After all my complaining about the S2000 for the past few months, I have really grown to love my car. I drove a 00 Vette the other day and the handling just sucked. It had a lot of power, but I felt like I was driving a pickup truck. The S2000 is a real sports car and I love it to death. I don't think that there is another car under $50,000 that I would even consider trading my car in for. I have finally realized that in-line speed is not as important as I first thought. I was too worried about trying to beat every ricer that passed me with a fart muffler. I apologize for the comments that made eariler this year about the S2000 being inadequate. Although I would love to see the car's torque bumped up to about 200 lbs/ft.

 

Better than a Vette in the handling department?

Gotta disagree with you on that one. Sorry. You need to drive a Z06 and then you will see what all the fuss is about.

 

Thanks for bringing this up -- I'm a big Corvette fan, especially the current C5 generation. I haven't yet driven one, but would be interested in hearing more about the contrast. Was your Vette manual or automatic? Did you have the Traction Control activated? Did it feel big?
Etc. Etc...I really need to test drive one for myself, but I imagine the S2000 is a lot more tossable.

 

The Z06 or the C5 are better or on par with the S2000 (handling guys not speed). BUT, the feeling the S2000 gives the driver is unsurpassed when comparing it to larger and heavier cars especially the BIG vettes.

 

The Vette felt really really big. The nose is soooooo long. Plus all the extra room in the cock pit makes you feel disconnected from the car. I drove an automatic with the traction control both on and off. The power was there, but there was so much that it lacked. Also, the transmission was not as smooth as I thought it would be. Also, the engine sounded so untuned, much unlike the high revving S2000. I didn't care for that deep grunting sound emitting from under the hood. I much rather hear the fine tuned S2000's engine. Also, the C5's interior sucked big time. The leather was all cracked, and the heat and radio controls look like they belong in a Malibu or Caviler. The trunk space was longer but not as deep than the S2000's. I like the Corvette's display layout better than the S2000's digital display. The dealership offered me $29,000 for the vette. It only had 19,000 miles. They said that it had been on the lot for a while and they were trying to get rid of it. I told them that I preferred my S2000 to the vette. The sales man didn't believe me until I took him for a spin. He said that the car felt much more solid and that he could tell that it was a much better built vehicle.

 

When it comes to handling....

Driver > Car

... I get spanked by Z06s and Miatas all the time at the Auto-X ...

An awesome handling car in the hands of a poor driver will always loose to a so-so handling car in the hands of a better driver when it comes to the twisties.

Straight line?? Bah.

-- Aaron

 

Ummm...ok.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by honda606
[B]Better than a Vette in the handling department?

Gotta disagree with you on that one.

 

I had a 98 Targa coupe Vette, auto with 2.73 gears and the base FE1 suspension.. I would have to give it to the S2000 as far as "tossablity" goes, especally when comparing it to the base suspension C5..

Then I drove a friends 2001 Z06(1st year for the Z06).. it woudn't be fare to compare his Z06 to a S2000, because he had much wider Potenza S02's on it(aftermarket of course) than the S2000 has, he also had aftermarket shocks and the aftermarket/racecar T1 suspension setup(alot stiffer than the Z06's FE4 stock suspension). With those mods, it would make a S2000 look like a pickup in handling/sticking to the road comparison..

I never had a problem with the interior on my C5, I'd say the leather was as good as the S2000's, and I liked the rest of the interior.. yes the head unit was the same one that you can find in more plebian GM vehicles, but I'd be willing to bet that the head unit on the S2000 comes from cheaper vehicles too...

 

the way a car "feels" and how fast it is have very little to do with each other.
I can belive the "feels" worse then the S2000 in handling, but that doesn't mean it is slower through corners. The small size of the S2000 and tight turning steering wheels give you an amazing feeling of control and speed.