I owned a pristine MR2 turbo for 7 years. It was definitely the best toy I have owned. Yes, I actually like it better than the Z. It about matched the performance of the Z, and actually had better mid-range throttle response. And the midrengine/rear drive arrangement, combined with about 700# less weight made it even better handling then the Z.


But, when I sold it in '03, it was 12 years old. And although it was pristine (and only had 60K) parts were becoming hard to find, and qualified service almost impossible (I have outgrown the desire to fix my own cars)

So I sold it, and bought a garage-kept pristine '97 Miata (17K). Fun car, but definitely lacked both the performance and the refinement of the MR2. So I never really bonded with teh Miata.



I bought my '06 Enthusiast coupe in June '06. The Z closely matches the MR2 performance-wise, and is fairly refined (but probably a little short of the MR2). But is new, under warranty, parts and service readily available, so overall I am pleased. Pretty hard to really compare it to a car that's 15 years older.

bill

 

Former Mr2 owner here I was a na owner ( 2 of them) and I picked the 350z because I wanted more power but didnt want to invest in a turbo car. You sound like someone that really enjoys the pull of a FI. If your ready for something new I say go for it. Especially if your wiling to wait to do more research on FI for the 350z. However, if you would like to make sure you have all the info then maybe it would be better to wait either way...good luck with your decision

 

Ahh yes mr2 guru in the house. I miss the mid engine design and having the t-tops off on a 70 deg day.

 

Tough call. A few of my friends had MR2's. Driving around in the '91 turbo with the roofs off is what I miss most.

 

mr2 PICS...???

 

I don't have an opinion on you're going from an MR2 to a 350Z BUT I am suspicious of the 350Z.
You say it's an '03 with 28,000 miles for $13,700? That sounds too good to be true. Does it have a salvage title? That could pose a problem when you go to sell but if you're buying it to mod and drive it into the ground I'd say it's a very good deal.

 

If you haven't owned/driven a turbo car, you don't know how addictive the "turbo rush" is.

I really miss that.

bill

 

3 years with the Miata convinced me i didn't want another roadster.

But the Z had been available with T-tops, that would have been my choice.

bill

 

My friend came from an MR2....car was sick as hell....but he brought the 350z in a heart beat and then twin turbo it, no regrets from him.......

 

Id say either way you would have a bad car. You will prob find it a little easier to make the power from the Z, but you will have to put the wrench time in.
Handling wise. . . . i think they would be pretty damn close.
I always loved the turbo MR2's. Bad little cars.

 

Get the Z!

 

....

 

What's your mileage on the MR2?
I'm a big MR2 Turbo fan too, but I would trade her in while she's still relatively young and in good shape.

Since you know them inside and out, maybe you can pick up another cheaper one down the line as some sort of a project car.

13k is a helluva a deal for a 350z of those stats.

 

....

 

Go for the Z and the turbo if you can afford a limited slip differential for that base model.

 

Check everything out first on the z...if everything is ok then get the z...at that price i take the z...
...

 

I'm in Memphis so if you don't get the Z do a fellow ex Z owner a favor by letting me know where this car is and ask your buddy how much he will sell me the Z.

 

If you can afford it, keep the MR2 and the Z. Me and my cousins has/had 3 MR2s, two cars (red and white) with 2.2 and one car (white hardtop) with 2.0, the 2.0 had the turbo. Mine car was n/a, but it lasted for 10 years since I got it when I was in high school. The car was great on agility, but sometimes it is too light. Just a couple days ago, a truck tried to drive fast on a 1/4 mile turn, as he was banking, I followed him. On the turn, I flew by him and he couldn't keep it on his lane. He wasn't a friendly driver from the beginning. The MR2 would not gone smoothly on that particular turn, and I had 17s compared to the factory 14s. My Z has 19s which is good for turns like that, but bad for slow turns. Driving my cousin's turbo, the torque was tremendous, but the noise is annoying. I daily mine Toyota, the noise got to me at the end where I didn't enjoy as much. My cuz being a mechanic got so deep in speed that he was racing the 90s Vettes, not Mustangs. In the end, he told me that newer cars have better potential than older cars because of bigger engines. Your MR2 is really nice, and it will be hard to replace. At the same time, the Z for that price is hard to find. If you can do it with 2 cars, do it. I love my Z over my MR2, so far.

 

I'll pass on the crystal meth, thanks !!

 

The Mr2 doesn't only feel quicker, it is quicker. Your MR2 weighs about 2800 lbs, has more power to the wheels than a stock Z, is mid-engined, stops a lot faster, and handles better. It's hard to beat the advantages of having a low polar moment of inertia in a properly set-up mid-engined car; there's a reason why F1 cars don't place the engine in the front of the car. The 3SGTE was used for years in the JGTC GT500 supras due to its light weight and ability to comfortably handle 500 hp. I would stick with what is obviously a better performing car than any stock Z; but, if you must, why not try to have both?