TOYOTAhas now gone back to the traditional front engine rear wheel drive sportscar layout with its excellent GT86 coupe.

But its previous sportster, the soft-top MR2 was a pretty mid-engined, rear wheel drive two seater that was huge fun as long as you kept the revs up.

They are now getting quite long in the tooth - production stopped in 2006 - but Toyota's reliability is second to none, so if you buy carefully, with full service history, they can still be a great buy.

They're completely wind and waterproof with the hood up and putting it down or back up again takes just a few seconds.

The 1.8-litre 140bhp engine sits behind your left ear so there is a fair amount of noise

But there's plenty of performance under the right foot and good economy if that power isn't used too much.

The steering is full of feel on the move and the chassis balance is superb, right up there with the best.

Cornering is a joy, completely flat and hugely safe in the dry, and well controlled in the wet.

It even rides reasonably well, although still a little harsh by saloon comfort standards.

With the optional wind deflector in place there is surprisingly little buffeting, but the main drawback is that there is hardly enough room for weekend luggage.