I came from a MY00 Honda s2000 to a 2005 Subaru Wrx Sti and back to my beloved MY01 Honda S2000. When I first purchased my first Honda s2000, my first impressions was that it is a very uncomfortable car. The wind noise seeped through the weather stripping and soft top, engine noise, tire noise, and of course a loud clutch buzz when decelerating on gear (in Ap1 models).The car was also very low and I was not use to having to angle the vehicle to get over a steep drive way and tall speed bumps. Also the stock stereo in my Ap1 was not of the best quality. The volume was actually almost maxed out to overcome the horrid cabin noise. Despite of the cabin noise, the Honda s2000 is a great and very rewarding car to drive. The 2.0L engines is very reliable and with a 9000 redline this engine is the soul of the car. Although it may lack torque to serious motorheads, I would say that when winding this engine to redline it compensates for its relatively low numbers on paper, compared to that of the all mighty Subaru Wrx Sti. Of course, the s2000 is RWD, compared to that of the Subaru Wrx Sti AWD capabilities, its NA compared to turbo, 2 seats compared to a practical sports sedan. That’s the reason why I sold my MY00 s2000, I wanted a more practical, faster, sports sedan. Subaru Wrx Sti was the way to go.

I loved the Subaru, it was a great car. The engine revved beautifully, the boxer rumble, sweet suede interior, and one of the best AWD systems. And believe me; I thought the STI was a rocket in stock form, with big gains from stage 1 to stage 2. Awesome BBS wheels, big brembo brakes! Everything we see seems to be superior to that of the Honda roadster. I took the STI to areas of snow with my girlfriend (ex-girlfriend now), and it was a blast. The car was safe, roomy, and comfortable! But in my own personal opinion the STI lacked character; in which, the Honda s2000 always has. When I owned my STI I thought that car was 10/10, but I missed the high revving s2000 which I believe has better handling and makes a better drivers car. Also because the STI is still in production we see more of them around, which may desensitize people of the “Head Turning” factor. The s2000 will be hard to come by in 10 years’ time, whereas the STI will most likely still be around. You cannot escape the experience of the Honda s2000, that is why I came back to mine.

Personal opinion:
STI
Handling- 7.2/10 (boaty-heavy feel. Understeer)
Power-8/10
Braking-8.5/10
Road Feel-6/10
Practicability-9/10 (all weather-seats 5). I don’t have a family = perfect
Looks- 6.5/10

Honda S2000
Handling- 8/10
Power-7/10
Braking-6.5/10
Road Feel-8.2/10
Practicability-4/10
Looks- 8.5/10




My opinion: Drive the s2000 first. Top down and Top up. Keep it NA if you purchase. For at least 1 year, and ask yourself if you can live with one as a DD. I can. I do miss my STI at times when I see them driving by. I usually snap a picture.

 

Resurrecting this thread because I came across a beautiful boosted S2k in Black. Obviously it looks like every component has been touched and curious if going right to a boosted s2k if there are any regrets. From what I see in pics...looks like it is kept in great condition. Body has 113K on it, tranny has 32K on it, motor (fully built) has 5k on it. Asking $15,000.
-2.3L Stroker
-AP2 Block/AP1 Head
-Cp Pistons
-Carrillo Rods
-Machined crank
-Supertech Valves and valve springs/retainers
-Stock Cams
-1000cc injectors
-Precision 57/57 Turbo
-Aeromotive 340 Fuel Pump
-Clutch masters twin disc clutch
-Upgraded LSD with 4.4 gears

Evidently running 400whp. I will be seeing it Wed evening. Ill post pics!

 

I went from a Forester XT to an S2000.
Only downside is the lack of room.

Love it otherwise

 

Personally, I would never buy a boosted s2000. Seems like a lot of trouble for the seller to boost the car, than sell it. If the engine has only 5k on it, why are they selling if it was just built? Doesn't make sense to me. I would rather buy the s2000 stock, than boost it myself if needed. That will give me rest, knowingly that everything was done my way.

 

Same reason I want to get rid of the sti. Just built it and got it as far as I ever wanted it. Simply want something different now. Obviously I will be checking this with a mechanic from nose to rear end.!

 

I came from a 2006 WRX STi Stage 2 tuned. Never dynoed, but was street tuned. I figure a good 360AWHP on 94 octane was a reasonable guess though.

I switched to the S2000 for a number of reasons.

The S2000 I bought was a year 2000 and was unmolested and way low miles (35,000km). I sold my STi as it was daily driven for the first two years I owned it, and then daily driven for two summers, and always garage parked. It had 160,xxx miles on it when I sold it. I got a decent enough price to buy the S2000 outright. So in a sense, it was the right deal for the right time.

The STi made me drive a certain way that attracted the attention of law enforcement, age may have been a factor too. Any reasonably performance oriented turbo vehicle will break every speed law known to man in seconds. This is my fault, but boost is intoxicating. The S2000 is fast, but in a different way. I have also matured since I bought the STi and that car while fond in my heart represents a different time in my life.

I would be lying if I said that the maintenance for the STi was a bit more expensive than the S2000 and running an AWD turbo car anywhere costs a good bit in fuel. My gas bill has gone down since getting the S2000. I also have two less axles and two less diffs to service. Parts also seem more reasonably priced.

Usability is about the same in the two cars for me. The back seat never had a pass through on the 2006 model so you could not drop the seats and open up the back. So I really only lost the back seat which was rarely used. I don't have children or aspirations to have any at this point in my life. I have given enough people rides around in my life so not having a back seat works out kind of nice. If I need to haul something, I have other vehicles I can use.

The lose of horsepower never bothered me. The S2000 is plenty fast in stock tune.

The S2000 looks better or something along those lines. When I bought the STi I knew why I bought the car but I asked myself why I bought it when I saw it. It was like being on a mystery date and having some hype built up, only to meet your date and she is a "butter face". When I saw the S2000 I bought for the first time, I was impressed.

 

360whp would be from a very, VERY high reading dyno. 300 - 320whp would be a better guess.

 

Thanks to two above...appreciate you sharing. Financial issue coming up def have a factor in this decision as well. I have an offer on my sti for $25k whereas I can get an s2k for $15k. That extra $10k in the savings account does not sound bad right now. I will post pics of it soon. Maybe someone on here...?

Also,,,,yes the dyno prob was a very high reading dyno.,,,a stage 2 sti runs around 300whp. I had a number of tunes on my sti. Stage 2 being one of them.

 

Coming from a 2011 Plasma Blue - JDM STi with 2.0 liter twin scroll turbo and 308hp to a 2002 S2000 with 250hp (JDM).

Yes there is less power, but there is also a LOT less weight!

The STi feels more luxurious and modern (of course since its like 10 years newer).

For me the S2000 is more fun to drive and feels as fast when you hit VTEC. I feel the S2000 is way better on the curves (my community is on a small mountain here in Chiba) which makes it a very enjoyable ride.

I did not even hesitate stepping down (I wouldn't even call it that) from my STi to the lower priced S2000 and don't regret it one bit. (plus it helped the S2000 only had 13k miles on it)

The extra money is all going towards mods though... (^_^)