So I'm literally on the edge of purchasing a 2003 Nurburgring Blue S2k with 18,500 miles on it. The dealer has lent me the car for the afternoon and I told them I would return it tonight and be in contact with them tomorrow to finalize the deal. I've been talking with them about the car for the past 3 days and I've been shopping around (also looking at 350z and RX-8) for about a month. I really LOVE the s2k a lot, its my favorite of the bunch so when I found this car at my local VW/Audi dealership I jumped at it. I do have a couple of questions/concerns about it though:

1. The car will be my daily driver. I've been reading a lot on here in the past couple of days and have also read numerous reviews and reliability reports and it seems like an extremely reliable car. How many of you guys have an S2k as your daily driver? Aside from the obvious RWD in wintery weather, have you had any other issues with it as a daily? I know its a rather small car but I don't need a lot of space.

1a. those of you using your s2k as dailt drivers, how is your gas milage? I'm going to be doing about 65% city driving and 35% highway, what kind of economy (or lack there of lol) should I expect if I'm not driving the car very hard all the time. I'm not exactly babying it but I'm definitely not flying around town and what not as I find that to be stupid.

2. This whole AP1 vs AP2 dilema seems similar tothe whole 1.8t vs VR6 thing with VWs (I'm coming from a line of 3 VWs so lol but frankly the S2k is easily nicer/more funthan any of the 3 so far and one of those was a 275whp BT mkIV). I'm not asking which one is better with this, I guess I'm still a little confused as to exactly what the big deal/difference is. I plan on doing A LOT of autox and road course driving with the car (my current Rabbit is not good nor fun for that and after 7 months off the track I can't take it anymore lol) so which "generation" of s2k is better equipped for that? Obviously the one I'm looking at is an AP1 and I really like the high rev range and the longer 1-2-3 gears for autox.

I'll probably add things to this list as I come up with them but right now those are major concerns. I guess I'm pretty much looking for a reason to not buy it and having a hard time coming up with one lol.

Thanks!

 

Car is reliable

Gas mileage is good I get about 250 to think in city/highway driving

If you love it get it, 2003 is a god year.

oh and use the search feature and read up.

Good luck!

 

I went from a 98 gti vr6 turbo with 400whp to a stock 07 s2k and I don't really miss the power. The s2k is more fun on a day to day basis. And I can actually put down all the power.

I think you'll love it, especially if you want to autocross. I've heard the ap1 gearing is better for that.

 

I DD mine, and I get along great with it. I've driven it in snow plenty, and with care, it handles okay. Just don't make any drastic movements on the slippery stuff, and it'll glide right over it.

 

I DD mine, and get about 20-22mpg combined city/highway with a heavy right foot.

My advice to you: Just buy the car!!! You won't regret it.

 

I also daily my car. I went from a 96 accord, so I didn't really have any power to miss. Only problem is that I couldn't fit a laundry basket in the trunk so I had to switch to a giant bag.

Mileage wise, I've been getting around 25-26 MPG with normal driving. (Some vtec cruising at 70-75 on the freeways)

For comparison with AP1 and AP2, I'm a little biased

 

All you need to know is this, you are looking at an AP1, which is the one to have.

 

I DD my AP1 '03. can't weigh in on the autoX thing cause I haven't done it.

reliability will be excellent, its a honda.

gas mileage expect 20-24 depending on how you drive, given your stated mix of highway/city.

for cons I'll only say this: be very careful in snow/rain/cold weather/salty roads, get winter tires if you're going to be in any of that (cept the rain of course).

conclusion: buy it.

 

I DD mine thru snow all the time. get the right tires and the car is fine. The only issue i ever see is my top is gettin old and has a few small tears where a few drops of rain can get thru. its not to bad tho... for a 7 year old top, especially when u consider i have the top down whenever possible.

 

I dd my AP1 and my wife dd's the AP2. The AP2 is a better dd car, softer suspension, better torque, better mpg's. She averages 28-29 mpg in commuting mode. The AP1 is better for fun. I get about 25 mpg in commuting but I do still hit vtec here and there so I guess I could do better. I owned an 05 RX-8 before that for about 18 months. The Mazda is a very nice dd, super comfortable, nice audio, great handling. The thing about the RX-8 is it always leaves you wanting more power. You get the sensation the chassis can handle twice as much power. The aftermarket doesn't really have any reasonable solutions. Oh, and the RX-8 is a total gas pig. I averaged about 20 mpg in normal driving and got a worst tank of 13 mpg when beating her like a red-headed stepchild. Go with the S. I have no winter experience in either but I know the S can be a handful even in rain, be careful.