[QUOTE]Originally posted by pfb
at http://64.38.155.225/boards/986/main.pl?re...d=344979#344979.

Quote:

steve -- Saturday, 21 April 2001, at 6:01 p.m.

...The carpet looked like it was painted onto the floor....

Carpit IS PAINT on the floorboard with some fuzz stuck to it.

 

I was at Phillips Auto in newport beach looking at a second car when two guys kept circling my S. I went out to chat with them and it turned out they're both car buffs owning 6-7 cars between them including the Boxster S. They spent another 5 min. checking out the car and kept saying "Honda got it right" The guy invested over 75K in the boxster S and is now trying to sell it. About the digital dash, if anyone really hates it, Spoon sells a more original dash with much less gizmos.

 

Well i can think at least one point he forgot, the s2000 is MUCHHHH less expenive then the porsche, so in all reality the porcshe should be in a different league then the s2000, but its not, a credit to the sweetness of the s2000. But ill admit those boxters are a pretty bada$$ machine and i wouldnt mind taken one for a spin.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mindcore
Actually coming from a Boxster owner, I think it was a great review. ...

 

I actually found the S2000 quite forgiving especially since a lot of people are saying it's not. I didn't push the car to its limits when I test drove of course so my view might change. But under normal driving conditions it is definately not as scary to drive as some people are saying. In fact I found it much easier to drive than my Prelude.

 

Great comparison, I think it sums up an important difference between the S2000 and other similar cars; the other guys are more cushy and because of traction control and other choices such as understeer do some of the driving and thinking for you. Sometimes this is called being more forgiving, and is a good thing in daily driving and if you are not Michael Schumacher. The S2000 is that bit more basic and hard edged, but because of this also puts less stuff between you and the driving experience. You have to be more sharp and sensitive to what the car is doing. It can be tiring to some but I find this so fun, each drive has an amount of adrenaline in it, even a commute. You're not likely to fall asleep behind the wheel in this one.

[grey]--------------------------o0o---------------------------[/grey]

[grey]2000 S2000 - 1998 VFR800 - 2000 Atos[/grey]

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SixthGear
[B] About the digital dash, if anyone really hates it, Spoon sells a more original dash with much less gizmos.

 

"The rear axle is a true torsen limited slip. You can feel it bind as you take sharp corners and apply power. Either you love it or you hate it."

I noticed this also. I wonder if that's why it's just so easy to snap that rear end out on sharp corners.

Oh, and I do think that the s2k is a penalty box with the top up.

 

I think that was a very fair comparision, in particular from a BoxtserS owner ... it's commmon thing to assume that what is 'different' or 'unfamiliar' is wrong/bad. First time I drove the S2000 (after driving my old car for 5 years and a few Boxsters on occasions) I did not like it. I though it was way too 'twitchy' and didn't think it had any 'real' power. Took me good 6 weeks to get used to S2000's 'twitchiness' - what it is, is the insanely fast response time of the front end (ie. you tug on the wheel and the car darts of in that direction) as well as the incredible lack of understeer (not a bad thing). I kept on thinking that the back of the car cannot handle the front moving so fast. Now, 3 months later, I know that the back end is more than happy with the front darting over the place and I can actually induce understeer on the car. Took me good 6 weeks though. As far as the 'lack of power' goes ... well that's because I didn't take it much past 7k revs 1st time I drove the S2000 .... and up to there the S2000 does not have much more power than a Prelude. Though, I did find the 'power' 2nd time I test drove an S2000 :-)

The dash was what detracted me the most from the S2000 before I bought it. I really disliked it. I'd still take the MX5, RX7 or BoxtserS dash over mine anyday, but I'm used to it now and it does not bother me. I still would not go anywhere close to saying that I love it but each to their own.

 

I'm with majority verdict on this one guys - very fair comparison. The S2000 is very spartan but I see this as a strength - nothing (including a clock) to distract you. In that way it is like a motorcycle - you don't buy a sports bike to be entertained by the stereo, instead you want something that is focussed on performing with just the basics to let you know what is going on.

I think the dash design is brilliant in this regard - it is so easy to see what is going on with just a glance down there, quite contrary to what people initially expect but then again being based on Formula 1 dash design I figure those guys would know what does and doesn't work.

Overall though the Stook is much more like a 75 Porsche than a modern one. It's a true sports vehicle, not the compromise machine that the Boxster needs to be if it's going to appeal to those who finally have enough income to afford one but will mostly drive for show rather than go.