Question for the masses: How does the low seat height affects your ability to view the road and your ability to judge distance both on the sides of the car (meaning being able to drive through tight spots confidently, without having to slow down) and in front and behind the car (parking, parallel parking).

I've been driving a WRX for the past few years and the ability to "see" around you, notice the driving environment around you, gauge distances in that car is superb. I understand the s2000 will not compare in this area as it's just a low car, low seats, angled windsheild, etc. I also do understand this is subjective and I need to drive the car .

 

I've never had any problem judging distances, etc. Remember, the S2000 is a small car, and IMO the hood design makes it fairly easy to judge the front.

And, yes, you need to drive the car. (I know that'll get you hooked).

BTW, visibility with the top up is quite bad. Not a unique problem to the S2000, but that's just the way it is. With the top up, I strongly recommend angling your side mirrors outward so that you can eliminate your (massive) blind spot.

 

I have two visibility problems

- When I'm at a light, I have to be very careful about where I stop so the plastic around the windshield doesn't block my view of the light.

- Backing up with the top up is scary, even with mirrors properly set.

Chazmo's right. The car is surprisingly small. Just remember that your front is longer than your usual car and your back is shorter than the usual car.

 

I've had that stoplight problem in all my prior convertibles. The windshield frame on the S is pretty beefy though, perhaps more than others I've had... and it's true that stoplights are often in just the wrong place. Who obeys those things, anyway??

 

I think the visibility isn't poor or anything. It certainly takes time to get used to:

1. the long hood (especially when driving up and down narrow ramps in parking lots -- I look like an idiot who just got my license 2 days ago, cuz I always overshoot before turning! But parking isn't an issue, since I always back into a parking spot)

2. the ginormous blind spot with the soft top up (I would imagine the hardtop would help that issue, and putting the top down will completely mitigate the issue)

3. the small rear window (assuming that you have the soft-top up)

4. the short rear (I always feel that people are going to rear end me!)

I'm a short kid (5'6"), and I actually find it easier (visibility-wise) to drive in the S2000 than to drive in a lot of other cars like 350Z and 3-series. A lot of times I would get the right height and distance of the seat for comffy shift-work, but would also get poor visibility (i.e. sit too low).

 

I second that on the rear shorter then you expected. As in backing up I have no problem with that even though I have aftermarket mirrors.

 

The seat is not "low" if you are of average height. If you are a short person, then you should have seen this when you tested the car and thus, realized that this is the way it will always be or contend with having to use a seat cushion.