I've made two round trips between Seattle and San Francisco since 3/20 when I got my S. It's about 800 miles each way. The road surface differing greatly as you change from one state to the next and within counties. I don't find the ride harsh at all. Firm, yes, and I can drive for hours on end and not get tried. The ride doesn't "beat you up". This is in a '04 - How the ride in a '03 would be I don't know, but I suspect it would be more firm as the '04 rear suspension was softened a touch to improve handling.

Of course YMMV

Erik

 

estwokay:

What dealers are you looking to purchase from? I was looking last month and found a few 03s still available. I got a price of 29.5k from one dealer but that was a casual inquery. I didn't try to negotiate at all. They did say they were trying to move the 03s that were left.

 

I had this concern as well, coming from a miata with sports suspension. the S does not beat you up, rather you do feel some irregular surfaced roads, depending on what you have in the car(load weight, full tank, passenger), and the surface of the road...but it does not beat you up.

i have driven hours to a track meet and the most i drove in two days was 500 miles. i would not hesitate to take this on a 200-300 mile trip or longer...that being said it is a sports car and you do feel the road and the room and comfort factor is not that of a sedan.

no regrets on it's interstate cruising behavior.

 

I've only had trouble driving on freeway in one place: I-10 in the west part of Louisiana. This is because the freeway there is composed of rectangular blocks that are very old, and have very jarring seams between them. Kerthunk, kerthunk, kerthunk ... fortunately there was only 20 or so miles of that to endure.

IMO, it all depends on the freeway you're driving on. The freeways around Austin, TX and up to Dallas/Ft Worth are all pretty smooth and my S2000 is a dream to drive on them. However, if you do a lot of driving on some very bumpy freeways, you'll probably have a problem.

I drove 6000 miles across a bunch of the Western states back in '01, and had no problems whatsoever. Those roads are night and day vs that stretch in Louisiana.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by estwokay
WPS - My friend's '03 is stock, he bought it new.

 

Thanks, I 'll have him check for the spacers.

Smokey0066, I've looked at all fice of the Honda dealers in teh Metro area. Most are around $29,500 or so for their '03s. Luther brookdale quoted $28,800 over the phone for the one '03 they have left, a Silver one. Most don't seem to want to go much below invoice, if any, even on an '03. I always thought that dealers erned commisions of sorts from the dealer for evey car they sell, so I expected a little wiggle room on '03s. On the other hand, if you look at Edmond's or Kelly Blue Book, they quote about the same retail price for a USED '03. Lookinf at it that way, it's a pretty attractive deal.

 

I haven't had any good experiences with Honda dealers in the cities. None would let me drive an 04. Back in Eau Claire I stopped by the small local dealer on a whim and there was a red one on the lot and the dealer asked me if I wanted to drive it. In retrospect, maybe I should have said no.

 

Having "switched" from a 2001 Miata LS with the sport-suspension, to an MY04 S2k, the wife and I both find the ride better...Firmer, more taught suspension, less roll on quick lane changes, flatter cornering, more power throughout the gears, and much better seats (for our tastes) We are very frequent "car trip" people, and also take cross-country or trips from the midwest out east or down south frequently, so car "comfort" is something we both want...Our definition though is not Buick or Olds-style comfort, it is performance comfort, good suspension (but not harsh), need to feel the road/bumps and be very connected to the road, have supportive yet comfortable seats that she can sleep it when very tired...The S2K keeps her happy for comfort, and me happy for all the rest of it's attributes!

-Justin