Toyota mr2 spyder how to#
Drivers who haven’t learned how to drive a manual transmission, however, or those who want to play racer, will find the SMT right up their alley.īalance and light weight are what give the MR Spyder a high fun quotient. The computer even revs the throttle for smooth downshifts Zipping through a succession of corners, going up and down through the gears with the steering wheel buttons, is quite fun.Īll things considered, I would choose the standard manual transmission instead of the SMT. It is smoothest if you feather the throttle slightly between shifts. The Toyota system shifts about like a normal person. Similar but more sophisticated systems are used in Formula One race cars, for example, but they shift in a split second.
Shifting gears can be done by nudging the lever forward or backward, or by using tiny buttons on the steering wheel. Ease down on the throttle and the car moves as the clutch is automatically engaged. Slip the gear lever into neutral to start the engine, then slide it to the right. It adds $780 to the base price of $23,735. It is as convenient as an automatic, yet it has the interaction of a manual. The SMT is a sophisticated system that uses computer-controlled actuators to work the clutch and gearshift. The test car was equipped with a most interesting option: a sequential manual transmission. It has a manual top and almost no luggage space. You don’t get into it as much as you put it on. In 2000, the MR Spyder came back, and it reflected the philosophy of the original: light, small, quick and reasonably priced. Through various iterations, the MR2 grew larger and more expensive. The original Toyota MR2 came out in 1985, and it, like this car, was a pocket rocket with a reasonable price tag. The only downside to this engine is that it gets rather vocal at maximum rpm.Ī bit of history. A side benefit, of course, is that you can scoot around town and still not have to stop at every gas station.
Performance is a reflection of power and weight, not just outright power. The 1.8-liter, four-cylinder cranks out a modest 138 horsepower, but in a light car that is sufficient to make this tiny two-seater scamper to 60 miles per hour in 6.95 seconds. Even though it is physically small, it has the performance of a much larger car because it weighs so little. It has a 96.5-inch wheelbase, an overall length of just 153 inches and it weighs a scant 2,195 pounds. A doodlebug is kin to the ant lion, a name that seems descriptive: big and small at the same time. Toyota’s MR Spyder is a four-wheeled doodlebug.
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