RE: HonestGuv: Honda S2000
Discussion
We actually have one of these, very much 'a cake and eat it car'. If you only need 2-seats it is durable enough to be a daily driver and put a smile on your face. You don't have be rich enough to indulge yourself with more than one car, the S2K can do it all and that is the point.
We've had ours for 2 years now, handling is absolutely fine, oil consumption is minimal and absolutely no mechanical issues - its a standard 02 so not in the first flush of youth. It is a daily drive all year round, this is our 'sensible' car, and reliability is typically Honda.
My only gripes are; hood-up no rear 3/4 visibility, limited boot space and if you are much over 6' 0" you probably won't fit, oh and it has to be seriously revved to find all the performance. Its still reasonably quick and perfectly civilised around town if you don't drive like a hooligan, - and it has air-con.
I also have a Griffith and yes I've driven an Elise and loved it, but IMHO neither would be the easiest of daily drives [my Griff has a serious thirst for super and needs frequent fettling, and just try getting in/out of an Elise with the hood in-situ]. The S2K is just so easy, average around 30 mpg, maybe 35 on a run.
Insurance is getting pricey - but shop around, we got a reasonable deal through Swiftcover.
The S2K is brilliant, but I'll admit that the Griff is still my 'heart' car.
We've had ours for 2 years now, handling is absolutely fine, oil consumption is minimal and absolutely no mechanical issues - its a standard 02 so not in the first flush of youth. It is a daily drive all year round, this is our 'sensible' car, and reliability is typically Honda.
My only gripes are; hood-up no rear 3/4 visibility, limited boot space and if you are much over 6' 0" you probably won't fit, oh and it has to be seriously revved to find all the performance. Its still reasonably quick and perfectly civilised around town if you don't drive like a hooligan, - and it has air-con.
I also have a Griffith and yes I've driven an Elise and loved it, but IMHO neither would be the easiest of daily drives [my Griff has a serious thirst for super and needs frequent fettling, and just try getting in/out of an Elise with the hood in-situ]. The S2K is just so easy, average around 30 mpg, maybe 35 on a run.
Insurance is getting pricey - but shop around, we got a reasonable deal through Swiftcover.
The S2K is brilliant, but I'll admit that the Griff is still my 'heart' car.
HonestGuv said:
As luck would have it we had an Elise 111S in at the same time for servicing, so it seemed only right to take the pair of them out on the Downs for a lunchtime clearout (which is all that most decent cars need to get them back in tune). Lance, my business partner at the time, started off in the Honda. After a couple of sherberts and a packet of extra-strong mints we swapped keys for the return trip.
Remind me to never take my car to this guys garage. Takes customers cars out on a blast and stops for a couple of quick pints on the way...mikey k said:
I put a supercharger & Nitron suspension on my last one and transformed it in to a 418 BHP B road monster.
Loved it.
Really really struggled to find something to replace it with.
Cost me a lot more when I did!
For the amount of money you spent doing all that work you could have got yourself an Aston!Loved it.
Really really struggled to find something to replace it with.
Cost me a lot more when I did!
kambites said:
superman84 said:
It seems to me that the criteria for 'driver's car' are almost entirely subjective and used by owner's of cars such as MX5s, Elise's etc to justify why they are better than more expensive metal which are objectively superior in almost everyway.
Yes I think that's a fair comment. Some people prefer the objective stats they can see written on a piece of paper, some people prefer the way a car feels and in the latter category, different people prefer different things. There's no right or wrong to it. Im not saying an Elise isnt a fine handling car. But i personally find hitting VTEC (yo) in an S2000 more exciting than pulling lateral g's in an Elise. Likewise 'objective stats' dont take into account things like character, i would rather have something from Porsche, TVR or //M division because they have exciting egines. Again, each to their own.
I'd like to try one at some stage, would be interesting to see how it compares to the MX5 in the handling and feel department.
Might seem a tad slow in comparison but hopefully the sound, revs and throttle response would make up for that (turbo MX5 before anyone thinks I'm (more of) an idiot (than usual)).
Might seem a tad slow in comparison but hopefully the sound, revs and throttle response would make up for that (turbo MX5 before anyone thinks I'm (more of) an idiot (than usual)).
Edited by GravelBen on Thursday 10th February 12:18
Kong said:
bga said:
Kong said:
Sure, i agree with all of that. I know a guy who is a MONUMENTAL TVR fanboy who cannot even entertain the discussion that an MX5 is a better drivers car than his dads Chimaera which by your description id say it probably is.
My MX-5 was more fun most of the time than my Chim. That said, when the Chim was fun it was MONUMENTAL 
Harry Monk said:
On a purely subjective basis, I wholeheartedly agree with Rob. Fantastic engine note, gearchange and brakes but unforgivable steering.
Can someone explain to me what they mean by 'steering feel' as I think it's a term that's over used without a consistent definition?Assuming you don't have any wobble in your steering column, the steering can only transmit one dimensional information. If the steering is loaded in a corner, it can either get lighter or heavier. That's it, nothing else. I want my steering to tell me when the tyre starts to slip. The S2000 does exactly that, the steering gets lighter. This doesn't happen very often as the car is not setup to under-steer. In the recent bad weather this has happened in a few corners and the steering provides more than enough information about what the front end is doing.
For me, I don't like what I would call fidgety steering that provides feedback due to slight camber changes. It makes long drives hard work and masks the valuable grip level information that you need from the steering.
In in a car with what many would classify as 'good steering', if the steering goes light for a fraction of a second mid corner how do you know what happened? Was it tyre slip? Was it tread block movement? Was it camber?
I think "steering feel" is how long before the front end loses grip, the driver can tell it's going to. A car with good steering, you can enter a bend at half the limit of grip, and the steering will tell you that you are at half the limit of grip. A bad car wont tell you that you're approaching the limit until you actually breach it and the front starts to slide.
I can't explain it at a more technical level than that, but that's my definition. And it's one on which the S2000 falls a long way short of the best cars in its class.
I can't explain it at a more technical level than that, but that's my definition. And it's one on which the S2000 falls a long way short of the best cars in its class.
Edited by kambites on Thursday 10th February 14:27
kambites said:
I think "steering feel" is how long before the front end loses grip, the driver can tell it's going to. A car with good steering, you can enter a bend at half the limit of grip, and the steering will tell you that you are at half the limit of grip. A bad car wont tell you that you're approaching the limit until you actually breach it and the front starts to slide.
I can't explain it at a more technical level than that, but that's my definition. And it's one on which the S2000 falls a long way short of the best cars in its class.
I can't explain it at a more technical level than that, but that's my definition. And it's one on which the S2000 falls a long way short of the best cars in its class.
Edited by kambites on Thursday 10th February 14:27
I agree. The S2000 also didn't give that equally difficult to describe feeling of being "keyed in" to the road. The MR2, MX5, Exige and Elise all do this, but the S2000 doesn't. In my opinion of course. They are amazing cars thoug in all other areas (best gearchange I've ever used in a road car, an amazing engine, and beautiful build quality).Not enough pictures on this 6 page thread, here’s my old one.
Bought it to replace an S1 Elise, after I sold I bought an mx5 and now own a Boxster (have also owned 3 mr2s also) so fairly well experienced in all the cars being discussed so far.
As has already been said in many areas there are better sports cars but as an all rounder daily driver, weekend and occasional track car all in one they are hard to better.
Running costs are fairly high (in the ball park of my boxster and not the MX5) most now will require a new roof if not already done £700ish and if the geo hasn’t been done regularly everything will be corroded and also cost a fair bit to sort. Clutches last less than 100k and cost £800ish too, insurance is also excessive compared to similar performance cars (I put this down to many accidents as it’s a far trickier to drive on the limit than the Honda badge might suggest).
But overall would recommend them.
Bought it to replace an S1 Elise, after I sold I bought an mx5 and now own a Boxster (have also owned 3 mr2s also) so fairly well experienced in all the cars being discussed so far.
As has already been said in many areas there are better sports cars but as an all rounder daily driver, weekend and occasional track car all in one they are hard to better.
Running costs are fairly high (in the ball park of my boxster and not the MX5) most now will require a new roof if not already done £700ish and if the geo hasn’t been done regularly everything will be corroded and also cost a fair bit to sort. Clutches last less than 100k and cost £800ish too, insurance is also excessive compared to similar performance cars (I put this down to many accidents as it’s a far trickier to drive on the limit than the Honda badge might suggest).
But overall would recommend them.
Tried one before I bought my Elise. Nice cars. Lovely gear change. Depends what you like. It also still feels like a fairly special place to sit, even if the dash is all a bit more "normal" plastic, etc.
The Elise is amazingly good at telling you how much grip you (don't) have when the road surface changes or gets damp, even when it's going in a straight line. You might call it fidgety, and it's certainly more tiring on boring roads, as it's constantly flooding you with information that you mostly just don't need when you're doing long journeys like that. I still wouldn't have it any other way, though.
The Elise is amazingly good at telling you how much grip you (don't) have when the road surface changes or gets damp, even when it's going in a straight line. You might call it fidgety, and it's certainly more tiring on boring roads, as it's constantly flooding you with information that you mostly just don't need when you're doing long journeys like that. I still wouldn't have it any other way, though.
Everyone blames EPS for that (which is why most moderns have zero feel), but I don't believe it can be as simple as that; some EPS setups are better than others.
As stated, chassis braces, a reduction in caster and even firmer bushes & lower-offset wheels can improve the S2000's breakaway feel to an acceptable level.
An Elise is certainly more fun under the right circumstances, if a tad less practical.
As stated, chassis braces, a reduction in caster and even firmer bushes & lower-offset wheels can improve the S2000's breakaway feel to an acceptable level.
An Elise is certainly more fun under the right circumstances, if a tad less practical.
Just dug this up, was considering changing my 944 cab for one, I love the 944 but leaving it outside is going to kill it, the weather in this country is such that I am not getting time to do what I need to, not driven an S2000, has anyone driven the 944 and an S2000 for comparison, I just want something I haven't got loads tied up in that will cope with being left outside and not give any problems.
I got insurance quotes and I can do it as a normal policy for under £300, apparently Modern Classic insurance is available as well, so with an MOT, insurance and tax it would be less than £600 I have to spend, so buttons in the scheme of things.
The S2000 appeals due to the Honda reliability and quality aspect, I like Boxsters but at five grand it tends to be the bottom of the barrel and the engine issues put me off a bit, I also prefer the looks of the S2000.
I got insurance quotes and I can do it as a normal policy for under £300, apparently Modern Classic insurance is available as well, so with an MOT, insurance and tax it would be less than £600 I have to spend, so buttons in the scheme of things.
The S2000 appeals due to the Honda reliability and quality aspect, I like Boxsters but at five grand it tends to be the bottom of the barrel and the engine issues put me off a bit, I also prefer the looks of the S2000.
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