2003 Honda S2000

I'm going to follow my tradition of not re-hashing common, publicly available information, stats, #s, etc. and rather give you my perspective as an owner; the gripes, the grins, and grey areas.

That said, onward with the review of my 2003 Honda S2000, Berlina black in color, bought new off the showroom floor on 22 June 2003, with only 7 miles on the odometer....

THIS IS THE MOST FRIGGIN AWESOME CAR!!! For the price, it is about the most perfect expression of the modern two-seat roadster out today, on par with the Porsche Boxster S-- a car costing $20,000+ more than the Honda S2000.

Mind you, it *is* a roadster, and by design a roadster is going to have a small trunk and semi-tight or snug interior due to the desire to save as much weight as possible. Therefore, any complaints about its small trunk or inability to recline the seats very far are complaints about the impracticality of the roadster design, and should not be directed at this car in particular. To use the S2000 as a daily driver, one has to be ready to accept that he/she is driving a pure 2-seat roadster sportscar. This car is not designed for runs to Costco, and it's not that much fun in traffic (except for the thumbs-ups from other people). Personally, I keep another car for my daily driving, grocery shopping, etc. and use my S2000 for weekends and fun outings.

That said, in it's element, driving this car is like a dream! The razor-sharp handling, the scream and pull of the motor when it enters VTEC*, the top-down exhilaration... it's all there baby! And if you're looking for attention, this car gets a lot of looks and compliments-- FAR more than the Porsche Boxster, which are easily 10x more common here in the SF Bay Area.

* I will go into a brief description of what I meant by "entering VTEC". At approximately 6000 rpm, the cams in the motor shift over to a second set of lobes, which are more like racing cams, with much more aggressive profiles. One of the main reasons for doing this is that racing cams generally idle very rough, and are not really suitable for around-town driving. Thus in the first 6000 rpm, standard cams-- but still quite sporty and responsive-- are used. After 6000 rpm however, the boost in engine performance is *almost* like that of a turbo kicking in, but not quite. However, not having a turbo saves one from having to deal with that added level of complexity and maintenance. Mind you, this motor has a screaming high redline of 9000 rpm, and is designed to be driven right up to that redline too! (No worries about over-revving the motor, it has a fuel cutoff that prevents this, and so feel free to floor it right through VTEC, and shift at 9000rpm.)

In short, the grin on your face lasts long after you shut down the motor.

I love everything about the styling of this car. I think the exterior of the S2000 is one of the sexiest and most original designs on the road today. The interior is snug and fantastic, with all the controls within easy reach. The seats are designed by Recaro and are perfectly snug and supportive. They also look great.

The gear shift on this car is one of the finest you will ever ever feel. The throws are short (like joystick short!), precise, smooth, and wow it just feels so good to snick-snick up and down the gears on empty, twisty backroads, where this car is in its element.

For those isolated 2-lane stretches of scenic mountain or coastal roads, this is your car. This is THE Car. I cannot stress this enough.

Also, as an added benefit, when you get home you can log onto www.s2ki.com and be a part of the online community of S2000 owners. If you have any questions or concerns about ownership of the Honda S2000, this is the place to go. The people there are wonderful and very helpful, and the depth of archived information about almost every aspect of the S2000 is priceless. Be Polite Though and do a Search before posting any questions, as people tend to grow tired (very tired) of answering the same common questions that have been asked before.

Ok, but now for the little gripes I've encountered.

First and foremost, the paint on the S2000 is sub-par. It scratches very easily! I've scratched my fender just by brushing against it with a rough canvas gym bag, and I've accidentally keyed my trunk just by having my keys in the same hand that lifted the trunk.

Secondly, the tires are pretty expensive and cannot be rotated since the rears are wider than the fronts. The general consensus is that the Potenza S-02s that come standard on the S2000, which are fantastically grippy and trustworthy, wear out in 10K to 15K miles. Those costs add up.

Also, these tires are *not* designed for driving in the rain. There are other tires that can be purchased that are better for winter driving, because the S-02 have been known to spin in the wet. "S-O" is commonly known to mean "summer only".

Third, Supreme Unleaded is expensive! I've been tracking my fuel usage, and I average 23.9 MPG of mostly Hwy driving. These costs also add up.

Lastly, if you don't know how to drive a sportscar, but think you do, you will spin this car out. That's right, the rear will go to the front, and you will be facing the opposite direction you were headed. In other words, if you don't know that entering a turn at high-speed AND lifting off the throttle (commonly known as "chickening out") or worse yet, stepping on the brakes, is a Bad Idea, you will spin out in this car. Very likely that means an expensive repair bill.

Does that mean that this car has a tendency to spin out? Hardly. It has a perfect 50-50 weight distribution, excellent suspension and tires, and in the right hands is perfect for driving aggressively. But that takes skills. If you don't have those skills, go get 'em before you get overly aggressive in the S2000. As a daily driver, driven moderately as one would drive any other car, the S2000 is fine-- very forgiving and predictable. If all you've ever driven are front-wheel drive cars, *definitely* explore the limits of this car incrementally and strongly consider taking a driving course at a race track. It's fun anyway, and you'll be able to truly discover what a magnificent car the Honda engineers put together for us. Know your limits before exploring the limits of this car, because very likely your *own* limitations will get you into trouble long before you reach the limits of the S2000.

Now, is this the car for you? Go look at yourself in the mirror and say to yourself, "I want to own an amazing 2-seat roadster. I can deal with the minor impracticalities because a sportscar is not designed to be practical. It is designed to put a huge grin on my face and dammit I haven't had enough of those."

Say that three times, and if you're smiling more broadly each time you say it, get out and buy one right away! You won't regret it.