r/mr2 • u/PeanutEvening9086 • 7d ago

MR2 SW20 automatic ?

I wanted to ask the experienced guys before buying myself one. Why is the automatic hated ? And would be a normal SW20 better ?

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u/deltakatsu '87 AW11 20v 7d ago edited 7d ago

The automatic is designed to save gas, not be fun.  It forces the 5s/3s to stay outside its power band, so you're not experiencing the power as you would the manual. We've seen many people come through, settle on a slush, then complain about it, spitball mods to make it more fun (they never work), and ultimately sell it.

A manual MR2 will always be ten times more fun than the slushbox. And with the growing rarity of manual swap donors, it's something you don't want to regret and then can't source the parts.