Hello everyone, my name is Kevin, and I wanted to share my recent experience driving an S2000 for the first time. I have always had a soft spot for Hondas being that my first car was a 1994 Honda Civic DX hatchback. The Honda S2000 has always appealed to me because of its compact size, nimble handling, and classic Honda reliability. You will almost always find an S2000 or two at any given track event. I have finally narrowed down my list of choices to just the Honda S2000 as the most appropriate platform for me to build as a "weekend warrior."

As a birthday present to myself, I decided to rent a S2000 for the day to get a feel for what the car is like under spirited driving conditions, and also how the car operates under daily driving conditions. I started the day off by picking up the car at 10:00 a.m. sharp. The weather was perfect for having the top down! With the top up, I was surprised at just how powerful the A/C system is! With more than 144,000 miles on the odometer, this S2000 had definitely been driven, but that did not worry me. Even for someone who had not operated a manual transmission in months, I immediately noticed how easy and smooth the clutch and gearbox on the S2000 were to operate. I was also surprised at how much bolstering the factory seats provided!

I was a bit worried that 237 horsepower might be boring and uneventful, but as soon as I hit the freeway on-ramp and opened up in second gear I forgot all about that! The F22C1 has plenty of power and the factory gear ratios really bring the car to life. Even with the factory exhaust system and airbox, VTEC is quite loud! I'm very fortunate to live a few miles away from a very popular driving road in Southern California known as Angeles Crest Highway. This is where the S2000 really shines! The brakes are very well balanced and offer plenty of stopping power for a stock car. The short ratio gearbox helps keep the S2000 in a usable power band at all times and the shifter is so smooth and crisp! I loved how the steering felt so on-center, but I was rather disappointed when I discovered that the height of the steering wheel cannot be adjusted. I noticed that the transmission tunnel builds up quite a bit of heat as well but, that's just the nature of the beast.

To sum things up, I think the $108 I spent to rent an S2000 for the day was a great investment! I didn't want my first S2000 experience to be at the dealership because I would most likely fall in love with the car regardless of any flaws which I don't want happening. If all goes well, I am hoping to purchase a MY04-05 for myself in a few months' time! In the meantime, I'll be impatiently waiting for that day to come! If you've made it this far, thank you for reading my post!

 

Nice post! Good luck, with your hunt.

 

First off, how do you rent an S2000? What, does CA have some 10+ year old used sportscar rental agencies or something?

As for the tunnel heat, they aren't supposed to do that. You can add some some insulation to the tunnel area, but probably that car just had a missing insulator in shifter area, allowing engine and trans heat into cabin. Easy inexpensive fix.

 

Thank you!

I used a website called Turo which is basically like Airbnb for cars.

 

I just checked out this Turo site. I even see people renting out their M3s for like $250 per day. While I'd love to go beat on some really nice cars for a day I can't imagine listing my own cars on there. I would never let a total stranger fart in my seat for a measly $200.

 

You're hooked ! Get one !

 

I know right. I mean I understand there are some luxury rental companies on there but I also see (what seems like) private M4,911s, Corvette's listed for 200-300 for a day (100 miles). How can you have the money to buy a 911 but need the extra cash to allow someone else to drive it?

I mean I am not complaining. I actually am considering renting some cars I always wanted to try out in a non-dealer setting but always seemed like a scam to me. Glad others have found it useful.

 

What if they promise not to fart in your seat while they're destroying your synchronizers?

 

It's insanity. You see some well known "show cars" on Turo too, the type you'd find at SEMA. I guess these guys can afford the parts but not the finance payments.

 

Great post! An AP2 is certainly the way to go. I love everything about mine, 10 years after buying it. Can't imagine selling it for anything but another S2000. Or...a NSX lol.