GradStudent

http://autos.msn.com/advice/article.aspx?c...src=LP%20luxury

Car and Driver's 10Best for the 2006 model year:


Best Sports Sedan: Acura TSX
Best Sport Compact: Audi A3 2.0T
Best Luxury Sports Sedan: BMW 3-Series
Best Performance Car: Chevrolet Corvette
Best Full-Size Sedan: Chrysler 300
Best Muscle Car: Ford Mustang GT
Best Family Sedan: Honda Accord
Best Roadster: Mazda MX-5
Best Sports Coupe: Mazda RX-8
Best Luxury Sports Car: Porsche Boxster

Discuss

SavesTheDay

What shocks me more is that mazda is on there twice.

FearlessFife

I bet if I drove an MX-5 I would still rather have my S2000.

aggie

No doubt, but I assume C&D takes into account value and recent achievement, of which the MX-5 has more. Without the new MX-5, the Solstice would have been on the list, IMO.

6speed8

Why?

I don't think anyone believes Mazda makes a "better" car than Honda, but they sure make more Fun to drive cars.

When you get down to it, a sports car (for the street) should ultimately be fun. The MX-5 and RX-8 certainly are fun to drive, are relatively inexpensive, have no bad driving habits, are easy to come by, can be had with automatics as well as manual transmissions, and should be fairly reliable.

Slamnasty

Agreed. They likely picked the Miata, as they have in the past, for the thrills it offers relative to its price. A fully-optioned Miata is likely to come in $5-7k south of a new S2k. The S2000 may be a more desirable car, and faster off the line, but it also caters to a more specific crowd. Mazda makes many more thousand Miatas than Honda does S2000s every year, and that probably also factored into their decision.

Plus, the Miata, er, MX-5, has a lot of the same niceties as the S2000, while only really having less power. It has the nice, short shifter, it handles great, it has a revvy engine (maybe not 9k revvy, but enough for most people), it's a convertible, it's concept is based on a purist mentality, it has a simple cockpit, etc. etc.

You S2000 guys seem to get bruised egos really easily as of late. Is something the matter?

FearlessFife

Yeah.

This damn chest cold and lack of sleep are making me irritable.

SavesTheDay

I am shocked because they rarely get credit in terms of mainstream appeal, for the quality of their work. The mainstream in question, would be the people more concerned about quarter mile times and HP figures. The rx8 is a success because its use of the Renesis motor has done well to shake off the finnicky stigma of the rotaries of the past (not by leaps and bounds mind you, but "enough"), not to mention it is probably one of the smoothest cars on the road, at least this side of stuttgart. I am not shocked as in "lets have a recount" shock. Its more of a delightful shock.

gomarlins3

The S wasn't in the running guys. The car has to be a new model or significantly changed from the previous year. TC and DBW aren't a big enough change to be considered. Looking at the article in front of me, the only other TRUE convertables considered was the Solstice, SLK350 and SLK 55. Personally, I LOVE the SLK and the 55 is somewhat of a dream car of mine, but the cost is staggering.

Ronin2k

Too bad Honda didnt up the Hp lets say 260 SAE?, throw on new bumpers, wheels and some underbody panels with some sort of rear diffuser. A 7th gear would be great too for even better gas mileage and would allow for a higher FD for the other gears. Voila Sports car of the year.