Try to think of a less practical car than this: There's no back seat. There's no trunk, so if you want to go golfing your clubs have to ride shotgun. There's hardly any storage space in the passenger compartment, either. The front seats are so cramped and so low that if you've ever had a twinge of arthritis, you can forget about climbing in and out. And the engine is mounted right behind the front seats, which produces a steady buzz in your ear no matter what speed you're going.

Then again, just get in the MR2 and drive. You'll forget all about its impracticalities. You can tell just by looking at the MR2 that it's built for fun and little else, and that's pretty much the impression you get from driving it, too. There are faster cars, and grippier cars, and manlier, meatier, zippier cars, but the MR2 manages to be an intoxicating little runabout without being the best at anything. Its smallness helps, since tiny cars have physics on their side. There's less weight to haul around, and a shorter frame to maneuver around bends and corners. The center of gravity is about as low as it can get, short of a track car, and the MR2 feels like it can pivot on a pin's head. The 138-horsepower, four-cylinder engine would be anemic in many other cars, but in the MR2—which weighs just over 2,200 pounds, lighter than a Mini Cooper—it's quite sporting.

Put together, the small package makes a big impression. In an era of hulking SUVs and retro, barrel-chested sedans, one forgets, in fact, that there are advantages to puniness. I could stow the MR2's convertible top—an old-fashioned manual job—without even leaving the driver's seat. Parking was a breeze–even in New York City–and the MR2's maneuverability was an asset in traffic. Oh, I could kvetch about a few shortcomings, like the dated electronics, or the misplaced cupholders, or the lack of rear speakers. But when you're 22 and single and childless and virtually free of responsibility—as I was during the week I drove this car—you don't really care about that kind of stuff. As long as you get where you're going with a thumping heart, that's good enough. Even if you have to ship your luggage.