By James Wong

A couple of weeks ago, it dawned on me.

If you drive a two-seater (not two plus two) sports car, you are making huge sacrifices if it’s the only car you drive. You can’t go out with your mates and bring them along. You can’t do road trips with many friends (just one). You need friends who drive too so you don’t drive alone.

As much as I’d deny it, driving is also as much a social activity as it is a personal one.

So when I considered what car could be worth this sacrifice, I thought the MR2 could be it. I love how it looks. When I bought it, I love everything about it including the great interior, the generous boot space and the stereo (my Mk2 GTI had as much as thin air).

But now, as the months plough on, the opportunities when I can use the car dwindles exponentially as the car is always turned away. There is always more than 2 people wanting to go somewhere to do something.

Sure, I accommodated. I went out for drives on my own, trying to find a reason to keep the car, to allow it to charm me to feel that the sacrifice is all worth it. Just one drive should be able to tell me. If not, then maybe a couple of drives.

But sadly, I can say that thus far, it’s been a very good car, but for the sacrifices involved, it isn’t enough. It isn’t great. It isn’t close to perfection. In other words, it doesn’t meet the standard required when there is so much sacrifice involved. Greatness is truly necessary for two-seater motoring, otherwise it is just an inconvenience.

Maybe I’m a hot hatch guy, I don’t know. But as my circumstances are, I think I find it way more sensible to find myself in a hatch or a saloon.

Hope the MR2 can change my mind in the coming months. But today, it refused to start because the engine went flat! Of course, through no fault of its own… Well, at least I fixed the engine prop clip for the rear hood. One small step.