4 ms·

When I lived in the Valley I bought a 1986 Toyota MR2 for about $6k. It had hilarious 80s-era retro styling with angles reminiscent of Tron, and it admittedly h

When I lived in the Valley I bought a 1986 Toyota MR2 for about $6k. It had hilarious 80s-era retro styling with angles reminiscent of Tron, and it admittedly has been through an engine and transmission rebuild in the last 24 years, but it still runs great (for the friend I sold it to) and doesn't cost much more to maintain than any car of that age would cost. It is marginally less fuel efficient than many cars, despite its tiny size, and one does go through tires when one is tearing off the starting line at the entrance ramp to 101. Fast cars are more expensive than regular cars. But not necessarily much so. Of course, if your definition of a fast car includes the word "Chevy" or, god help you, "Porsche" I take back everything I said. ;)

jacquesm 16y ago
The WRX has been mentioned in this thread, that's one that I would definitely stay away from second hand. People that drive those usually push them as far as they'll go (and further) whenever they get the chance. MR2 is a great little car and about as reliable as sports cars come.
- sokoloff 16y ago
  First Gen MR2s are definitely fun (and cool/quirky looking), but I sure wouldn't call them "fast". The NA cars are 0-60 in the mid/high 8s and standing quarter mile well over 16 seconds. The average 2010 soul-less imported sedan will easily show its taillights to a 1986 MR2 in a stop-light grand prix (and most will give the MRS2 a good run).
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    The fun in driving a sports car is all in the handling and improving your skills as a driver, not necessarily in raw power. I drove this little thingy for years: http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/cars/copen/dscf1074.jpg.html http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/cars/copen/dscf1074.jpg.html , 700 cc, not even 80 HP and an absolute hoot to drive. On the straights not the fastest car (about 175 real km/h), but very quick of the mark because it's so light and absolutely unbeatable in corners. It's also RHD which helped a lot in not having it stolen. Most fun I've ever had driving a car.

jacquesm 16y ago

The WRX has been mentioned in this thread, that's one that I would definitely stay away from second hand. People that drive those usually push them as far as they'll go (and further) whenever they get the chance. MR2 is a great little car and about as reliable as sports cars come.

sokoloff 16y ago
First Gen MR2s are definitely fun (and cool/quirky looking), but I sure wouldn't call them "fast". The NA cars are 0-60 in the mid/high 8s and standing quarter mile well over 16 seconds. The average 2010 soul-less imported sedan will easily show its taillights to a 1986 MR2 in a stop-light grand prix (and most will give the MRS2 a good run).
- jacquesm 16y ago
  The fun in driving a sports car is all in the handling and improving your skills as a driver, not necessarily in raw power. I drove this little thingy for years: http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/cars/copen/dscf1074.jpg.html http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/cars/copen/dscf1074.jpg.html , 700 cc, not even 80 HP and an absolute hoot to drive. On the straights not the fastest car (about 175 real km/h), but very quick of the mark because it's so light and absolutely unbeatable in corners. It's also RHD which helped a lot in not having it stolen. Most fun I've ever had driving a car.