After four Miata's ('90, '92, '00, and an '04) and two S2000's ('00, '06)I can honestly say that the Miata's are a far more fun and exploitable car. Nothing like as quick in a straight line but so much more confidence inspiring.
You want endless, any speed tail out action? You got it.
10/10ths thrash it through the gears, twisty road blasts without melting your licence? Yes.
For pure 'ear to ear' laugh your head off top down fun they just can't be beaten.
The scuttle wobbles, the engine's are uninspiring, they have a girly image and they lose at least 100bhp to the Honda but boy do they hardwire you to the road in a way that the S just doesn't.

So why do I drive an S? I love the build, the engine, the gearbox and the overall bulletproof integrity. It's like an MX5 on methanol with the communication channels blurred.

 

Yes it does! Fast in itself isn't fun. Don't get me wrong, I love the S2k's power, and always believed the Miata was way underpowered. But driving a car to it's limits is FUN and w/the Miata, that was often. Having an "attractive" car or not has nothing to do with having fun DRIVING the car.

I drove Miatas for over ten years and never had a speeding ticket. I had the S2k for 3 months and was caught via laser doing 70+ in a 40!

Have a good one...

 

the new miata=hamburger car. I know that looks are subjective...but why would they design this car sooo ugly?! I dont get it. anyways, I havent driven a miata so maybe that would change my mind...but based on looks alone I would not choose the hamburger.

 

Quite frankly, if stepping out of the S and into the Miata means that your car will wind up in the hands of someone who will appreciate it more than you apparently do, it'd be counterintuitive for me to talk you out of it.

That said, from my personal experience with both cars, test driving a Miata would be enough to make you reconsider trading your S2000 for one.

 

what does "hamburger car" mean?

 

do it

the only reason to get a S2000 over an MX5 is if you're a track ho on a $15K budget. otherwise, for a street car, the MX5 will probably make you happier

 

 

I test drove at least a dozen cars before I bought my S2000. The Mazda Speed Miata was one of the top three or four on my list. I don't have the driving skill to exploit the qualities of my S2000 or the MSM so for me, perhaps the point is moot. The 178 hp and 166 tq of the MSM seemed adequate but I'd decided that if I bought one I'd spend another $2500 on the Flying Miata kit that bumps the hp to around 220 - 230. This won't be a popular opinion on this forum but I even like the looks of the MSM better than the S2000. Believe it or not the decision came down to one thing... the MSM (like the Porsche Boxster) has so little headroom that with the top up, my head creates a 2 inch "bubble" in the canvas. Honda made a great roadster and they didn't leave out the tall guys.

 

do you actually own one or drive one long enough to make that call?

fun car is a car that put a smile on your face when you drive, it doesn't always means it's a fast car. Generally speaking the miata is much more forgiving at the limit, 90% of people would and could drive faster, holds the line better with a miata. it's more confident inspiring also, if you enter a corner at 50mph, i doesn't matter if you 6.2 liter or a 1.6 liter, sure, a torquey motor masks a bad driver's mistake sometime but if you want to learn how to drive the line and proper throttle input, a slower miata will do that better than s2k. of course there's always people do thing with a sledgehammer but a good driver will be faster in the end if you put them into a same car.

miata are older, i don't think you can call them junk and ugly, i don't even know our s2k will age that well like the NA miata, but theres no point arguing that, it just opinionated comment for the most part

so what's a better car? the better car is one that fits your needs.

 

Autocar UK perspective on the '08 update S2000:

This is an expensive toy for what it is, and never mind those 237 yelling horses. Apart from vivid performance - and that