Quote:
Originally Posted by Deslock
No car is perfect, and many complained about the S2000's lack of low-end too.
We should appreciate the output, responsiveness, and reliability that Honda accomplished with the F20C, and the balance between emissions, efficiency, (lower but still decent) output, responsiveness, (expected) reliability, and price that Subaru and Toyota acheived with the FA20. Yes, Honda I4s and Porsche boxers have gotten to well over 8k RPM before, but have any other production Subaru boxers revved to 7450 RPM at any price point? (the 0.5L EN05 did, but I believe that was a straight 4)
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Other than my personal quirks about the styling, I thought the S2000 was one of the most perfect cars to exist for its time.
And I agree with the guys in this review, the S2K and RX-8 have just enough power as the whole package to not leave you wanting for power.
I grew up with Hondas and love to rev out engines. Yes people thought the S2k was torque-less, but like those bashing the FR-S those people really didn't "get" the car. I was "fighting" that fight on boards in the early 2000's. And here it's deja vu all over again.
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The trade off for a little power is that the FA20
is a better engine (than the F20/22C) in some respects, gas mileage, better TQ curve (lower end), and lower center of gravity, visibility...etc. So I do respect that.
But the engine in general, seems too utilitarian, and seems to go against the car's nature. It just doesn't seem special to me. The sound is lacking (although it's far from bad) and doesn't really draw me to the car.
Conversely, the engine in the S2000 seemed like a bright red jewel in the engine bay.
But ultimately (again) as the reviewers say, that these sorts of differences are so minute and that any one of these cars would put a smile on your face.