Test drove S2000 today.
Discussion
In the market for a sporty 2 seater, not neccessarily right now, but i like to look well in advance so i can read up and decide exactly what i want before i splash my cash.
So far i have driven a 350z coupe (04 VD), 350z roadster (06 revup) and today an s2000.
Wanted 350z because of extra grunt and sound, plus more luxourious interior. Drove both and loved them, however wasnt hugely impressed with the performance, thought it would accelerate harder.
So looked at the S2000 today, 05 plate. Interior very minimal but v.high quality and super neat, seats lovely and comfy. Start the engine, nothing particularly special.
Then the drive (on my own), it was fantastic, obviously theres not much go below 5-6k (except for 1st gear), but then once your off, keeping up in the vtec it was brilliant, so much drama, revs and revs then the short throw gear stick, mechanically perfect. great feel to the brakes also.
I actually got out with the biggest smile of my life on my face, the whole package was brilliant, in comparison to the 350z this felt properly engineered, a full on drivers car made from the ground up. It made the 350z feel quite cumbersome.
Ive made my mind up im gona go for the S2000, reliability, bullet proof engine, proper sports car looks and all for £12k.
Anyone have the same experience or beg to differ? Or any other cars i should consider in this region / price bracket.
cheers
So far i have driven a 350z coupe (04 VD), 350z roadster (06 revup) and today an s2000.
Wanted 350z because of extra grunt and sound, plus more luxourious interior. Drove both and loved them, however wasnt hugely impressed with the performance, thought it would accelerate harder.
So looked at the S2000 today, 05 plate. Interior very minimal but v.high quality and super neat, seats lovely and comfy. Start the engine, nothing particularly special.
Then the drive (on my own), it was fantastic, obviously theres not much go below 5-6k (except for 1st gear), but then once your off, keeping up in the vtec it was brilliant, so much drama, revs and revs then the short throw gear stick, mechanically perfect. great feel to the brakes also.
I actually got out with the biggest smile of my life on my face, the whole package was brilliant, in comparison to the 350z this felt properly engineered, a full on drivers car made from the ground up. It made the 350z feel quite cumbersome.
Ive made my mind up im gona go for the S2000, reliability, bullet proof engine, proper sports car looks and all for £12k.
Anyone have the same experience or beg to differ? Or any other cars i should consider in this region / price bracket.
cheers
thing is with the boxster, id want the new shape post 05 boxter S, id be unhappy with the standard.
Z4, have considered this, however not convinced with the looks, badge or interior. Elise is probably bit too hardcore, do a few too many miles for one of these. Brother in law has a 111r, fantastic car.
Z4, have considered this, however not convinced with the looks, badge or interior. Elise is probably bit too hardcore, do a few too many miles for one of these. Brother in law has a 111r, fantastic car.
russy01 said:
Ive made my mind up im gona go for the S2000, reliability, bullet proof engine, proper sports car looks and all for £12k.
Anyone have the same experience or beg to differ? Or any other cars i should consider in this region / price bracket.
cheers
I looked at the S2000 when I sold my Elise. But it just seemed too bland and a bit boring. So I bought another TVR Chimaera. Have you looked at them? Below your budged so money to spare.... If you want grunt, noise and the "fooooook that was fast" - the TVR will do that.Anyone have the same experience or beg to differ? Or any other cars i should consider in this region / price bracket.
cheers
i absolutely love tvrs, however i am scared by reliability issues. Once i have bought the car im not going to have a huge amount of cash around, just bought my first house and am currently doing it up, so i dont want the worry of it having to go to the garage. Plus being 22 insurance tends to screw you on a V8.
however when i have a bit more in the bank i will have a tuscan S on my drive in a tick!!
however when i have a bit more in the bank i will have a tuscan S on my drive in a tick!!
I was in the same situation just over a year ago; considered the S2000 and RX8 231. 350Z appealed, but a good one was just out of budget at the time. I was so impressed with the noise and VTEC performance of the S2k I cancelled my RX8 test-drive and bought the Honda on the spot.
I never found the cammy, VTEC power delivery to be annoying; quite the opposite, I reckoned it gave the car character and I didn't tire of the 9200rpm limit. You quickly figure out power-band/gear ratios in order to set the car up for overtakes etc. Very rarely did I find myself 'caught-out' waiting for the car to VTEC.
Anyway, the stand-outs for me were the looks, build-quality, fabulous noise (and I'm normally a V6 and V8 man), quick and efficient electric hood, HID headlights, the quickness of the steering and positive turn-in, very effective brakes, and that excellent rifle-bolt mass-balanced gearchange. I didn't find the car buzzy or noisy on motorways in 6th gear, in which the car still has enough poke off-VTEC to make progress. On the downside, the steering feel is pretty nondescript, and that's about it.
After 4 months I went the 2-car route, sold the S2000 and bought the TVR I'd really wanted in the first place, along with a daily driver. If I had to go back to a single car to cover 15k miles a year that did everything from M-ways to trackdays I'd definitely consider having an S2000 again.
I never found the cammy, VTEC power delivery to be annoying; quite the opposite, I reckoned it gave the car character and I didn't tire of the 9200rpm limit. You quickly figure out power-band/gear ratios in order to set the car up for overtakes etc. Very rarely did I find myself 'caught-out' waiting for the car to VTEC.
Anyway, the stand-outs for me were the looks, build-quality, fabulous noise (and I'm normally a V6 and V8 man), quick and efficient electric hood, HID headlights, the quickness of the steering and positive turn-in, very effective brakes, and that excellent rifle-bolt mass-balanced gearchange. I didn't find the car buzzy or noisy on motorways in 6th gear, in which the car still has enough poke off-VTEC to make progress. On the downside, the steering feel is pretty nondescript, and that's about it.
After 4 months I went the 2-car route, sold the S2000 and bought the TVR I'd really wanted in the first place, along with a daily driver. If I had to go back to a single car to cover 15k miles a year that did everything from M-ways to trackdays I'd definitely consider having an S2000 again.
russy01 said:
i absolutely love tvrs, however i am scared by reliability issues.
Both my Chimaeras have been pretty damn good, and I've owned Chimaeras for around 8 years now in total. The main problem is battery draining but then I didn't have a garage with a plug in it - if you have and a trickle charger......... Also, you can get a decent one for sub 10k which will leave you 2k to play with. I appreciate the insurance, I think mine was £1500 or so when I was 22 but I have no idea how much it would be these days - in your shoes I would find out. There isn't much more out there on the road for that sort of money that goes as fast or looks as good, or sounds as awesome as a V8 in full chat.
stop this talk about TVRS, its starting to sway me. Its the route my heart wants to go, but head has to stop me.
Plus also a quick search on youtube brings up some fantastic sounds.
Quite gay videos, but the sound alone is enough to change minds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW208e_jjM4&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSlkKO-ERD0&pla...
Plus also a quick search on youtube brings up some fantastic sounds.
Quite gay videos, but the sound alone is enough to change minds.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW208e_jjM4&fea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSlkKO-ERD0&pla...
russy01 said:
stop this talk about TVRS, its starting to sway me. Its the route my heart wants to go, but head has to stop me.
In which case get something cheap to use as a daily driver and buy a TVR. It's really the only sensible thing to do. My Tiv is 'only' a Chimaera 400, yet when I fire it up, small children drop their ice creams and women foam at the clunge. It is only slightly faster on paper than the S2k, but feels massively gruntier (which it is, 150-ish lbft vs 270 lbft (allegedly). Although the S2000 sounds great heading for 9000rpm, a V8 TVR sounds like a mobile controlled-demolition building site, and is deeply antisocial. Excellent. The TVR also delivers artillery bombardment noises on the overrun, unlike the S2000.If you are entertaining genuine thoughts of a TVR, then do it. Otherwise you'll be sitting in your S2000 having fun, but secretly wishing you were in something a bit faster, noisier, rarer, and last but not least, styled by Peter Wheeler's dog.
I had an S2000 a while back before changing jobs which forced a change of car. I did about 15000 miles in the S2000 and loved every minute of it. I had it as a daily driver so drove a lot of motorway miles which it coped with fine but I also used it for the weekend blasts too. I loved it a lot and would happily have another. The engine felt bombproof and the gear change was amazing it felt like driving a racing car every time I drove it. I have driven a lot of different stuff through my work and I struggle to think of another car that consistently brought a smile to my face. The interior is fairly cramped and there isn't a lot of storage but it all feels solid and well put together. It used to be fairly skittish on the motorway in heavy rain but I put that down to the tyres. Great car and I would recommend it!
I know it's the standard answer, but mx5 - not stock; one with a turbo or supercharger - so common they can almost be thought of as factory. Turbo or Supercharged MX5 feels like driving a honed S2000 but with VTEC enganged from 3000 to 7000 rpm. Will make the 350Z feel like a barge, but luxuary compared to an Elise/VX/Exige.
- I have a VX and a couple of MX5's - wonderful as the Elise platform is for many people the access is just to un-friendly for a daily driver.
russy01 said:
stop this talk about TVRS, its starting to sway me. Its the route my heart wants to go, but head has to stop me.
You only live once. So make the most of it. If you think you might want a TVR then go and drive one. The second I started my first drive in a Chimaera, I wanted one.Yep as said a Chimera is cheap to run, at the end of the day its just a rover V8 and parts for them a dirt cheap through land rover specialists. Even a 400 will fill much quicker than the S2000 due to torque coming in so low down in the revs. Plus the drama will be 10x more.
You can pick up a well looked after 450 - 500 for £12 so I would say spend £9 - 10k and keep the rest in a contigency fund. You may never need it an so you can then put it into the house but its a nice thing knowing its there.
You can pick up a well looked after 450 - 500 for £12 so I would say spend £9 - 10k and keep the rest in a contigency fund. You may never need it an so you can then put it into the house but its a nice thing knowing its there.
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