2006 Honda S2000 Review

woodbury
10/16/2007

Ownership Status: I own this vehicle.
Recommendation: I recommend this vehicle.

Pros -Gearbox/Shift Linkage -Handling -Acceleration -Brakes -Stiff Body Structure -Styling -Soft-top Operation (quick)

Cons -Interior Storage -Road/Wind Noise at Freeway Speeds -Stereo

A modern sports car classic.



It's a beautiful car, I get positive comments regularly about its looks. The front end is particularly striking, and the cars beautiful curves as seen from the drivers seat are almost seductive. The body appears to be draped over the wheels, I never tire of walking into the garage and seeing this car.

The interior looks good, the digital speedo and bar graph tach are very easy to read and look great. controls are well placed, and the big red "start" button is a great addition for a sports car. the center stack is nice with the covered stereo.

Overall fit and finish are excellent, the paintwork is flawless and the trim, lights and exhuast tips fit and look great.

Good but not great. The leather is good, plastic and vinyl are okay, it's not up to the exterior standard.

Though it could use a little more low-end power, when it passes 6,000 RPM and VTech kicks in, it's a marvel. Some days I can't help myself from searching out roads where I can hold down the accelerator and feel the rush to redline. My only complaint is I wish the engine sounded better, including the exhuast note, it's slightly rough sounding, even though it revs smoothly and without hesitation to redline.
Overall, great engine.
Since there's no category for the gearbox, I must say, it's the best linkage/gearbox combination I've ever had the pleasure of rowing. The smooth, short throws of the shifter have me hoping for a red light so I can go down and back up through the gears one more time. Snick-snick, indeed.

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Predictable, with little body roll, dive or squat, the S2000 simply goes where it's pointed. After a day at a race track, where I put 110 miles of driving at my limit, the brakes never faded once. Everything happens, right now with the S2000, it's a poised athlete.

I'm satisfied with it, my normal routine of tooting around town typically returns 23-24 MPG. If there's more freeway driving, the number goes up to 26+ MPG.
As an aside, I went through a tank of gas at a track day this year and returned 11 MPG (and worth every ounce)!

No options. I'm happy with the feature set of the car.

Fuel and a couple oil changes for maintenance. The insurance is very reasonable and the fuel economy good. Overall--cheap.

I've driven all the competitive makes priced below $60k, are some of them better? Sure, but 50% better? No. Even 20% or 10% better? I don't think so. I can say, without qualification, that there isn't a better sports car in the market at the S2000's price of $34k. This is not just a good sports car, it's a great one.



Terrific sports car, with sports car looks, handling, braking and performance, but also with sports car noise and ride. Some things in life are a compromise. That said, it's a great car to live with day-in, day-out. From scooting around town and short trips, to autocrossing and track days, this car covers them all with ease, grace and perfect reliability. The only thing I don't ever see myself doing in the S2000 is taking a long trip in it (more than a couple hours)--it's noisy on the highway above 70 MPH. Finally, if there's an appreciably better pure sports for under $50k, I don't know about it. The balance of everyday use and track star is fantastic. Is it perfect? No! It could use a little more low-end grunt and power overall, and a little more interior storage. It's also beginning (after eight years production) to fall behind the newer cars in performance, handling and refinement. But it's still a car that turns heads, that I look forward to driving every day (when I go out of town, I always look forward to getting back in my S2000 upon my return), and in over a year of ownership has required only fuel, a couple oil changes and at least weekly cleaning. Great, great sports car.