Toyota MR2 SW20
Toyota MR2 (SW20): the poor man's Ferrari that bites back
Mid-engine thrills for Camry money, if you buy the right revision
The SW20 is the second-generation MR2, and it is the car most people picture when they hear the name. Toyota built it from 1989 to 1999, with a 2.0 four-cylinder behind the seats and lines borrowed from cars costing ten times as much. That is how it earned the "poor man's Ferrari" nickname. It is mid-engine and rear-drive, and for years it was cheap enough that you could daily one on an apprentice wage.
The one number that matters is the Rev number
Mid-engine and mid-price. The turbo car is the GT-S running the 3S-GTE, while the naturally aspirated car runs the 3S-GE. Early Rev 1 cars earned the snap-oversteer, widow-maker reputation, and Toyota reworked the suspension and fitted wider tyres through the early revisions to settle it down. If that reputation worries you, buy a Rev 3 or later.
The engines: pick your poison
Both engines are 2.0 litre fours, mounted across the car behind you, driving the rear wheels through a 5-speed manual. The one everyone chases is the turbo 3S-GTE, badged GT-S in Japan. Quoted outputs move around by revision, but reckon on near 225 PS early and roughly 245 PS on the later JDM cars with the bigger CT20b turbo. Treat those as ballpark, the sources disagree. The naturally aspirated 3S-GE makes something like 165 PS on the older engine and closer to 180 PS on the later one. It is slower, but lighter over the tail and has less to go wrong. The 3S-GTE is a genuinely strong tuner base, which is a blessing and a trap: a good one is a weapon, a thrashed one is a money pit.
| Revision | Rough years | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Rev 1 | 1989 to 1991 | The original car, with the twitchy snap-oversteer reputation. |
| Rev 2 | 1991 to 1993 | Wider rear tyres and revised geometry. The big handling fix. |
| Rev 3 | 1993 to 1996 | More turbo power on JDM cars, sorted chassis. The sweet spot. |
| Rev 4 | 1996 to 1997 | Damper and ECU calibration changes, plus fresh cosmetics. |
| Rev 5 | 1997 to 1999 | Adjustable rear spoiler and final detail tweaks. |
Handling: the reputation and the reality
The early SW20 got its nasty name because it carried more weight than the little AW11 and sat that weight well back, on tyres too narrow for the grip on offer. Lift off mid-corner and the tail could step out fast. Toyota did not ignore it. The 1992 revision brought wider rear rubber and revised suspension geometry, and by the 1993 Rev 3 cars the chassis was properly settled. A late car on the correct staggered tyres with a decent alignment is predictable and a real joy. Show any of them respect in the wet and you will get on fine.
A quick word on the AW11
Before the SW20 there was the AW11, built from 1984 to 1989. It was the lighter, sharper first-gen car, running the 1.6 4A-GE, with a supercharged 4A-GZE offered later. If you want the featherweight, chuckable MR2, that is the one to hunt. The SW20 is the grown-up follow-up: faster and a touch heavier, and more of a handful.
What to check before you hand over cash
A GT-S turbo and an NA car look much the same from ten paces, so verify the engine and badges rather than trust the ad. On a turbo car, watch the 3S-GTE for wear: play in the shaft and blue smoke under boost are the obvious tells, and weak boost that will not build is another red flag. Overheating is the classic SW20 problem, thanks to the long coolant runs front to back that trap air and corrode the metal pipes, so walk from anything that runs hot or hides a bodged cooling job. Rust is the other killer. Get underneath and look hard at the sills and rear arches, then the engine bay while you are there. Last of all, factor in abuse. These are cheap mid-engine cars often thrashed or badly modified, so a tidy, standard example with real paperwork is worth paying up for.
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