For me the honda was the better car, that is after owning two miatas and enjoying most of that experience. i had a na and a nb. the na was as trouble free as my honda, the nb was a real lemon.

i would own another miata and also would buy another S2000 if circumstances changed for me. By far they are both great choices.

i would rather have the Honda any day of the week, and the money, it is really relative as resale tends to be superior with the honda and my "return" is the best(ownership experience over all).

the very first time i drove the honda, a used 2000 car, i was hooked and did not get it outta my mind, i knew that would be my next car. my 2001 NB had so many sick days that it helped me choose sooner than i expected to.

I waited for the 2004 model, almost bought a 2003, but ended up buying the newer car without a test drive...so i was trusting that honda did the changes right, and i think they did.

 

again, comparing modified miatas to stock s2000s? stock vs. stock i think the S will be dominating.
-Chris

 

IMO miata are great fun daily driver. i had one for about 5 months before i bought s2k.

 

I have to admit that I always thought of the Miata as a kind of "sissy" car. That was before I started autocrossing, now I have a whole new level of respect for that car. It seems to be built to be a true sports car, just like the S, and I respect that. I also noticed that every change they made to the MX5 made the car more S2000-like, so I suspect I would like that car quite a bit. I also agree that it was a very civilized thread that didn't veer off to bashing the other car like it would have here. Tony

 

I posted on their site lol

 

Agreed. The Miata is a good car, nothing wrong with them. I think Mazda restarted the convertable craze and did it the right way. Zoom zoom.

 

Almost all the Miata guys I've ever met have been very cool. Just seems like almost all import drop-top owners get along to a certain degree. Miata owners and I often exhange waves when we catch eyes with each other in traffic.

And having driven both cars, I can honestly say that both are very fun to drive. So rather than argue about which one is better than the other, why don't we agree that both are great sports cars and a blast to drive?

 

I'm surprised at their honesty. 66% of them admitted that they'd rather have an S2000. I had a Miata I leased from 97- 99 it was a great little sportscar but in a different league than the S2000. Now that the new ones are putting out 170 horsepower, I think Mazda has narrowed the gap between the 2 cars substancially but the chassis still can't hold a candle to an S2000 I don't care how many upgrades you bolt on.

 

Gents, this is truly an interesting thread and the one on Miata.net also. Good to see neither bashing but being appreciative of each vehicle's abilities and strongpoints. Also any negatives. The choice between these cars really is multi-faceted and depends on personal tastes, what someone wants to do with the car, etc.

Now, I come from sort-of an unbiased position, even though I own an AP1 (recently). I recently sold a turbo Sentra SE-R that I tracked, occasionally autoxed and drove on the weekends.

When looking to make a move and get a convertible, the S2000 was at the top of my list. To make my choice difficult, I had a good friend selling a well sorted Miata turbo (very nice car). I just couldn't bring myself to buy that car. Even though it was an awesome car, it was just too feminine or whatever you want to say; cute. It may be the greatest autocross car in the world, but I wasn't living on the autox course. I drive my S on the weekends and occassionally during the week.

Again, nothing to prove (obviously after owning a 91 SE-R), but the S is truly what I wanted; aggressive tough looks, high tech engine, Honda quality; very capable chassis (to try and hang with the SE-R LOL), semi-exclusive, etc.

To compare the Miata (not MX-5); (again just my take) not aggressive styling, typically whimpy wheel/tire combo, not overly impressive performance in stock form. Take a look at depreciation; for some reason Mazdas seem to depreciate at a faster rate than other imports. Since I don't drive my car often, I didn't want a car that depreciated relatively quickly, especially when sitting in my garage.

 

I drove the new Miata at the Mazda Zoom Zoom event. It's a GREAT car. Very much like the S except not as raw, but the steering and handling feel feels a little better than the S. People who bash it have never driven it or probably insecure...