A potentially stupid question and may get flamed badly -- but i'm still going to ask: Is the S2000 really THAT hard to drive?

No pun intended, and I'm really curious about this. I just hear a lot of people in this forum talking about how hard it is to drive the S because it is a RWD car. Some people were unfortunate to get into serious accidents while others only experienced fishtailing. But then, aren't there a dime and a dozen of RWD cars out there in the market?

I honestly have not driven a S2000 to its greatest limits and do not know how it stacks up with its competitors. Maybe a better question is, if the people screwed up drove another RWD car, like an M3, 996, 350z, etc., would they have messed up?

EDIT: I meant "if it's really that hard to drive the S to its limits, especially compared to other RWD sports cars" Clearly the car is pretty easy to drive on a daily basis -- light clutch, short & precise shifter, responsive engine, relatively enough power to get around most places, etc. Thanks.

 

the s is not hard to drive. it all depends on someones driving skills or the lack of it.

 

That hard to drive= NO !
That hard to drive well at the limits,under different conditions = Yes;it takes quite a bit of practice,but,once you have mastered it,it's very rewarding.!

 

It's just as easy to drive as any other fwd or rwd or awd car. It's just harder to drive to its limits.

 

Probably.

 

i find it hard not to DRIVE this car.

 

To me, the only vehicles that would be hard to drive would be large semis.

The S is not hard to drive at all. It is just a car. The lack of torque helps.

As long as you don't try to pretend you are in a F1 race everytime you drive it, you will be ok.

 

I think there's a whole generation (or two now) that grew up on FWD and are just clueless to how the dynamics differ from RWD. That said, the S is light, has no traction control, and has summer tires, so inexperience (or lack of respect) is a big player.

If teenagers regularly bought Ferraris, you'd hear the same thing with people complaining that Ferraris are hard to drive. People just don't respect the S2000 like they should because of its pedigree and price (imo) and think it will drive just like their Civic only faster.

I've seen people stomp on the gas in a Corvette and end up shooting into the bushes because they don't know how to handle rwd. I hit a patch of ice two nights ago and it was only my experience with ice that kept the car on the road. The fact is, you can get into an S easier because of its low price, so you see more people with less exp in them.

I think it all comes down to experience, and the fact that the only rwd cars you can get anymore are performance biased, so right away you have a lot of power and foreign dynamics against you when you get in a car.

 

I've always wondered this as well. The question about "would they have screwed up in a 350z, m3, 996, etc) is a good one.

I always hear stories about how much harder they are to drive and how much more attention they need on here, but then again I know some owners who drive them (granted non-spirited) and have no problems and one of them is a 67 year old grandmother who is doing good to drive manual, let alone a sports car!

I currently drive an IS300 and plan to be in an s2k any day now and am curious how big of a transition its going to seem like. The is300 is rear wheel drive but it does have traction control (but I rarely see it ever engage, it has a light lol) and not nearly as light.

 

The older s2000s are prone to snap oversteer. This will catch out those that are not experienced at car control. Driving the car at normal speeds, it is just as docile as a Civic. Get on the gas and start pushing it though, it's a totally different beast.