I gotta agree that 'livability' was the biggest downfall of the MR-2 (here in the U.S. at least).

Having recently sold my 95 Miata, and driven various MR-2's of friends, the MR would be hard pressed to pull duty as an only car for most people. And trunk space is the biggest culprit. You can't put a weeks worth of groceries, a set of golf clubs, or enough luggage for a weekend excursion for two people in an MR-2. In the wet, it was more prone to swap ends if thrown hard into a corner (for the average driver, not enthusiasts), and forget about driving it in the snow.

They were great fun, and at the track, or autocrossing, are right on par with the Mazda. You're just forced to have a second vehicle. And at that price segment, many won't justify it. It was relegated to being strictly a toy.


As for a new generation MR? I personally would love to see it introduced as a hybrid. Will most, hard core, sportscar enthusiasts agree? Probably not. But even with sportscars, my guess is that over 50% of the buyers are not really enthusiasts, as much as they just want a cool little car to be seen in. How many people do any of us know with Miata's, Z-cars, Vettes, or whatever, actually flog them down backroads, auto-x them, or do track days? Most are relegated to daily commuting, Saturday cruising to the park, or showing off at work on a sunny spring day. And for those of us who really are driving enthusiasts (especially those on a budget), sooner or later, we're gonna have to except the fact that, everything will eventually be a hybrid, electric, or other form of alternative fueled car.

Someone has to lead the way. Why not Toyota, with a hybrid MR-2?

 

I would argue that these are VERY different customers.

Mid engine vs. Front engine
2 seater vs. 4 seater
4 cylinder or hybrid vs. Flat-4

The FT-86 will appeal to youth buyers, primarily. The MR2 will certainly appeal to youth buyers but will really be purchased by slightly older, more affluent customers who don't use it as a primary car. Mini has already proved this happens and it works!

Honda makes the Accord and the Odyssey which are similarly priced, but appeal to different customers.

 

That's the problem. The nature of MR-2 relegates it to being a 2nd car.

 

Typical buyers for 2nd car/sports car tend to favor higher-end brands such as Porsche.

 

Bingo.

That's why we still have the Miata today, and no MR-2.

 

Are you saying the Mini is for people who don't use it as a primary car? Because I beg to differ. Minis are hatches with fold-down seats which is very versatile. It's FWD, small and economical makes for a great commuter. Sure it's a little more sporty than your Civics and Corollas but it's not a weekend car or sports car. The Minis I see are driven mostly by young professionals. Which is one of the youngest buyers groups.

 

The sales figures were specifically for the US, derived from the Toyota press releases. I don't know about your area, there were plenty of Spyders available for purchase here. However, the prevailing judgement on them was that they were only adequate as weekend vehicles. The Miatas we have here (and we have many in California), are used both as recreational and daily use vehicles, hence their popularity. As a recent owner of a 2003 MR Spyder (it's name in Japan) myself, I can attest to this. It is a fun little car overall, but has its many quirks and nuances. Technically the MR-S is superior to the Miata in almost every objective category, but never showed it in the numbers.

I hope that if they build another MR2, they have a coupe available. While I like the my convertible, space is definitely at a premium in this vehicle.

 

That statement makes no sense to me.

 

that makes no sense, unless you were thinking how we should be having 9/10 year old MR-S today? Because reason we dont have MR-S/MR2 today is that 5-6 years ago, Toyota cancelled MR2/Celica projects to focus on high volume cars... they simply did not have enough engineers to cover all new high volume cars that they are coming with.

now that situation has changed, because they used Subbie engineers for next projects.

 

Who are you kidding? Toyota has more than enough engineers to develop its own specialized cars. The LFA and the IS F would have never come to fruition were that not the case. I will agree with you that Toyota has been focusing on high-volume cars, however, but I simply can't agree that it's because of a shortage of engineers. I mean, if I were working on MR2 and Celica I would be hella pissed to be working on Corollas and Yaris now.