S2000 and Turbo Miata

If anyone care to read the review from an owners perspective. Careful its long, 14,000 words

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=227349

Nice write up . I've always thought there's a good chance I would be driving a Miata if not for the S2k.

Good job remaining objective and unbiased, as well as coming to the (logical) conclusion that one is not simply "better" than the other, but that taking the price differences into consideration, they are both great driver's cars.

Just curious, but why did you end up trading in your '05 for an '07?

I would love to hear your comparison including the M Roadster as well.

nice write up indeed.

really good.

loanshark - well written thorough review that goes beyond what someone can gather from a brief test drive. Your review of the BMW M Roadster is EAGERLY anticipated....

although if you like it better than the S - your banned

The new Miata (NC) actually handles just as well, if not slightly better, than the S2000, even with it's slightly crappy stock suspension.


I love both cars. I just love roadsters

This post has been edited by Bavarian Motorist on Apr 11 2007, 06:40 AM

very unbiased writeup. well written! I would love to drive a MSM miata just to see the difference between the two. If I didnt own an S I would look into purchasing an MSM just because of the handling.

Great review!

As a previous owner of a '03 LS 6spd with a BRP stage 3 MP62 supercharged Miata and '06 S2000, I agree with your review. I feel it is accurate and as un-biased as it could be.

Personally, I prefered the power delivery of my supercharged Miata compared to my S2000, even though both cars perform equally in acceleration.

Mike

The MSM performs equally in acceleration?


I thought the S2K was much faster.

This was a very well done comaparison/review - thanks for posting.

I've owned both Miata & for last 3 years S2000 - I've always seen the S as about twice the car for one third more money - in general terms.

The MSM was very temptinging for me when I was looking at '03 AP1; '04 AP2 S's & the MSM. I liked the car very much & it could have been had for approx 6K less...

This past weekend I had a short drive time behind the wheel of an '06 NC MX-5 with Sport suspension... I didn't really get a chance to warm it up or push it but in around the neighborhood driving it felt very very floaty compared to my stock '04 S...not at all like it could or would handle better.

my .02

How would you measure handling?


Skidpad lateral acceleration..?



Or is there a way to measure cornering ability?



If we're talking lateral acceleration, the Miata has been reported from .89-.91 g of acceleration... and the S2K, from the reports I've seen, .88-.9



I don't know what that means in real world driving, though.

Read again... Thats a modfied miata (with SuperCharger) against stock S2000

Well, technically the Mazdaspeed is not modified since it was a factory option. Now, if they were to offer a new Mazdaspeed with the turbo engine in the Mazdaspeed 3 I would deff. be interested.

Good writeup! Both are great cars. The Miata is more fun while the S2000 has higher performance limits IMHO.

thanks for the opinions, i have always loved miatas...i had a 1990 and a 2001, and now my 2004 s. i love roadsters as well. i think you have the best of all worlds with both, the best nb miata and a honda.

my opinions, although not was in depth experience wise, as i have not owned a msm, are simular to yours, i can appreciate them both and they are not in the same league, other than being top down cars with 4 cyl from japan.

in the end i can only have one at a time, so i choose the better (IMHO) daily driver, my honda.my last miata, a 2001 ls, had a new engine, three clutches, and two sets of brakes in it's 2.5 year lifespan with me, not to forget the gas tank recall/replacement, so mazda quality is just not there. my honda has had no trips to the dealer, no oil use, and not a problem in three plus years. i also do my fluid and filter changes.

thanks again for the info, and it is nice to see someone who can appreciate all these cars for what they are and not bash this one or that.

Yes but not that I'm a mazda expert, but a BRP stage 3 MP62 supercharger sounds like and googles like a kit/mod, though correct me if I'm wrong or let me know if you weren't a follow up to me.

We're talking about different cars here

The MSM is the factory turbocharged NB miata

The BRP stage 3 mentioned is a regular Miata, no mazdaspeed, with a supercharger kit added.

I said it in my review, the S2000 is a mid 5sec 0-60 car, and the MSM is a mid 6 second car. The S2000 14 second 1/4mile whereas the MSM runs about 15.5 or so.

Yes the MSM is a factory turbo charged car. Both the MSM and S2000 used in the review are stock, as delivered from the factory.


Thanks for the kind words everybody. Nice to see some have the patience to read a long review.

To answer the question why I traded the 05 S2000 on a 07 S2000, when I 05 didn't even have 2000 miles on it, well, I was going to get out of the S2000 and get a IS350 or BMW 335 or a G35S model 4 door.

But I ended up buying ANOTHER S2000, that is how great the car truly is.

Glad you stuck with the S2K. It really is something special.

And great comparison between the two cars. Was surprised to hear you think the S2000 has LESS room inside than the NB Miata. I was originally thinking of getting a MSM instead of my S2000 (because of the price difference) and when I sat in just a regular NB Miata, I felt really squished and like I was much bigger than the car. I don't feel that way in my S2000 at all despite the larger center tunnel in the S.

amazing write up.
i have always been a fan of the miatas. great cars!!

"though the S2000 boasts 8 speakers."

where are my other 6 speakers????

Two Front door speakers, 2 tweeters, 4 roll hoop speakers? 2006 model?

RE:INTERIOR SPACE

Try sitting in the passenger seat in the S2000 and the passenger seat in the MSM. The foot well in the S2000 is much narrower and with the floor bar, it really hampers leg room. The MSM feels like a Caddilac in comparison.

omg i considered the MSM before buying the s2k, but i thought i'd go Naturally aspirated... and my previous NB didn't quite cut the handling part for me...

This is a good review and it's nice to hear from someone who has both cars.

I skimmed down the responses and no offense but it seemed like it was all women. I don't like the cup holder, glove box is too small, I can't hold my sweetheart's hand, the stiching here is a bit off, there is no integrated nail polisher. OMFG are you people serious!? I wouldn't give a crap about any of that. Have you seen the interior of a Lotus Elise?

Yes it's nice to have if you drive it every day but it carries absolutely no weight when deciding on the raw performance of a machine. That is what you are looking for isn't it? Otherwise you should probably go get an SUV or a Lexus.