RE: Honda S2000
Discussion
The point of the VTEC engines is to provide smooth, economical performance at lower revs, and greatly increased power (and fuel consumption) at higher revs when needed. What a great idea.
If you don't want to exceed 3k revs then buy a diesel, and stop comparing the S2000 with vastly more expensive alternatives. As already mentioned, Honda produce the best four-pots there are at a very reasonable price.
The Boxster is a great car.
The S2000 is a great car.
One of these is substantially cheaper (and has a quicker hood).
Surprised to see the M3 (insert yawn here) only whipping the Honda by half a sec, though spend the £15k difference on tuning the Honda and you'll all know the result.
*Bias: I drive a VTEC Honda.
If you don't want to exceed 3k revs then buy a diesel, and stop comparing the S2000 with vastly more expensive alternatives. As already mentioned, Honda produce the best four-pots there are at a very reasonable price.
The Boxster is a great car.
The S2000 is a great car.
One of these is substantially cheaper (and has a quicker hood).
Surprised to see the M3 (insert yawn here) only whipping the Honda by half a sec, though spend the £15k difference on tuning the Honda and you'll all know the result.
*Bias: I drive a VTEC Honda.
The M3 is about the same cost to be fair as its an E36 evo convertible.. I have to say that the Boxter does look a tad ropey when compared to the S2000...wouldn't go back to German cars after having a Jap car anyway though...just wouldn't feel right.
Its just not cricket to keep changing!
anyone have any idea on the value or how i can find out the value of my MR2 Mk2 GT Coupe on a 2000 'W' with 36,000 miles as i can't find any similar to compare it too??
Cheers all, JSB.
Its just not cricket to keep changing!
anyone have any idea on the value or how i can find out the value of my MR2 Mk2 GT Coupe on a 2000 'W' with 36,000 miles as i can't find any similar to compare it too??
Cheers all, JSB.
I've had a couple of S2000's and although I loved them both and would have another it has to be said that
overtaking anything is a pain. You cant just pass
in a normal fashion you SCREAM past. Can look a bit
max power.
If honda were to use the 2.2 American set up I think
it would improve the day to day drive of the car.
overtaking anything is a pain. You cant just pass
in a normal fashion you SCREAM past. Can look a bit
max power.
If honda were to use the 2.2 American set up I think
it would improve the day to day drive of the car.
IBROKER said:Yep!
it has to be said that
overtaking anything is a pain. You cant just pass
in a normal fashion you SCREAM past.
And your point is?!?
Seriously, I know it does draw attention to you, but live with it - you've bought an open-top sports car which DOES respond to being driven hard. You can't exactly be a wallflower if you've gone and bought a roadster, so revel in the exhaust note and ignore any gestures!
I've owned a second hand 04' S2000 for a year now. The car is good in some elements but the lack of mid range torque spoils the car completely. You soon get fed up of driving the car flat out all the time even with the airbox cover off. The car handles well and the gearbox can be a bit notchy at times. Once you get the car going it accelerates nicely, but I find you have to plan to overtake. You can't just put your foot down and expect to pull away quickly as nothing happens. Motorway driving is poor pull out quickly to pass a car and woe, you've got to change down from 6th to 4th to get it going. Pity though as i think the car is more capable than what it is. Honda should introduce the American 2.2L or stick a well deserved supercharger or turbo on it to give it some serious poke.
qube,
Depends where you're coming from. Compared to a V8 Tiv, of course it's going to feel peaky. But that's the point of the engine - I guess you either like it or you don't.
Compared to my daily-driver Focus TDCi, the in-gear overtaking urge feels poor. But in reality, it's not as far off as you think, and on M-ways I only drop it a gear when I want to move quickly - the rest of the time 6th copes just fine...if you're pulling into a gap where you need the extra speed, you probably shouldn't be pulling out.
Oh...and B-road overtaking SHOULD be pre-planned...can change gear very quickly, and that engine has less inertia than anything else I've driven!
Have owned my '03 for 3 weeks now as a weekend toy, and it's proving rather enjoyable.
My only real gripes are with the steering (needs more feedback), and with the tail (lacks enough progression on '02-'03 geometry settings).
My appraisal:-
Turn-in is very good; throttle-steerability, below the limit, is just fine, and even over the limit feels catchable - I'm a newbie to rear-drive and while I've had one unplanned tank-slapper (cold tyres), it's not as scary as it's reputation and just needs more respect compared to a hot-hatch.
Straight-line performance is no longer earth-shattering. It will outdrag a Boxster 2.7 (in fact, any other soft-top for sub-£30k), but needs working hard (you ARE rewarded with a rather tasty induction note though!), and the latest hot-hatches will be at least as quick. The low c-o-g and amazing dry grip, however, mean that if you're confident in what you're doing, you should be at least as quick point-to-point...but as it needs more respect you need to be a better driver to get the most out of it...I would suggest don't go challenging those Focus ST and Astra VXR owners!!! Instead, practice with the tail, then showboat around roundabouts in the sun, making them jealous!!!
Ride quality is decent, but feels a little too crashy over poor surfaces and speed humps. Hasn't yet felt like it's lost it's composure though, even on B-roads.
Interior feels decent quality, and the post-'04 interior revisions, with the colour options, most definitely lift it another step - wish I'd been able to afford the extra to stretch to an '04. Practicality, for what it is, is more than adequate - inside and in-boot.
It looks fantastic, it sounds good when on a blat (bit more bass?), and the driving position is spot-on (whereas I didn't even drive a Chim that I looked at before as my left thigh pressed into the wheel!). Build quality feels very good, and even the crashiness over potholes doesn't seem to affect the body unduly - not sure what the author of the article was comparing it to! And it's got Honda reliability and servicing costs, plus excellent residuals...making it a much cheaper ownership proposition than a similarly-priced TVR or Boxster.
It feels like a special car, and you want to treat it as such. Whether I keep it for a long time depends on whether I can live with the steering feel and twitchy tail - if I can learn it and master it, it's could be around a while. If it proves to still be unruly next summer...we'll see...
Depends where you're coming from. Compared to a V8 Tiv, of course it's going to feel peaky. But that's the point of the engine - I guess you either like it or you don't.
Compared to my daily-driver Focus TDCi, the in-gear overtaking urge feels poor. But in reality, it's not as far off as you think, and on M-ways I only drop it a gear when I want to move quickly - the rest of the time 6th copes just fine...if you're pulling into a gap where you need the extra speed, you probably shouldn't be pulling out.
Oh...and B-road overtaking SHOULD be pre-planned...can change gear very quickly, and that engine has less inertia than anything else I've driven!
Have owned my '03 for 3 weeks now as a weekend toy, and it's proving rather enjoyable.
My only real gripes are with the steering (needs more feedback), and with the tail (lacks enough progression on '02-'03 geometry settings).
My appraisal:-
Turn-in is very good; throttle-steerability, below the limit, is just fine, and even over the limit feels catchable - I'm a newbie to rear-drive and while I've had one unplanned tank-slapper (cold tyres), it's not as scary as it's reputation and just needs more respect compared to a hot-hatch.
Straight-line performance is no longer earth-shattering. It will outdrag a Boxster 2.7 (in fact, any other soft-top for sub-£30k), but needs working hard (you ARE rewarded with a rather tasty induction note though!), and the latest hot-hatches will be at least as quick. The low c-o-g and amazing dry grip, however, mean that if you're confident in what you're doing, you should be at least as quick point-to-point...but as it needs more respect you need to be a better driver to get the most out of it...I would suggest don't go challenging those Focus ST and Astra VXR owners!!! Instead, practice with the tail, then showboat around roundabouts in the sun, making them jealous!!!
Ride quality is decent, but feels a little too crashy over poor surfaces and speed humps. Hasn't yet felt like it's lost it's composure though, even on B-roads.
Interior feels decent quality, and the post-'04 interior revisions, with the colour options, most definitely lift it another step - wish I'd been able to afford the extra to stretch to an '04. Practicality, for what it is, is more than adequate - inside and in-boot.
It looks fantastic, it sounds good when on a blat (bit more bass?), and the driving position is spot-on (whereas I didn't even drive a Chim that I looked at before as my left thigh pressed into the wheel!). Build quality feels very good, and even the crashiness over potholes doesn't seem to affect the body unduly - not sure what the author of the article was comparing it to! And it's got Honda reliability and servicing costs, plus excellent residuals...making it a much cheaper ownership proposition than a similarly-priced TVR or Boxster.
It feels like a special car, and you want to treat it as such. Whether I keep it for a long time depends on whether I can live with the steering feel and twitchy tail - if I can learn it and master it, it's could be around a while. If it proves to still be unruly next summer...we'll see...
I owned mine for over three years and loved it. My only reservation about it is that on roads that I didn't know, I could get caught out in the wrong gear and have to wait for the power to come in. Also the gearing is set up for a good 0-60 time (2nd runs just past 60). Typically NSL road users bunch up at 50ish, so you are either in 2nd with a quick change required or in 3rd waiting for vtec. Sometimes more torque or a quicker transition to VTEC would have been nice - just like the american spec engine and gearbox then...
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