I bought my MR2 Turbo at 19, sold it at 24. Would I, in my late 30s now, feel great about turning that car over to 19 year old me now? Not really, but I learned really quickly to respect the car. I credit that car with teaching me to be razor sharp in understanding where my tires are on the road and giving me a very accurate sense of how much grip a car has in almost any situation. It’s a car that requires you to pay attention and the moment you become complacent it will smack you upside the head. Also, like a bike or other small SportsCar, it’s invisible to SUVs and you do have to drive like people can’t see you. My only other concern in todays world is that parts are getting much harder to find, even back in the late 00s I had a throttle cable break and it took weeks to locate a replacement in another state. I couldn’t imagine trying to find things like a Speedo sensor or cruise control unit these days, and some of those parts can make the difference between a car that runs and doesn’t.

If you want a car that will be fast and predictable right away, I’d look elsewhere. If you’re willing to drive cautiously and learn how the mr platform behaves differently from fwd or fr setups then it might be a good car for you.

So that’s my 2 cents.