Originally Posted By: dareo
I used to daily drive a 1987 mr2 in the snow. It had cheap china all seasons. It did really well, granted i am very used to rwd stuff. Did you have summer only tires? I cant imagine aw11 and 3rd gens being that much different in winter situations.
I did get rediculous mpg in that MR2. Nothing could stop the t bar roof from leaking. Im a solid roof only guy now.
Long story short: it is the region + front suspension + tire choice that makes it less of a 4 season car.
Ok, here I go if you want the full answer:
I only owned RWD up until my winter-turned-nearly-DD '99 Subaru mule. C10, 280Z, SSW30 MR2 (Now add the Hyundai to that). In Virginia (so some snow experience go to/from the Mountains to the 804). It is not the worst in the snow (I would hand that to the 280Z as it had no weight over the rear wheels)
I have had all-seasons and summer times on the car at various times. Never snow tires (most of the time I owned the car was in South Carolina!). I have never put winter tires on it because I always used the Subaru(s)/Explorer in the winter where winter was a factor. Now the Hyundai is my "winter" car (that is the household debate as I want winter tires for it but the wife says to drive the Subaru... my profession does not allow "snowdays"). If it did snow in SC (and we did get some 10 inch events that melted by 10am the next day), I did did not drive. Wait it out a few hours and it would be in the low 60s with the top down.
The 3rd Gen MR2 has some extremely limited tire choice that is part of the problem. 185/55/15 and 205/50/15 stock sizes make it painful to find good rubber. At least the AW11 had symmetrical tires, but it was similar in size but I am guessing the slightly skinnier tires in the rear helped a lot). Summer tires are on it now. Not thrilled with Yokohama S.Drive. "OK" I guess, the Advans were better in the dry (worse in the wet) and my Dunlop were the best but had ride-quality issues. Car came with Yokohama all-seasons at the time but they were worn and I was AutoX in SC so... summer tires! The only bright side is that the S.Drives do not get flat spots easily not that it is not a daily driver. That might be the only reason they are still on the car. So that is my tire experience with the car. I rarely see anything other than summer tires on the SSW30 as I check out tire choice any time I spot a fellow driver.
The best way I can say is that the 3rd Gen is "twitchy" (explain that twitch in a moment) in the rain, all seasons did better but never really solved the problem (thus I went to summer rubber). I got used to the all-season twitch and going to summers was not a big jump after ditching the Advans. Now, it is not 100% twitchy all the time but more unpredictably "surprise" twitchy. It can happen at low "normal" driving and speed. For example, I have been in third queue at a left turn light. The back stepped out when I had to lift (yeah, I know) because it car in front of me braked to figure out which "left" he wanted to take in the middle of the intersection. Normal every-day speed (15mph max) moving through a normal stoplight in traffic. I just do not trust that car in the rain. If will do fine for a while, relax into a lull and then toss you into oncoming traffic event when you are not hooning it. I joke that if I tried to keep it sideways every time it rained it will be safer.
So part of my recommendation of the Miata (the rival) over the MR2 would be Western NC. We get a lot of rain, and snow events. We just do not get a lot of snow/ice volume... but we will constantly have 1/4 - 1 inch of something coming down come winter. Combined with North/South facing hills, it is a mix every few hundred yards if you are not careful with slope/terrain. The Miata is no Land Rover but the tire/handling forgiveness would be better for the area if you go from rain to sticking ice/snow in a few seconds. The MR2 is "ok"-ish in a flat area with consistent snow. I am guessing if you drive in Utah, at least you are well versed in difference between snow in the hills vs snow in flat-land Michigan. Snow volume is no big deal, 10in vs 2 inch is mute on the right slope and especially with ice, it can be harsh.
But the common complaint with the ssw30 is that its handling characteristics do not accept changing road conditions as well as it should (McPherson front do not assist either). I agree 100% as even as asphalt changes can make it unsettled quickly. I don't know enough of the AW11 front set up to give you a good comparison. However with the SSW30, the front can get upset and then bite ...then the momentum shift takes attention to stay on top of it. So if you are in a bend, the front may lose a bit of bite on a bump and then catch back. you will feel the car shift there. If you are used to it and don't immediately try to compensate with a heavy hand, it will do what you want. If you try to make up for some of that initial understeer, well, you know what is coming around. If it is dry, no big deal, settles quickly. All is well an good until you have a bit of rough road, changing traction, and pitch/roll with the body. So, the slope-facing issues, small weather events (clear on one side of the mountain, monsoon on the other) make the MR2 less of a daily as I would want in this part of the country... especially if it is going to be a four season car. I would say winter tires are a must (at least good all-seasons if they are not going up/over/down a mt), but I looked at tire rack and could not find winter tires in the stock size (not a big deal but an inconvenience/extra cost).
If the OP wants a fun but more "serious" attention demanding convertible, then the MR2 is that car. If it is fun-in-the-sun... then there are better choices just for the lift-off oversteer issue alone for the "basic driver". I kinda got the feel that it was the latter.
However, there is no better car in the fall/summer/spring on dry WNC roads. Period.
