Miata alternative. Looks just as pleasing to drive but I like the interior much more. In fact, I think it looks fantastic, I actually really like how they arranged all the storage space, whereas one thing I don't like so much about Miatas is the interior. Same thoughts on shifter's looks but that's a minor issue and you can just always replace it if necessary.

What a great little car. ❤

I have one of these with a 2zz swapped into it. I absolutely love my little go-kart.

Drove behind one a few days ago, suprisingly nippy. Did have a dual exhaust so might've been a sleeper.

I had a 2001 MR2 Spyder, as well as a 1991 MR2 Turbo. Loved them both equally for different reasons. Never got to own the MK1

Driving slow cars fast is always fun!

What a beauty.

Sometimes it's not all about horsepower that thing has some fun power. Light, rear engine. Reliable Ferdinand Porsche would approve.

yeah I love this thing, and the fact that it didn't sell well coupled to its mid-engine'ness, I was cross-shopping this with NB2 Miatas. I ended up going the Miata route and I'm ecstatic about my choice, but the whole low-power/extra-low weight sports car solution hits all the right notes with me. Of course I'd love a Porsche, but the MRS/NB2 Miata at the time were just so good, so well engineered, I feel like there wasn't much point to more power, so long as the weight was in the 1,000 kg relm. That 1ZZ sounds a bit better than my BPZ3, but I'm happy I have a 6-speed Aisin because at 110 km/h, I'm near 3,000 rpm...

The pull from that vvt-i is addictive isnt it??? I know i get the same feeling from my 5spd corolla 😊

I used to have a 1zz Celica. Not the same car but similar drivetrain I think. Was lots of fun.

That drive looked like a lot of fun. I test drove one of these once bitd but ended up with a Z3 because it had more storage. But the Mr2 seemed more fun.

I remember around that time when cars started to go to white gauges instead of the black that were so common. I remember seeing this and copying it in my first car... changing it to white gauges... its funny the little things like that which influenced mods. On that same car, i remember seeing a lexus with LED interior in a concept car and so I ordered a bunch of LED's from china and took my interior all apart dremeling little holes for the small LED's and wired it up. this all in like 2003 before that was a thing in cars. From concept to mod :) What a time it was back then! Thanks for the memory triggered by the white gauges!

MK3 owner here. Love the CAR.

Just in time as I see these go for 3-4k and I'm cross-shopping em with NBs! Most interesting car Toyota made during that era

I prefer the previous generation, but these do seem fun

reminds me of my 01 celica gt 5 spd. it was a great little car

My old girlfriend had one of these MR2 Spiders. It was light and fun, but it had no luggage space.

In the UK, the value for money on these is insane. Similar prices to NB MX5s. 2-4K.

Need to review a k-swapped one man

Lovely adorable car ❤️ Goodnight from San Francisco, California 🇺🇲 🌴 ❤️

These are sweet

the look of surprise on my face when im eating dinner and see a new tedward video and hes driving my car

thats a cool early 2000s toyota

I own one exactly like this, same color and year! btw, please avoid lowering your soft top like that, it's painful to see :( :( :(

I own a 2000 Toyota MR2 in red. That is the first year for this model. It is my fun no rain no salt car. It is an absolute joy to drive.

I can't believe how well the suspension absorbs bumps. So many cars have horrible suspension damping... they crash over bumps yet still wallow in corners.

all time favourite (road) car. drop in a 2zz and give it a roof and it is simply perfect.

I would really like to see a review on the 7th gen Celica you mentioned, i think it would be really cool !!

The military truck was some sort of HEMTT

He owned a 2000 Celica GTS? Goated individual

Been seeing your channel pop up in my feed for a bit and only just realized you're in my area! I remember seeing an Audi R8 and a Huracan fly by me last fall, think it was I-95 in Woburn. Any chance one of them was you?

oh yes thats hot mid engine miat

Popping up the wind deflection flap behind the seats might have helped the whistling. It's good to see another good review of the mr2 spyder. The 2zz swap does make them a lot more fun.

the whistling noise i think its because he didnt put up the defusal at the back when he put the top down

So wish these would've come with the 2ZZ..They'd have sold alot better I think. Or a small turbo on the 1ZZ. Always wanted to try one of these. I adored the previous gen MR2s. These have beome pretty tough to find especially in good nick. They've also become pretty legendary AutoXers. What an era, mid engine sporty cars for under 30k. What a time to be alive lol.

Aren't Massachusetts roads just in such lovely condition this time of year? Hahaha

Let’s keep this car secret in between US. 🤫 😆 amazing car. Underrated.

5:05 in '02 the miata had glass there as well

Thank you for making a video if this beautiful MR2. This was one of the very first cars that I've driven. The MR2 is so special to me. My dad is a car mechanic, and once someone asked my dad to do the regular maintenance on an MR2 like this, but with hardtop and the "Yamaha" engine. I had my brand new, fresh driving license and I wanted to try it out so badly. The owner went on a vacation, and picked up the car only 2 weeks later, and told us to use it whenever we want. My time has come :D I immediately felt in love with this MR2, and I've "accidentaly" put 550-600 kms in it. One of the best cars I've ever driven. I miss these cars. It was incredibly fun to drive, agile, tacktile, had a sporty suspension and so easy to get used to. Only getting in was a bit tricky (I'm not a big guy though), but I didn't care because I never wanted to get out anyways :D Thank you Tedward

Plzz do a review on the first gen mr2 i really like the look of tht first car

legit just bought one 2 weeks ago

These were selling for like 3k all day for a long time. Nobody wanted them, they just didn’t have the potential like the previous gen. Funny to see these priced so high

I just taught my 17 year old son to drive manual in my 2003 MR2 Spyder.

They really dropped the ball with this thing after the first 2 great generations

Gotta do an RX8 next!

Things Tedward snaps his neck for: Shirtless joggers and cranes (Shirtless joggers not featured in the video) ❤

Poor man's Boxster!!

Just sold my 90k mile facelift in the UK for £3k. Prices for these in the USA are insane

I made the mistake of thinking i could make one of these into a formidable track car.. i was very mistaken. Took lots of money to do what a NB miata vould do out of the box

9:36 That highway whistling noise is the radio antenna! So annoying, they switched to a retractable antenna in 2003

NOOOO STOP I HAVENT SAVED ENOUGH TO BUY ONE NOW ITS GONNA COST MORE :(

Have you drove the Toyota Corolla XRS?