I love this little car. It's nimble and quick enough to get you there sooner than later. A bit of understeer is not too significant, so don't worry too much about the front end getting there too soon. Mileage is ok, but nothing to exclaim about, especially if you ignore those pesky speed limit signs like the car requests you to do as soon as you drop into the driver's seat. Top speed ratings should not be a goal since the stock suspension quietly says, "I-don't-know-about-this" when pushed much beyond the century mark. However, at lower speeds, it does like those curvy roads and it hangs on very well due to the ultra-high-performance, Bridgestone Potenza, RE040's summertime-only tires. About those tires, they're directional, 15's in the front and 16's in the rear. (You'd think that if you're going to have a flat tire, it had better be on the right front, since the directional, 15- inch, full-size spare technically fits only that corner.) But, not to worry, that's not the case. If you run a directional tire 'backwards' it won't kill you. At least, not right away. However, putting the 15 inch spare on the rear where it wants to have a 16 inch wheel, well, that's ok if you don't have any kind of posi-traction or equa-lok, or whatever. But if you do have that, brace yourself for a noisy, expensive repair bill real soon. But these Toyotas don't have that to worry about, so, go ahead and have a flat on whichever corner you want to. You say you don't want to run Bridgestones? Too bad. When I needed to replace the whole set I discovered that there was only one manufacturer that made the size combination needed, and that was Bridgestone. Us poor folks who have to drive our convertibles in the winter sprang for a new set of wheels and a set of Michelin X-Ice tires that were close to the proper size, albeit on four 15-inch wheels. Flat parking lot, fresh 6 inch snowfall and new X-Ice's - I couldn't get it stuck. And I tried. Forward, backward, turning while stopping. It just kept going. At nearly 75,000 of my miles, 175,000 total on the car, I have never been stuck in the snow. It has quite a bit of engine noise while driving since you are sitting only a few inches from it, and there is little to deaden that sound. It has EHPS, electro-hydraulic power steering but I drive without it since the pump broke. Apparently the electric-car diy'ers have bought up all of the used pumps and a new one will set you back $700. So I opted to go without it. It steers harder of course, but it's only noticeable at parking speeds or when turning after a stop, and even then it's not too bad. You might have to decide between having $700 or power steering. I have no regrets about buying this little gem, other than maybe not having bought one sooner. Oh, by the way. You'll need to get accustomed to it being mistaken for a Porsche Boxster. I removed the Toyota badge from it to encourage that mistaken identity to happen. It's one of the ways I have fun with it.