A gearbox as offbeat as the car itself

"Somethingwittyer likes noisy" (Somethingwittyer)
05/17/2014 at 16:10 • Filed to: None

So it turns out the MR-2 spyders were offered with paddle shift sequential manual. Apparently the gearbox wasn't that bad, at least to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Either way this must have been mindblowing in 2002, a car like this having a gearbox only seen on Ferraris.

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DISCUSSION (9)

Manuél Ferrari > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/17/2014 at 16:13

Wow I never knew that. That is surprising that Toyota would develop that box for a car in this class. It wasn't a crazy expensive car.

That was right around the same time BMW debuted SMG to the US in the M3. They had it in Europe before that in the later year E36 M3s.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/17/2014 at 16:17

In Japan even Oddysesy get 7-speed paddleshift.

Somethingwittyer likes noisy > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
05/17/2014 at 16:19

sequential manual?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/17/2014 at 16:23

Uh, nope.

It's a 7-speed CVT Paddleshift. And it's helluva weird. My cousin had one, and it's akward since it won't rev past 2500rpm if you drive it in eco mode. And there's no manual or sport mode. So what's the point of that?

Somethingwittyer likes noisy > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
05/17/2014 at 16:27

Just why.

jariten1781 > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/17/2014 at 16:34

I looked at one a few years ago. Nice little car. The transmission seemed to behave better than the BMW SMG (less jerky). Then I started looking into common problems and repair costs...Nope, they're expensive as all hell when they give out. A bunch of owners found full manual swaps to be cheaper than attempting to keep the SMT going.

anothermiatafanboy > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/17/2014 at 16:51

I don't think they have paddles either. Sounded in the article like there are buttons on the steering wheel. I didn't see any pictures to provide clarification but ill bet clicking paddles would be a whole lot more satisfying than pushing buttons.

Pockets > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/17/2014 at 16:54

Didn't realise that. There were a few offering that kind of thing around that time, though; a friend of mine has a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 of all things with one and Alfa Romeo were using the same system as Ferrari.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > Somethingwittyer likes noisy
05/18/2014 at 03:54

Those transmissions are complete garbage. They don't last very long without problems, can't handle any additional power, and are very very slow to shift.