I was deciding between the 350z and the s2k.. I drove the 350z and thought good things about it, but when I drove the s2k I changed my mind... Alot of people have compared the s2k to driving a gokart (in a good way) and I completely agree... I think it even fits more like a glove then my rx7..

 

s2k all the way

 

I really wanted a Z until I drove it. My first car was a 1978 280Z, but the current Z was such a letdown. Poor visibility from inside, it felt so heavy, and I couldn't get comfortable in the seats. I liked the RX-8, but was leery about the reliability. It was smooth though. In the end, I'm happy with my S2000. I plan on keeping it for ever.

 

hahaha this is funny cuz i was looking at the EXACT same three cars before i bought my S.

 

good decision

 

I owned an '00 s2000 for about a year until I bought my '05 3.0 Z4.....


Here's my take:

The s2000 is a rev monster and once you're in the higher RPM's the car is very nice performance wise. I was once a believer that a 2-door roadster should be no-frills and performance oriented. I actually liked the fact that the car was very "bare bones" and didn't have any extra features, but that was before I bought the Z4.
READ: You had to virtually rev the piss out of it to get any decent power).

Z4:
I bought a 2005 Z4 3.0L used with EVERY option that BMW offered. The car has NAV, 19" M6 wheels, Red leather (black exterior), extended leather (apparently a $2k option), heated seats, premium package, sport package, 6-disc changer, self-leveling HID's (standard), ipod hookup that displays on the NAV screen, etc.....


Performance wise the 2 cars are very close and honestly I'm not sure which is quicker. The handling is very similar and I'd give the slight edge to BMW because the suspension is better (at least compared to my '00 s2000) and you don't feel EVERY bump in the road. As for all other aspects, again the Z4 wins IMHO. My s2000 didn't have NAV (not sure if that's even offered in current s2000's) but it really adds to the Z4. Even if you rarely use/need navigation, everything is integrated through the NAV screen, not to mention it really adds to the "cool factor" for what it's worth. The top doesn't have to manually be fastened on the Z4 liek it did on my old s2000. Also, you can lower the top via the key fob on the Z4 (nice touch).

The BMW will cost you more money, but I think it's worth it. For those of you that have driven a BMW you'll agree when I say that they really drive the best. They may have their mechanical gremlins but BMW's are far superior in drive quality. I've owned several American cars and my fair share of Honda's ('00 s2000, '01 Prelude, '06 Accord. '96 Accord, '90 Prelude) and you really can't compare them to a BMW in terms of drive quality.

I liked the Z4 so much that I just recently added another one to my garage with a 2006 530i. :thumbup