I think Automobile Magazine was right in their choice!
To each his own!

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1990 Miata 209,500 trouble free miles.........

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2ktaxi
[B]

It's probably not fair to compare BSP Miatas with AS S2000's.

 

I actually subscribe to this magazine, and I can sort of understand where they are coming from. A while ago, there was an article on handling of modern cars. The editors seem to agree that a lot of modern sports cars are over tired.

Let's take the S2000 for example. The OEM S0-2 are probably one of the stickiest, best balanced tires available for this car. But they aren't exactly the most playful tires at the limit. Most of the time, you either have grip or you don't. And since the tires are so grippy, when you do get the rear tires to step out, you are carrying a lot more speed through the corners.

S2000 is such a tightly focused car (pure bred race car for the road), that it actually detracts from the enjoying the car on public road at times. I remember after my spinout at triple digit speed which resulted in a small accident, I was actually afraid to drive the car for a while. Most of the driver's on the road are not much better than I am, and they will HAVE to take their S2000 to the race track in order to enjoy it's full potential, without breaking every single speed limit in the country, or worse getting themselves killed.

Now someone with S2000 might be thinking about downgrading the tires in order to make it more playful but it simply isn't an option, because of the S2000's low polar momentum, weight and power. It'll be down right stupid.

IMO the Mazda Miata is the better sports car the masses. It has the looks, price and the handling, and I for one am glad the sport car like the Miata is even sold in US. It's such a refreshment from all of the boring sedans, SUV and minivans.

I guess it really comes down to personal preference. High performance that will give you greatest joy on racetrack and Auto-X or everyday tossability. For a small percentage of the true automotive enthusiasts out there S2000 is the clear and obvious choice.

Yes, I think that calling Miata the best sports car under the $40,000 category is bit of a stretch. But I found that over the years, the Automobile Mag all-star list is about as honest as they come from automotive press. It certainly isn't an advertising rip off like the Motor Trend car of the year.

And BTW I think that at least the readers picked S2000 as the best sports car under $40,000 category at least once.

I guess what I am trying to say is that of course the S2000 is faster than the Miata. But better performance numbers doesn't always make the car superior. If it's any consolation, then at least driving a yellow S2000 doesn't turn us into homosexuals in publics' eyes. J/K

 

Again, and I think I speak for most people posting here, the Miata is a great car. My mom had one for years and I loved taking it out for a spin. And, yes, I will admit that most people here are extremely loyal to the S2000. However, the point of my original post was to point out that if you had $40,000 to spend on any sports car, would the Miata really be the best choice? There are several cars that I would rather have for $40,000 and I'm not just talking about the S2000 (WRX, Z3, RSX, TT, etc.).

 

Ray,

I couldn't disagree more with your assessment of the S2000. This car is great fun to drive at any speeds and on any roads, not just on a racetrack. It seems that using your rationale, no high performance car would be fun to drive on the street, as its limits would be too high to enjoy.

Bryan


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ray
[B]I actually subscribe to this magazine, and I can sort of understand where they are coming from.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by carfanatic
[B]Again, and I think I speak for most people posting here, the Miata is a great car.