Fongu

The car is plenty capable enough in traffic/rain/snow. All this can't drive in rain/snow/traffic are typical issues with any moderately powerful RWD manual transmission car. Its more if you're the right type of driver. It takes a "niche" driver to be able to tolerate (one person's tolerate is anothers love to drive) the car as a daily driver.

- need an appropriate summer/rain tire
- need dedicated snow tires for winter
- can you afford to buy performance tires often (every 8k miles to 20k miles)
- are you able to adjust (or willing to learn to adjust) your driving style appropriately to conditions and the car, with no electronic driver aids, i.e. actively drive and be alert all the time
- can you live with 2 seats and limited storage
- can you live with wind noise (top down) or more than typical mechanical noise (top up)
- can you live with a manual transmission in stop and go traffic
- can you live with a firm bumpy ride with non-adjustable lumbar seats
- are you willing to shift and downshift to get best performance (i.e. passing)

I have no problems with the points above. I comes with driving a sports car. I don't drive in the winter just because of the salt and rust, not because it is dangerous or not capable enough. I've driven 8+ hours straight with the top up and down. Top down is tiring from wind and sun. Took a while for my body to adjust to the seat. I've driven in driving rain at night with fog on balding tires, with no issue. Note, I did cut back the speed, avoided standing water and kept a healthy distance from other cars. Just common sense.

SCoach

I agree with the snow-tire opinions. I know my thing says I am from Florida, but I grew up in New York and in the mountains of West Virgina.

Driving this car is really no different than most people in Nordic countries with their German sports cars. Drive like you've got good sense, install GOOD tires for both summer and winter, and you'll be fine.

As for traveling, I've taken a few road trips now. I came from an older BMW and a Range Rover (which I still have). The S2000 is better than either for those trips in my opinion, if you're going alone. Trunk space is plenty to take a couple weeks worth of clothes. Car is good on gas, as I've gotten about 30mpg on my road trips, but I am a fairly conservative driver.

Daily driving use has been such a joy for me. The personality of the car changes drastically with the top off. Your mild-mannered daily driver becomes weekend exotic when the top folds down. It's magnificent. As much as it rains here in FL (check the weather channel today) I never use the SUV. Although I might with the hurricane.

I MUST re-emphasize. Dump the OEM tires and get some very good tires that handle wet weather. I have Kumho 712s which are cheap and do VERY well in wet weather, but there are other, better tires if you want to spend more money. The Bridgestone S03s or RE750s are both excellent choices.

For winter, some Hakkepalitas are as good as it gets, but the Blizzaks are more common and may be easier to find. In either case, do NOT skimp on your tires for a daily driver, and you'll be happy with it.

Best of luck.

124Spider

I use mine as a daily driver through Seattle's horrible traffic (22 miles each way each day, although I often avoid traffic by leaving early or late) and often horrible, wet weather. I put 500 per week on the car, and still smile in anticipation of driving it anywhere, any time. I have the stock tires on it, which have been fine in sun and rain.

I agree with Fongu's excellent post. My wife would not really enjoy this as a daily driver--she's the Audi TT type. However, I like feeling the road, I love the performance, I don't need heated seats or other fru-fru, and the seats are quite comfortable compared to my previous car (a very reliable Toyota I drove for 15 years). I took my daughter to a lacrosse tournament a couple of hundred miles away for the weekend, and we fit all our stuff in the trunk, including two lacrosse sticks.

Since it doesn't snow here, I have no experience with it in snow. However, I drove a Fiat 124 Spider in the DC winter, Long Island winter and Connecticut winter for a few years (when I could get it to start ), and, with proper tires, it was fine, so I see no reason why the S2000 wouldn't be as competent as a relatively light, front engine (no mid-engine comments, please)/rear drive car can be in snow. I wouln't choose the DC to CT drive when I knew snow was forecast, but I wouldn't choose that in any car.

I would advise reading Fongu's post carefully, and, if you are fine with those "issues" (as I certainly am), go for it. It's a wonderful car.

xviper

Do not get an S2000 for any of the other reasons given but don't "not" get it because of any "perceived" all weather deficiencies. Are people so unaware of what people did in North America before Chrysler mass produced FWD cars? Did you think that everyone in the snow belt simply STOPPED driving because of snow and RWD? And even today, do you think that all those police forces and taxicab companies who run Crown Vics shut down on snowy days? A couple of generations of FWD drivers have created a world of RWD ignorant people.
People cutting you off or running into you? Do you think those with 50 thousand buck luxury SUV's like being cut off or being run into any different than a guy in a 30 thou S2000? Or do you think they leave them at home when it snows?
Have a look at us having fun in the snow:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=156779

With aggressive snow tires on my car, I have outdragged an AWD Audi with all season radials across a 6" deep snow and slush covered intersection. The Audi guy thought his almighty AWD was invincible in the snow. It is far easier to control a RWD skid than it is to control an AWD skid.

rebelforce

I drive everyday to and from work ~30 miles round trip in moderate traffic and I love driving this car. My wife drives an X5 but I prefer to drive my S2000. Of course my last car was a Jeep and I live in Florida. Is a hurricane bad for CAIs?

p0pe

Daily driver here, my car sees plenty of rain. Fongu's excellent post pretty much sums it up.

Veneficus

I moved to AZ from Northern VA a couple months ago. As I stated my experience driving in the snow was right after I had my Vortech installed at Evolution in Chantilly, VA by Jeff's mechanic John. Jeff most likely remembers me and my buddy hanging around the shop all day while it was snowing waiting for it to get finished....Friday Dec 5th 2003, I do believe.

thereisnospoon

I think the real key here is not if the S can be a snow driven car - but your comfort level doing so.

I can drive RWD in the snow having lived in NE my whole life - BUT - I'd rather be driving a FWD or AWD sedan with heated seats and dedicated snows than my S any day. Being stuck in traffic out in a blizzard is a lot more fun when your ass is toasty warm and you can reach into the back seat for a snack and a new CD to listen to...

allkingz

I used to be afraid of someone sliding into me while driving in the winter, but the fact remains that in my 10 years of driving, I've only been in one accident, and that was in the middle of summer.

Equip your car with the right tires, drive defensively, and you shouldn't have any problems in any weather conditions.

Karl O.

Snow is not an issue for me. I drive my S2k every day, I have put about 25k miles on it in the 18 months or so since I bought it.

I am considering a Civic Si or RSX-S (had one before the S2k) to drive every day and just keeping the S2k in the garage, but I really like driving this car. I hoenstly think that my everyday car would sit in the driveway depreciating while I tooled around in the S2k.

Yeah, rainy days suck. Yeah, cold days suck. Yeah, buying tires sucks. Yeah, checking the oil every two hours sucks. Yeah, it sucks when a tall, fat friend or somebody with back problems needs a ride somewhere. Yeah, it sucks when you have to put your top down to fit the A/C filter for your house in the front seat (trunk is too small). Yeah, it sucks when you have to take your dog somewhere and he scratches your leather seats.

But then, it's a Honda. It starts every time. Nothing ever breaks. Every feature on the car always works properly. It gets decent gas mileage. The A/C freezes me out of the car in 100 degree weather and the heater is suffocating in the winter.
Hell, space wise it ain't much worse than a regular cab pickup.