Short but sweet Review

[Gibla]

We know what #1 will be!!

https://www.yesauto.com/uk/news/article/23624?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social-media-campaign&utm_campaign=daily-post&pvareaid=4000766&fbclid=IwAR29s-GTUozLPuRhHtZs7G2Cdc0lMl_7G-6wNgB_wNqZ7Ze_G24XwA4f7Nw

[Gibla]

I just remembered a convo. I had with a guy on Friday (a small repair garage owner, who came across to me as his son was washing my car)
'These things are going up in value you know'
'Yours must be worth £4k maybe £5k' < taken with a huge pinch of salt. but this was unsolicited 'chit-chat'
We all know they are seriously undervalued, underappreciated(by the gen.public) and a little unknown (both a good and bad thing depending on whether you are buying or selling of course)

[Dev]

 I think our cars are great and very underrated for what they are but I do not take much stock in these articles anymore.
 They will use the same frame work and demonize our car on some other list or will have the same premise and mix up the cars and ours will be on the bottom.
 These journalists if you can even call them that are lazy and seem to do their research by google searching and end up on one of our many forums for issues and take that information into their thousand word essay.

 Most of this is car industry based to get people into the market. Although it might give you a clue or two about the car they are nowhere near any kind of authority and can be misleading especially when they put certain issues that can be potential flaws out of context or oversimplified.

 I remember tracing back a similar article with a countdown list and the author was doing the same thing, she was based in India where the cars are not sold so they probably farm this stuff out by using some sort of template.



 

[m1tch]

I went with the MR2 Roadster for my project as it was the only lightweight rwd car I could really find that wasn't an MX5 or older and full of rust (plus expensive).

All other cars I looked at did have maybe better engines as standard but were usually 3-400kg heavier so I would have needed to get even more power out of them to be the same vs a modded engine in the roadster.

[Dev]

 One of the most overlooked things about the MR-S is the engineering which is rarely discussed. Sure other cars can claim that with using exotic materials and new bonding processes to make it all work out but what Toyota did is do more with less and that is the hidden gem of this car being only 200lb more than the Elise and weighing less than the original. Stamped steel and traditional car manufacturing processes with McPherson design to give the car adequate interior space and distance between the occupants. Common reliable engine with fool proof electronics. Safety.
 If you ever parked next to an MX-5 you will notice that the MX-5 appears dimensionally smaller yet it weighs more.

 I have disassembled one of these cars sometime around 2006 and what amazed me is how little there is in this car. It is the modern day old world roadster where it is bare bones yet is still comfortable. Sure the interior is cheap but the plastics hold up and are more utilitarian which is what you want if you are a real enthusiast about the drive and not a doctors wife attending a wine tasting contest.

 I dare any other manufacture to make a car like this using traditional processes with less stuff to go wrong.  Sometimes what you don't see has been worked out with superior engineering that is often times dismissed because it doesn't use some unique composite or manufacturing process. The conservative attitude of Japanese manufacturing is why they make some of the best underrated cars in the world. 
     

[Petrus]

What is not there, can´t go wrong Dev.
I lóve that sort of engineering 

As to the plastics used in the interior, those may be cheap as being plastic but it is véry good and durable quality.

Also the parts commonality with other models ensures véry reliable electrics/switch gear. Toyota can easier afford a switch in a Lexus to go wrong than one in the Aygo or Yaris.

[Dev]

What is not there, can´t go wrong Dev.
I lóve that sort of engineering 

As to the plastics used in the interior, those may be cheap as being plastic but it is véry good and durable quality.

Also the parts commonality with other models ensures véry reliable electrics/switch gear. Toyota can easier afford a switch in a Lexus to go wrong than one in the Aygo or Yaris.

 The Lexus is of a higher quality but those switches are more or less the same as what they put into a Toyota just a fancier molded plastic but they last and dont look like a fancy bathroom fixture.
 The reason why Lexus made the LFA is primarily because of the stigma of Asian manufacturing not able to have superior engineering and mostly a practical cheap brand. 
  They lost money on the LFA as they expected but for a flagship exercise they showed the world they can make a complex car if they wanted to and are not limited. The problem is cars like like this are not profitable just a lot of noise for the journalists.
 There is a lot more money that goes into the research and development of making ordinary cars that people buy in large numbers than some supercar full of quirks.

 Im looking forward to Toyotas latest supercar that is rumored to have a rear mid-engine design.
 This should compete favorably with the best hyper cars. 
 

[Petrus]

There is a lot more money that goes into the research and development of making ordinary cars that people buy in large numbers than some supercar full of quirks.

Exactly my point.

[Mickemo]

One of the most overlooked things about the MR-S is the engineering which is rarely discussed. Sure other cars can claim that with using exotic materials and new bonding processes to make it all work out but what Toyota did is do more with less and that is the hidden gem of this car being only 200lb more than the Elise and weighing less than the original. Stamped steel and traditional car manufacturing processes with McPherson design to give the car adequate interior space and distance between the occupants. Common reliable engine with fool proof electronics. Safety.
 If you ever parked next to an MX-5 you will notice that the MX-5 appears dimensionally smaller yet it weighs more.

 I have disassembled one of these cars sometime around 2006 and what amazed me is how little there is in this car. It is the modern day old world roadster where it is bare bones yet is still comfortable. Sure the interior is cheap but the plastics hold up and are more utilitarian which is what you want if you are a real enthusiast about the drive and not a doctors wife attending a wine tasting contest.

 I dare any other manufacture to make a car like this using traditional processes with less stuff to go wrong.  Sometimes what you don't see has been worked out with superior engineering that is often times dismissed because it doesn't use some unique composite or manufacturing process. The conservative attitude of Japanese manufacturing is why they make some of the best underrated cars in the world. 
     

Superb post this @Dev - 100% agree with your points