So insanely fun, we should forget the headline and just write a disclaimer. The 2005 MR2 Spyder. With a mid-engine design adopted from race cars and an astounding power-to-weight ratio, this car was built to be driven, and driven hard, down every mile of twisty two-lane blacktop you can find. And as for how good it looks, well, we can only hope you’ll focus on the road as hard as those you pass will focus on your Spyder.
If the 2005 MR2 Spyder hugged the road any tighter it would seem unnatural. This impeccable handling is a product of many factors. Chief among them is the placement of the engine near the middle of the chassis.
This race-born design distributes the car's weight more evenly from front to rear and helps it turn very quickly indeed. The chassis itself is lightweight yet extremely rigid since the car was designed from the outset as a convertible. The Spyder also has a long wheelbase with short overhangs. That, plus the MacPherson struts and ventilated disc brakes with ABS at all four corners, contributes to the car's stability in turns. And as you exit one corner, you'll feel the 138-hp powerplant get you to the next one in no time.
The 2005 MR2 Spyder's body panels can be unbolted for racing, but some might see that as defacing a work of art. Easy to see why - its styling is striking, at once aggressively modern and truly classic.
Aerodynamic multi-reflector halogen headlamps and bold taillights frame the 2005 Spyder's sheet metal, a shape made all the more progressive by the fully functional side vents that direct cool air into the engine compartment. At the same time, the manually operated soft top - with its real glass window - evokes the timeless roadsters of decades past.
Convertibles are all about what it's like outside, so why focus on what the 2005 MR2 Spyder's like inside? Because the interior of the Spyder has been carefully designed to heighten the open-top sports car experience. Note the lightweight, racing-inspired drilled aluminum sport pedals and leather-wrapped tilt steering wheel and gear shift lever. Remember, this is, first and foremost, a performance car. The analog speedometer and tachometer are white-faced gauges, easy to read in bright sunshine or under the stars. You’ll find the wind deflector just as useful. It dramatically reduces wind buffeting when the top's down.
