2004 Toyota Spyder Review

Specifications

Dependable, Dashing and Desirable

Im sure you are familiar with the phrase “mixing business with pleasure.” In my case it was the opposite. I mixed pleasure with business during a well deserved vacation to Arizona and California recently. Ten days spent shopping-till-the-credit-card-dropped with a few of my girlfriends was exactly what I needed.

I stayed in Arizona for four days and then headed up to Cali for the rest of my trip. But my stay in California had a little twist. Like I said before I mixed pleasure with business, and the business at hand was a very pleasurable 2004 Toyota MR2 Spyder.

Upon arrival in Ontario, California, I was greeted by my long time friend Sarah and the warm presence of sunshine and palm trees. We then drove down to Torrance to pick up the car for me to test drive, and as soon as I saw it I knew I was to be in for a treat.

And what a treat it was to spend six days in a stylish, super cool convertible. The same day I picked up the silver Spyder, Sarah and I went out to a little get together. There were multiple cars parked in front of the house we were going to, so I just parked behind a big Ford F-150. Later into the evening one of the party attendees hollered, “Can someone please move the silver Porsche parked behind me?” I chuckled and informed him that it wasnt a Porsche, but rather a Toyota. The expression on his face was priceless. He said to me, “Thats a Toyota? Its so neat.” I nodded, moved my car and returned to the gathering.

The exterior stylings of the MR2 Spyder do resemble those of the Porsche Boxster, but the engine unfortunately does not. Powering the sultry convertible is a 1.8-liter, 16-valve, DOHC VVT-I SFI 4 cylinder engine producing 138 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 125 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. I found that there was decent power in the Spyder but I wanted a little more. After all, it looks sporty, acts sporty and is sporty but when I was getting passed by a Corolla, I felt a little inadequate. My feeling of inadequacy also could have stemmed from the fact that I was obeying the posted speed limits. If it were up to me, I would drop a 180 hp Celica GT-S engine into the MR2 Spyder to give it more power and pizzazz.

My test car included the standard five-speed manual transmission which made for a decent 0 to 60 mph time of 6.9 seconds. The shifts were relatively short and definitely smooth. It was an agreeable car to drive right from the get go. In general I prefer manually shifting gears, but for those who dont an optional 6-speed sequential manual transmission with steering wheel-mounted shift buttons can be ordered instead.

Handling is superb, probably even better than the MazdaSpeed Miata I previously tested. The mid-engine rear-wheel drive setup is ideal for stability in tight turns, yet its not too punishing, resulting in a comfortable enough ride for long road trips.

Speaking of road trips, we put on our bathing suits, grabbed our body boards, packed some snacks, dropped the top and headed down to the beaches in San Diego. Let me back things up before I talk about San Diego. First I want to talk about storage space, or lack there of. Since the engine is in the rear, there is no trunk. There is also no room in the hood of the car because a full-size spare occupies the storage bin. Hasnt Toyota ever heard of run-flat tires? There is, however, a lockable compartment behind the driver and passengers seat that extends the width of the car. Again, there is not much space in there to store stuff, but it was good enough to get a couple girls and their gear comfortably to our destination.

Next, I want to talk about dropping the top. It was so easy and fast. The setup is similar to the Mazda Miata. There are two manual latches in total; one located above the drivers side sun visor and the other above the passengers. Dropping the top took little effort, I just folded back both sun visors, powered down the windows, unlatched the latches, and lifted back the top until it was completely folded back. Then, I pushed on the top until it snapped into place and I was ready to cruise. Whats that you say? No protective tonneau cover? Thats right, this system is brilliant. Instead of fussing with the tonneaus most entry-level convertibles such as the Mazda Miata, VW Beetle and Chrysler Sebring have, the roof just snaps into place and is immovable unless the latch is pulled.

Putting the top back up was just as simple. I pulled the top release button and repeated the same steps as listed above, but in reverse order. I pretty much went everywhere with Sarah so going topless took only half the time - she took care of the passenger side latch. That in mind, it might have been a bit of a stretch if I were on my own.

Now, wasnt I on my way to the beaches of San Diego? They were wonderful. Acres of yellow sand stretched out in front of us, and it was relatively empty considering the Memorial Day long weekend had just passed. We went body boarding, swimming and then soaked up some rays. We then drove along the Coast Highway 101, which borders the pristine Southern Cal coastline. I must say, it was a drive I wont soon forget. After this we spent a few hours in town and then drove back to Ontario.

One feature I felt that would have come in handy on the highway would be cruise control. I found that many of the places we wanted to go required us to cruise along the highways for quite some time. Despite not having this particular feature, the drives were still enjoyable.

The MR2 Spyder does come standard with some great features, however, including air conditioning which is a must-have in the warm California sunshine, adding a cool breeze to the warm air circulating through the car when the top was down. In addition, the MR2 featured power windows and locks, tilt steering, a digital clock, cupholders and keyless entry. I particularly liked the 4-speaker AM/FM/cassette/CD audio system. Even with the top down, sound quality was great. When the top was up, which was very rarely, the system sounded even better.

In addition, my test car had the optional leather package that included black leather trimmed seats and door trim. The leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob are standard. Most leather-coated convertibles I have tested traditionally came with seat warmers. I contemplated why the MR2 Spyder didnt have any. The day after I picked up the Spyder, my question was answered. Its so hot in California that the sun warmed the seats for me. In fact, the black leather became so scorching after being parked in the sun for only a short time even with the top up, that when I had a skirt and t-shirt on I had to spread a sweater on the seat so it wouldnt burn my rear. When the seats werent too hot to sit on their reclining backs were very comfortable to roast in.

While safety wasnt on the mind, it was nice to know a driver and front passenger advanced airbag system comes as standard equipment, as does ABS, side-impact beams and an engine immobilizer.

I spent so much time in the MR2 Spyder during my six-day vacation that even after a few days back home I can visualize almost every detail with my eyes closed. The interior is nicely designed with clean lines and clearly marked buttons. Everything was easy to operate and in positioned conveniently. Visibility was great with the top down, but when upright it was hard to see out the back. Its the same story with most convertibles, which is why they teach you in driving school to position the side view mirrors properly.

Like the inside, the MR2s exterior styling is also refined and elegant with a sporty flare. The polished aluminum alloy wheels, 15s wrapped in 185/55R15 rubber up front and 16s inside 215/45R16s in the back added that extra touch of class. Enhancing the exterior were color-keyed bumpers and door handles, dual color-keyed power outside mirrors, a rear wind deflector and chrome exhaust tips. Its a sexy, sleek looking convertible.

At the end of my test week I was impressed by more than one thing. The MR2 Spyder handled very well, looked great, and included a long list of standard features. I was also impressed with the fuel economy, now especially important. Estimated fuel economy for the Spyder is 26 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway. Its thrifty nature was a good thing, as the less the car consumed the more I could! It was a symbiotic relationship.

After my six days in the MR2 Spyder, I wanted to take it back home with me. While its compact and lacks storage space, Im sure somehow I could squeeze in my suitcase. Who knows, maybe no one at Toyota would notice it was gone?