S2000 25k a year??

[acritchley]

Hi all,

Advice please! Key points:

-25k miles a year (75 mile motorway daily commute)
-Currently run a 2005 Fabia vRS 1.9tdi with 130k on the clock - perfect for commute (55mpg, torque, reliability, comfort etc)
-I'm bored with it (previously owned Impreza RB5 PPP, Ibiza GTi 16v etc.)
-Always loved the Honda S2000, test drove one last summer, absolutely loved it!
-Only thing really holding me back is fuel economy (don't mind decreased comfort, space... I'm 26), and the fact I am saving for a house deposit.
-What mpg would I expect over 35 miles at a constant 60mph? (Yes I am very self-disciplined!)

Would I be mad to change?!

Thanks, Andy

[trickywoo]

If it was me I'd rather get a 7 style kit car (Tiger?) as a second fun / weekend car and keep the Skoda for the commute.

S2000 is likely to make the commute worse.

[Craikeybaby]

I did similar milage in a mk1 MX-5, but it was the best part of £100 a week on fuel - the fuel saving paid my mortgage when I bought a house nearer to work.

The commute wasn't too bad especially the sliproad from the M6 onto the A46 where I could usually have some fun. However, if I was doing it again I'd go for a sensible commuter car and a cheap sports car for the weekend.

[ady_GTi]

Wouldnt recommend one for that much motorway work. They sit at quite high revs and theres alot of road noise, no cruise either.

MPG wise, i do a 40 mile commute each day, mixed roads my average is 29/30. Best i have ever managed is 34/35, that was 70-80 ish motorway for most of a tank.

Use alot of VTEC (yo) that number with drop very quickly..

[Snowboy]

It's not the speed that kills the mpg, it's the acceleration.

Drive it slowly and you might see 30mpg.
Drive it like you enjoy it and it's closer to 20 (or less).

The S2000 loves to accelerate - and it loves the jump to VTEC at 600rpm.
VrooooOOOOOM

If you're not using VTEC get an mx5.
If you are using VTEC then you'll have low mpg.

[Ved]

I had one in mind before I changed last year and I do a lot of miles as well. The car is just too cramped and loud so lots of motorways would be a waste.

MX5 is a very good shout. Lots out there and there's always a call to BBR if you want more oomph.

[Neil1300r]

75 mile motorway commute in a S2000? Best buy some earplugs.

[Chris Type R]

If you use it as a daily commuter and you don't have a fun route, then the car reasonably quickly becomes less special. If found this when I was doing a motorway commute to London.

It can a handful in the winter.

There's also the tyre costs to consider - the rears can be pricey.

[toon10]

Great cars the S2000 but don't they sit at about 4,000 rpm at 70mph? That would drive you nuts. Great for fun runs out but not for commuting long motorways in. Mind I'm an old duffer so maybe you young 'uns can live with that?

[decadent]

I would say go for it. With a house + wife comes kids and you'll never get your hands on an S2000 or equivalent again.

I speak from experience. I wish I dropped the sensible hack (Golf Mk4 Tdi at the time) for something fun. Now I'll have to wait at least 15 years!

[Riknos]

Drive my S2000 at 60mph on the motorway to work every day - although only 12 miles not 75!

I see 28mpg combined, with 90% m-way at 60, and the rest of the time sat in traffic. 33mpg was the highest I ever got out of a full tank on the m-way.

There is wind noise but you have a stereo to cancel that out...

I wouldn't see the point in commuting that much in an S2000. Would cost you an arm and a leg in fuel, and probably 2 sets of rear tyres a year @ £150 a tyre, plus two services etc.

I'd stick with the mile-muncher diesel, and once you've got your house deposit sorted then get one

[p1tse]

if i ever did mileage like that on a daily basis I would want a lazy economical auto of some sort, not a high revving no torque fun car

[Ali_T]

Haven't owned an S2000 but my old EP3 CTR was probably similar and that gave 30-32mpg if driven conservatively.

[FurballS2000]

I worked mine out at about 33mpg on a ashford - bristol - ashford round trip. So mostly motorway with a few quick blasts and a bit of urban driving.

[Chris Type R]

p1tse said:

if i ever did mileage like that on a daily basis I would want a lazy economical auto of some sort, not a high revving no torque fun car

In an ideal world you'd have both.

[Coldfuse]

I agree with almost all the sentiments here, my other half and I drove to the south of France in my S2000 last year doing a solid 32 hours of driving in 1 stint. I was prepared for it being a bit of a pain on the motorway but its not something i would put up with on a day to day basis. It does sit at around 4k at 70mph. 6th gear really should have been made much longer, so i think it would be fine if it sat at 3k at 70. If you don't have the hard top there is an awful lot of wind noise that comes through the canvas. I get around 270 miles to a tank in mine (im using mine for my 10 mile commute at the moment) which is a mix of country/town/dual carriage way driving so its a fair mix at lots of different speeds and hints of vtec when conditions allow.

As others have said i would not recommend it for a daily commute on a motorway, it will be monotonous expensive. I would stick with your Fabia for more frugality.

The only reason i am using mine for the commute at the moment is because i have interesting twisty roads to drive along so i have alot of fun getting there and coming back.

[alock]

acritchley said:

-What mpg would I expect over 35 miles at a constant 60mph? (Yes I am very self-disciplined!)

I've averaged 27mpg on almost every tank for the last 6 years with a 20 mile each way commute.

Over this winter with lots of standing water on the roads for week after week I've averaged 30mpg.

On a long motorway journey (Winchester->Manchester->Winchester) at 65mph and the roof up I've got 37 mpg.

[Snowboy]

You can reduce the wind noise by;
buying new strikers and moving the roof clips.
Silicon greasing the rubbers.
Patching any roof holes or fitting a custom roof liner.

But, it's still a loud car.
It was designed to be loud.

It's like having a stereo where the volume has 1-3 then 10-11 with nothing in between.

[TommyBuoy]

I'm 27 and have had my S2000 for 3 years now. The furthest my 'commute' has been is about 5 miles. I average around the 30mpg mark on motorway driving so not too bad.

I'm possibly going to start a job with a 50 mile commute each way, which comes with a company car. If I didn't get a car I would definately not use the S2K - it's expensive on fuel and it has a small tank (50l). Tyres are £500 - £600 a set and insurance tends to be expensive.

On the other hand, I love my car and won't be giving it up, it's been very reliable, sounds lovely with the UK exhaust mod.

Even if you bought one and decided it wasn't for you selling it should see most of your money back if you buy wisely. Only expense then is fuel and tax (2006 like mine is £480).

For specific advise head over to S2ki.com in the UK section - they can be a bit odd, but very knowledgable people over there!

[HorneyMX5]

p1tse said:

if i ever did mileage like that on a daily basis I would want a lazy economical auto of some sort, not a high revving no torque fun car

You might, some of us don't. I'm on course to rack up 25K miles in my CTR in it's first year and loving every minute of it.