I drove my MR2 160 miles a day to and from work a my dd commuter car. They get great gas mileage. It was an 04 with really low miles but an MR2 none the less.

 

Starting in '07, I've been doing 875 miles per week in my Spyder..

It now has over 340K miles on it at 36 MPG..

its a nice DD

 

Personally I think the car makes a great DD. Great gas mileage, you pay for REGULAR gas at the pump, it's easy to find parking (I guess this really applies extra here in NYC), very reliable, and pretty cheap maintenance costs. I think you'll be hard pressed to get more car for the money. If you are in a temperate climate I highly suggest budgeting for dedicated snow tires to use it as a DD.

As far as interior, I'm 6' and there's great leg room. There isn't great elbow padding for long drives (a member here can hook you up with a nice fix for that). Also, the stock radio/speakers were a bit weak for me, but easily upgraded. Also, the cupholders are more for decoration than use as they are pretty small (if you're a morning coffee kinda guy). Lastly, the storage space is lacking compared to a traditional trunk.

Otherwise yes, there's the "cool"factor...and it's a convertible which you can really have fun driving on the weekends (both of which are quite nice). Basically, given the choice again I would choose this car in a heartbeat. Know the shortcomings of the car and make sure these aren't integral things you need in a DD.

 

for the last half of last year, the spyder was my DD since we sold my wife's car in preparation for an addition to the family... I enjoyed every day driving it vs only usually getting to drive it on some weekends... I put it away for the winter since the tires are on their way out and we have thus since purchased an SUV for more space... when the snow melts, I will start to DD the spyder again...

 

I drove one every day for 140k miles. Great car. It only ever needed normal maintenance. Your head has to be in the right place to appreciate it. It is fairly noisy and anything but a smooth ride - a Cadillac it ain't. But the ability to put the top down at a moments notice or take the long way home through the twisties makes it worthwhile. And if you drive the s**t out of it you might get into the 28 mpg range, otherwise you're solidly in the 30's.

 

I used to have a problem falling asleep on my commute home every day. Quiet sedans and my afternoon sugar-low don't mix well. Spyder fixed all that! Now I look forward to my daily drives. If I kept my foot out of the throttle I could argue that it promotes my safety on the road. But I don't.

 

and honestly... when commuting to work, what do you need 4 doors and 5 seats for??? its just me and I don't carpool with anyone, so a 2 door 2 seater makes perfect sense economically... we still have a baby hauler that my wife drives...

 

I use my MR2 as my only car, DD, weekend warrior.

They get great gas mileage.

 

I daily drove each of my Spyders at some point in their lives. My black Spyder was my DD car for 4-5 years all year round and I loved every minute of it.

 

To add onto what was said, if you commute your Spyder, expect to perform regular maintenance on wear-and-tear items.

While the car is nowhere near as complicated as say a Porsche car, it is slightly more expensive/complicated than say the Celica model.

So do your research. If you're going to service it yourself, look around at how to do different things.

If you pay someone to fix your cars, then check around to see who's available locally to you that's comfortable with the Spyder.


And to be fair and balanced, you should also look at Miata and S2000 as well. I just personally think the Miata is too practical and bland, and the S2000 is way too high strung for a DD.

The Spyder fits perfectly in the middle.

Good luck with your decision :adoration:

 

I'm on my second Spyder, and both have been my DD.

I put about 800 miles a week on my Spyder. Almost all freeway driving.

I have the 6SMT, and get right at 39 MPG on the freeway. Mid-20s city because I am fond of driving it the way it was meant to be driven when there are curves involved. :biggrin-new:

 

DD

I bought this car for a DD. I got a 2003 w/ 19k miles on it just over a year ago. It now has 42k. I replaced the O2 sensors and that's about it. Great gas mileage, regular gas. My commute is 75 miles round trip, 1/2 country roads. It makes the drive a welcome part of the day. Any time the temperature gets over 65 degrees F, the top goes down. As said earlier, if it is a one-person commute, why have all those seats, weight, doors, etc.?

 

I'm retired but drive it every day I can. Ordinary things like Costco runs are way more fun. Treat it well and you can have years of pleasure.

 

Much of what I'd say has already been said, but I'll chime in anyway.

I live in IL (north of Chicago, just south of the "Cheddar Curtain" - the IL/WI border). My Spyder is my DD between March/April and November/December for a 60-mile round trip to & from work. Has been since 2008 when I bought it.

If you're in a lot of stop-and-go traffic, the manual transmission can be your foe if you're not fond of shifting. I have an SMT Spyder and a 6-speed MT Spyder, and I love them both and I'm not bothered by shifting the 6speed. That said, my winter DD (a Tacoma) is also 6-speed MT, so it's not like I own an automatic vehicle, anyway.

I love that these cars make pretty practical DDs (unless you're carpooling with more than one person, of course) but then you can let loose on the weekends and have a blast with the SAME car that's your DD during the week. Not many people can say that. Plus, for me, the Spyder makes that drive a hell of a lot more enjoyable. Even in traffic.

I'd say drive one - or a few, for that matter - before you go further down the decision road. As you said, we're all enthusiasts. But this car is not for everyone. If you have any intentions of doing anything but watching the road and driving, this is NOT the car for you. It's very intolerant of sloppy or distracted driving.

 

My commute is 35 miles each way, year round and top down above 40 degrees and dry. I have gone to longer wearing tires. I now look forward to my commute.

 

It is getting harder to find a clean low mileage spyder. High mileage cars are a gamble as a daily driver.

I think a 2000 car is getting old. Anything made of rubber and plastic is deteriorating. Radiators, hoses, bushings, weatherstripping, carpet seats, top will all need attention.

Honestly is I was shopping for a used commuter as my only car I would not buy a 2000 spyder. I would only consider a low mileage 04 or 05.

Or an s2000 because is has exceptional build quality and rock solid reliability.

 

I didn't buy a low mileage Spyder, got a 2000 at 115k miles with 5 previous owners in rough shape summer of last year. Fixed it up and started daily driving it immediately. I do around 220 miles a week, all in San Francisco in awful traffic delivering food across the city. I average 24 MPG mostly sitting in stop and go traffic, which I consider pretty damn impressive (considering how often I gun it). It's been reliable, comfortable, and super fun. Plus it's incredibly easy to park. Only thing you have to worry about is blind spots, because with the soft top up, they're huge. Getting curved mirrors or a hard top are definitely recommended (damn I need a set of curved side mirrors).

Oh, and they're often not easy to work on. Some jobs require more work than most cars. Like coolant, thermostat, etc. Having the engine in the back and partially tucked away isn't the best for ease of repairs. But it's not so bad.

 

I don't DD my Spyder, but if I did my justification would be it's safer than a motorcycle.

 

I bought my Spyder new in October of 2000 and it was my daily driver for 14 years. I drove about 300 miles a week . It now has over 201000 miles and still gets over 30 mpg on trips. I retired in January of 2014 so I don't get to drive it as often as I'd like. It's a wonderful car to drive.

 

Thank you for all of the replies. I've test driven four of them and I just really enjoy driving the car. Now I just need to find an SMT. Is there a way to tell from the VIN if a car is SMT? It would save a lot of squinting at steering wheels and consoles to make out shifters.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. Question. Is there an easy way to tell the transmission type by the VIN number?

 

Well I went and bought it.

2005 with a Manual 5-speed. 69k miles and the interior and top are pristine. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

The pic isn't working. Congrats, you'll love driving this car.

Make sure you hit some of the meets if you can, and meet some other Spyder owners. Most of us are pretty sane and cool.

 

My spyder is my daily, and the only issue I have is when I take my son to soccer I can't fit him and a folding chair in the car at the same time (well not safely anyway). Yes it does have some pretty big blind spots with the roof up, but the solution is to put the roof down and then you have uninterrupted 360 degree visibility!

 

...can't fit him and a folding chair in the car at the same time (well not safely anyway). Yes it does have some pretty big blind spots with the roof up....

Solutions: trailer rack and convex mirrors

 

I have folding chairs that will fit behind the seats. I have fitted to weekend backpacks behind the seats but I do travel light. Just look carefully when the top is up.

 

The obvious solution is to get another MR2 and make a trailer for your folding chair.