X19 vs Mk1

[bobbyh]

saw a lovely powder blue one of these this week. a rare spot indeed nowadays. absolutely lovely.
got me thinking. the MR2 is no where near as pretty. but its a lot quicker, and a lot more reliable.
anyone driven/owned both?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C94726/

[PW@Woodsport]

the MR2 is no where near as pretty

Seriously? For me the Mk1 looks a million percent better.... all in the eye of the beholder i suppose.

[crazylegs]

X19 pretty ? to me its got no real flow. not planned they just stuck a couple of boxes together. still we are all different.

[kaiowas]

anyone driven/owned both?

Tom (Icsunonove - the clue is in the name ) has had X19s

[010on1986]

I had a w reg 1981 powder metallic blue 1500cc x1/9 as a first car in 1987. and broke a silver x reg to keep it going.

I loved it ......when it worked, but it was so unreliable and got rusty. It was not a car you could depend on. It rusted fast.... but not around the rear arches.... Hard to start when hot. from what I remember far far more fun than an MR2 to drive although not as quick. (bit like a mini)

The roof set up was so neat, two clips and its off, slips under the front bonnet. didn't leak.

Pretty.... I always thought they were a bit too narrow, but the dallara kit..nice, always needed an alfa v6 plonked in the back.

I sold the x1/9 and bought an mr2 because mr2 didn't rust or have reliability issues.......

[Charged]

Seriously? For me the Mk1 looks a million percent better.... all in the eye of the beholder i suppose.

Agreed! Althought I'd love to try an Uno Turbo engine converted X19..

[Fog on the tyne]

I'm with Mr Woods on this one...MR2 is far prettier
I remember a neighbour having a X19 from new when I was a wee lad - when I first saw it I liked it, but seem to remember it being on the back of an AA truck more than on the road. I also remember seeing a MR2 for the first time - wow..and the first time I drove one in 1988 (managed to pursuade a mechanic to let me test drive it after its pre-delivery inspection) - was totally hooked!!

[kevin..in]

anyone who knows the history of the MR2MK1 Club will know that the existance of the club is due to the fact that the X19 is a very poorly built car and it is this reason thet the Mk1 Club founder who at that time was an X19 owner realised that the X19 was fast dissapearing due mainly to rot, that he then looked for an alternative and found the far superior Mk1 MR2 the rest as they say is history!
X19s are a poorly built and under powered car but that has never stopped any vehicle having its devoted followers has it?
Mr2 is vastly superior in every aspect, but its all down to personal choice isn't it
most things have a marmite factor!

[oukie]

I love my mk1's and wouldn't have it any other way

I also like x19's I think the person who said they are poorly designed needs to have a closer look ,

They have a HUGE frunk a boot and where the spare wheel goes
some very clever use of space, Not to mention the roof yes they are under powered yes they fall apart and never work but they are the reason the mk1 was made

But I was looking at some nice example's at castle combe bask in april and there was one there with a Uno turbo engine fitted in

[kevin..in]

I also like x19's I think the person who said they are poorly designed needs to have a closer look ,

They have a HUGE frunk a boot and where the spare wheel goes
some very clever use of space, Not to mention the roof yes they are under powered yes they fall apart and never work but they are the reason the mk1 was made

I have looked close enough thanks
infact I nearly bought one of the last Bertone X19s new in'89 (glad I saw sense)
the points you made just go to prove my statement that they are poorly designed and made
and no the X19 was never the reason that Toyota made the MR2
mid engined 2 seaters were around before this dire Fiat offering

[Jim-SR]

mk1 mR2 is pretty much a replica of the X1/9 underneath. the suspension geometry is practically identical. the X1/9 was the inspiration for the MR2, naturally the MR2 evolved a good base into something better. as has been the case with Toyota throughout their history. they take a good European idea, then make it cheaper, better and more reliable.

[andyj]

Yes, I've had several X19's and was one of the founder members of the Club back in 1984. The Club was started by Brian Jordan. Dave Harris, the Club's technical guy, went on to start the MR2 club with others ...and later owned one of the first SC's in the country.

Though underpowered the X19's are sensational go karts on the road. They have much more direct steering than the MR2 and it's geared to change lanes if you just move it a few inches! That, together with very controllable oversteer, makes them real fun to drive. They oversteer if prompted even at low speeds ...flick of the wrist gets the back out on roundabouts ...flick back brings it back in line. Incredible fun to drive.

The targa goes completely into the front boot ...and roofs don't leak. They have lovely rev counter that goes anti-clockwise.

Having said that they are underpowered, rust like crazy and switch gear is like something out of a Christmas cracker! Oh, then there's the electrics!!! Also, lack of power means you can't use throttle to control oversteer to any extent ...and with Weber carb's rather than fuel injection/16 valve/TVIS, the engine has serious flat spots. The jets block on the carb and you have to take them out and clean them from time to time to resume normal running! In fact, I've seen people carry different jets for when they go up mountains. Unlike injection, carbs don't compensate for reduced oxygen levels by going up a mountain.

So basically overall, they're not quite as good a package as the MR2 Mark1.

Best X19 I saw had the Fiat 2.0 litre twin cam fitted from the Fiat Strada (120 bhp I think) though the Uno Turbo was other option.

[dopiaza]

Not sure I'd agree that MR2s are superior in every way. owned both for a few years and whilst I can't argue that the MR2 is better made the X1/9 wins in the following ways:

1. Luggage space - huge frunk, not used for spare wheel
2. Removable roof, not just T-Tops
3. Even more go kart like handling - believe it or not!
4. Cheaper road tax (ok, scraping the barrel here!)

Don't get me wrong - I'd choose an MR2 over the X1/9 anyday. In fact I did exactly that last year when I decided to buy a fun car - had the X1/9 for a month and it was just too much hassle. So badly engineered you just couldn't trust it to get you where you were going. Realised the MR2 insurance was the same as the X1/9 and there was then no contest!

[010on1986]

reminds me...

The day I bought my mk1 mr2....I tried to drive in the the manner I used to drive my X1/9 and the mr2 failed, I was very very disappointed. No matter how much faster or better stopping the mr2 was, it was not as good as the fiat to drive, I was sort of happy and gutted at the same time....I had got rid of a car that was one big headache and got a well behaved heavy feeling japtechmachine that seems souless by comparison.

I think as said before, its all in the steering, (or maybe the weight) I do miss the x1/9's very direct steering. I also found the x1/9 suspension to be superior, firmer, more supportive of the chassis, I remember thinking the mr2 is very wallowy/squatty and the seating postion isn't as good as in the x1/9.

Spare wheel location was genius. Miss the sweaty torn up cream vinyl seats and having the doors fill up with water after having waxoyled them....Also miss the ice on the inside of the windscreen in winter and the everyday fear of not being able to get anywhere you want to go at every start up and the fear of not being able to get back home once you've got where you were going.... god damn little fiat nearly put me off car ownership forever....

[crazylegs]

oukie getting worried about your eyesight.

[oukie]

The point I was trying to make was , that I like them for the thought that had been put into certain aspects of the car , Ie spare wheel a frunk that you could put a whole suitcase in a good size boot fantastic, better than a t-bar roof etc

But I would never own one

The fact that its a fiat puts me off firstly and the other small thing
Is that its an italian car built in the 70/80's

[emrrtwo]

Well it was between an x19, CRX and mk1 MR2 that the MR2 won when I was looking for my first mk1 many moons ago!. Have always had a soft spot for X19's though, saw these at a resent show I was at - the orange and white ones had some sort of turbo engine conversion but never got a good enough look in the engine bays to see exactly what. As you can probably tell from the pics I really liked the white one - love the colour scheme!

[Ben]

Watch out Jo... it's El Tango

[cartledge_uk]

I believe it has a lancia delta integrale engine in the orange one (if its the one I think it is)

[redmk1]

number plate says it all in my opinion.