European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 23, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13 Toyota new aar2 is fun its always of some personal inter est to write about mid engine sports our first experience with one dating Back to the late 1960s and Early 70s when we owned a Lotus Europa and had great fun touring Europe with Over the weve driven and re ported on the mid engine the porsche the Fiat still on the Market As a and the Lan Cia the famous rally car which had a v6 Ferrari engine screaming away right behind your and now we come to the Toyota mr2 sports the mr2 designation standing for midship runabout its the first mid engine sports car from and obviously it will compete against the Pontiac Fiero where the Market is we had the mr2 on test Courtesy of the car world whose personnel were Quick to Point out that the mr2 recently won motor trend magazines 1985 import car of the year Competition and if you Are genuinely interested in the fun of driving sports and Are not Overly concerned about How much you can pack into then the two seater Toyota mr2 will be of great As with All mid engine sports lug Gage space is at a although the mr2 does offer More room than most notably space for two Small suitcases in the rear trunk or two sets of Golf some room up front for one Small suitcase if you have a space Saver and theres also room behind the two seats to store items such As sweaters and and that about the Beauty of the mr2 is not so much in body design although its quite attractive with its retractable but in engine handling and it is simply a super Little car in All respects thoroughly responsive and the mr2s engine is the sophisticated yet reliable 4valvepercylin Der unit that made its debut on the Toyota Corolla strangely it is relatively quiet even though it sits right behind you in transverse putting out a potent 112 the four engine has electronic fuel and it revs freely up to which is unique for a mass production car putting the Power to the Road is a five Speed Gearbox fifth gear is the shifting fast and with the the Drivers right Arm from the Elbow Down lies right Over the Long and one uses the shift lever with great ease and with All four fingers on the the thumb on the the mid engine Toyota mr2 sports car photo this lows lung Toyota sports car is the first mid engine Model from the mr2 it is not a gearshift but a thick lever and it works the layout making gear shifting easy and even More fun than usual in a car that really asks for the Handbrake is located just to the left of the gearshift without going into it is easiest to say that the mr2s Interior design is fully related to the Driver and his although we would much prefer a four spoke sports steering wheel to the rather sedate two spoke wheel there is storage space at the sides of both doors and a Good sized Glove instruments Are easy to the adjustable seats fit and the View of the Road is in All one sees is the and while driving on the revs must be kept High to get the most from the the Power is strictly at the High end of the Rev the maximum torque of 97 of lbs not coming in until one reaches a High of the engine feeds on High and once that is under the fun we reached Zero to 60 Mph in just under 9 and our top Speed was 117 Miles an the car cruises along easily at speeds Between 90 and 100 at 90 Mph in fifth the Tach reads while at 100 its at the Legal Speed of 55 the mr2s rpm redline engine is pulling revs in fifth yet it moves along smoothly at that Low with a weight distribution of percent front to its hardly necessary to say that the mr2 is nicely the Power assist brakes Are disc All and the extremely direct steering is by rack and the ride is firm but right for this Type of the suspension fully Independent with Stabilizer bars at front and tires on the test car were Bridges tone radials on 14inch designation standing for midship Runa same 16valve engine that made bout the mr2 is powered by the its debut on the Corolla its photo a View from the Back the spoiler sits atop the trunk lid while the engine is located Between the cockpit Alloy during our time with the the Miles Perallon figure came to this including heavy City Back roads and High Speed autobahn the located in the Tunnel Between the holds the test car discussed in this report Fea tured such touches As a Central Locking Power Power Remote controlled rear View tilt steering cruise control sorry to see cruise on a genuine sports air electronic 3speaker stereo and cassette digital Sunroof with Inte grated sunshade the roof May be flipped and the rear window is the mudguards carry mr2 open or removed altogether and stored in the space Saver spare mud rear spoiler and Many other sex for this fully loaded As the expression one pays the Price including preparation and shipping to All car world locations in if you would prefer the Basic which Means no rear air condition Sunroof and a few other items a regu Lar stereo with 3speaker system is Stan by the the Price is the new mr2 sports cars May be seen at most of the 22 car world locations throughout Randy Barnett Check your fire pressures ifs a first sep of safety Detroit a with summer vacations on the your cars tires take on added says the Indus try the tire care and taking care of your tires is an easy Way to protect your investment and your the Council warns that As Many As eight out of 10 tires used on american roads today Are besides putting a crimp on gasoline under inflation causes premature tire and worn tires Are costly to replace and hazardous to drive checking your tire pressures at least once a month is the first step to safety As Well As to the longevity of your the tire care Council and while checking the look Over your tires and remove pieces of Glass and other objects wedged into the tread once these objects May work their Way deeper into the tire and eventually flatten tires should be cheeked while Cool and before on the Council suggests taking along a Good air pressure gauge and checking pressures More often than you normally after a Long tires should be allowed to Cool at least an hour to obtain an accurate read when carrying extra tire manufacturers advise adding about four pounds Over the recommended col tire pressure data written on the tires Side but not Over the maximum limit never bleed tires by reducing their air pressure while because the pres sure always is higher the air will adjust itself As the tires if any tire continually loses have it use valve and see that there screwed Down they also should have a rubber which keeps dirt and moisture out of the valve balanced tires and Correct fronted alignment Are essential for Good Wear and the tire Council and also improves fuel the Council also Points out that Good driving plus the avoidance of drag race starts and full Brake also help tires Wear