Absolute joy, brings smile w/ each drive

Getting this car is the most self-indulgent thing I've ever done. Even if I had the money for super exotics, an S2000 would always be in my garage. A drive brings a smile every time, and a good drive relieves the stresses of any bad day. If you enjoy spirited driving, you MUST test drive this car.

HIGHLIGHTS

You get this vivid connection with the road. Engine at your ears, wind in your hair, sun on your face. What more can a driver ask?

Power. The car does feel sluggish below 3K rpm. I normally drive between 3-6K rpm. It's a nice balance of power and not scaring people near you with the sound of VTEC. If you go over 6K (cross VTEC), hold the *bleep* on and make sure there's a clear, straight road ahead! The VTEC transition is so strong that on very cold roads, crossing 6K in first gear will break the tires lose. Don't ever VTEC in turns unless you have lots of professional training.

Handling. Like many editorials have said, you really do wear the car, not drive it. The man-machine interface is seamless and you do become one with it. It responds almost telepathically. It can be unbalanced with hard breaking or throttle. There is a slight body roll during hard cornering. That said, it's still more stable than any production car I've driven.

Braking. The brakes are neck snapping strong. My realworld experience do back the magazine test numbers of 112ft in a 60-0mph stop. The ABS also works well. You have pretty good steering control even during full-on braking. Saved myself of a bad accident that way =O!

Transmission. The stick shift is a joy to row. I use 3 driving styles: engine warmup (2-4K rpm), normal (3-6K rpm), no cops (6-9K rpm). Either way, I keep the car in a narrow rpm band so I shift a LOT! It's always been fun to shift and never tiring. It's like a toy =D. Short and light throws. Even having the shortest throws of any production car, I'm going to buy a Voodoo shift nob that shortens the throws even more. Do take time to practice your shifts. The gears are placed close together so it is easy to shift to the wrong gear. Engine overrev from shifting to the wrong gear is the major cause of blown engines. S2ki.com has many discussions on this.

Comfort. Even given the stiffest factory suspension setting and the best handling of almost any production car out there, the car rarely felt uncomfortable. The engine noise and wind noise from the convertible top is louder than most cars. It gets a little annoying if cruising above 85mph for long periods, but its fine anything slower than that. Other than extremely bumpy and pot holed city streets, the ride is never uncomfortable. It even drives smoother and quieter than my old Corolla.

Honda reliability. What thorough bred roadster sports car has Honda reliability? No $250 oil changes, no special maintenance procedures, any Honda shop can work on it, 15K miles and no problems that weren't my fault. Just don't abuse the clutch, it's not the strongest part of the car.

Practicality. You must think I have a second car and live in a mild climate. I don't. This is my only car. I commute with it. I have snow tires for the winter. You only need to make sure you can live with 2 seats. You cannot squeeze two people on the passenger seat. Not even petite girls.

Community. The community of S2000 owners is a close nit group of kind people from all ages and walks of life. Most can be found on s2ki.com. There are over 30K members and everyone's eager to help you out. S2000 owners even give a wave or highbeam when they see other S2000's on the road.

CONSIDERATIONS
The stock tires are summer tires. They lose much of their grip on cold or wet roads. Take extreme caution. Get snow tires if u need to drive on snow even a little bit.

'00-'03 models can have snap oversteer sneak up on you. Take it to an autocross and really learn the limits. The car will lift-throttle oversteer. People crash s2000's a lot because the car's limits are often higher than a driver's limits. That's why the insurance is so high.

Other complaints, though very minor, are about the cheap radio and thin paint. There are no side-moldings and the body panels are thin also. The car is particularly vulnerable to door dings. s2ki.com has plenty of articles on how to upgrade the radio. It also has articles on how to keep a show-room shine despite the thin paint.

Model year 2004 or model year 2003.
Some of the 04 changes, such as the softened and revised suspension, the reduced 8K redline, and fascia changes were controversial. I believe the 04 is an improved model. It is noticeably a bit faster in any gear or rpm. It resists snap over steer better. And stock 17" wheels and new headlight designs do look much better. If you're considering a S2000, get the 04.