It's very easy for me to compare the two I own them both. They are different but fall into similar performance and similar price categories. I could compare the S2k to the next car because it's RWD and 2 seater but that car is considerably more expensive and quicker The s2k is closer to the FD2 than you might think, and it's not a family hatchback

 

Gee, a t/c 900kg car is always going to seem faster than an S, but surely you can't get the power down without it feeling a liitle out of control (FWD I assume?)?

Test driving an S will put a smile on your face but it will be months into ownership before you start to discover the limits (then you'll want to tweak and push it further!)

The driving position (among other things) can actually make you feel like you are going faster than you are - great for scaring the crap out of passengers.

The magic for me is in fast b roads and milking 2 and 3 for all they're worth throughout the full rev range - roof down of course.

They'll always be faster cars out there, but many of them won't be 'drivers cars'. Ragging an Evo/Scoob (as extremes) and having it do all the work for you is a totally different game that an S, VXT, Elise where constant input and concentration are required to keep you out of the hedges.

 

If you are coming from a car with good low-down torque such as turbos, V6, V8 etc then you might miss the torque but don't believe the myth that the car has no low-down torque whatsoever. It will happily pull from 50mph in 5th all the way to the redline which is 138mph according to the manual and keep your foot down in 4th and you will quickly notice triple digits on the speedo.

Besides, with the amount of traffic, slow drivers and lane-hoggers on the road these days it's really difficult to exploit a fast car, so sometimes I wonder what is the point in getting a fast car. It's probably better to get a car that is fast enough but also really enjoyable to drive and that's what the S2000 is. Once you learn that no matter how fast your car is there will always be someone else faster you can then focus on other aspects of the car.

One really good thing about the S2000 is that you can drive it like a 2.0 car whilst not burning too much fuel but when you want to have fun you just take it to the redline and enjoy the noise.

 

Unless you are talking about one heavily modified car, the S2000 in standard format has not gone faster than 8:39, even the NSX only goes round in between 8:05 and 8:33 depending on the version and driver.

The S2000 is an amazing car for its value, but even it cannot outdo its NSX sibling on the Ring, let alone a Skyline or Porsche GT3.

Skylines in standard form tend to match the NSX round the Ring.

Porsche 997 GT3's post about 7:48

 

It takes one heck of a car to crack an 8min lap of the ring!

Gaz

 

Thank you for the mature replies guys. I am sure I would of got flamed on any other forum with some of the daft questions I ask, so thanks

Very true, always something faster out there and dont really get to open up cars these days anyway.

Another thing thou, these cars are Roadsters. But I HATE the rag tops. No disrespect, but the cloth roof spoils any car for me, so I would HAVE to have a hard top. I knwo one the main selling points is driving with the roof down, but this would be on very, very rare occassions for me. The looks so much better as a hardtop.

Going back to hardtops, the car would not be garaged, so would feel the full wrath of the english weather all years round. Will the top hold up? Any leaking issues?

 

Torque, out of the box, acceleration, p*ss easy to drive fast & massive forum (scoobynet), oh and 4 doors = Impreza

Everything expensive, common as muck, loads of bad examples to be careful of, chav image, crap interior, no real feel of speed cos sat so high, oil changes all the time, if you get a bad one very costly, risk of getting it stolen, insurance v.expensive, (need i go on) = Impreza

(I owned an impreza turbo for 4 1/2 yrs, loved every minute dont get me wrong, but it was well due for a change due to factors as described above.)

Aslong as you ok with 2 seats rather than 4, from my extensive research for nearly 6 months in a similar situation as you (same questions/concerns), i dont believe there is a better package for your money, all factors considered.

I've had my S for coming up to 3 months & the more i drive it the more i love it & most importantly "get it".

 

I'd buy a Glanza if I wanted to impress teenagers down the local McDonalds...I'd get a Subaru if I wanted to wear an anorak...you can pull real women in an S2000!

 

GeeUK - Where in the UK are you?

 

0-100mph in 14 secs is not slow.

Still quicker than the vast majority of hot hatches if you want to compare it to them.

Having said that hot hatches have caught up and in a straightline drag race a VXR Astra is just as quick and the new S3 is faster.

But, having driven a new S3 you cannot compare the cars. The S3 is fast, but not fun to drive. The S2000 is a seat of the pants drive.

Personally, I feel the S2000 needs 280-300bhp, but that's only because I have got a little bored after 2 S2000's.