Is The New BRZ Better Than An S2000? | Real World Test Drive And Impressions

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Kona61

Well I tell you what, I’ll write up a comparison between a stock AP2 and my coming BRZ. I’d imagine they are going to be very similar.

[PhatFreshPrince]

Originally Posted by m.box.design

For the average person who only has a single car, the twins are way more practical for daily driving vs an s2000.

I agree. I would not have his S2K just because there were no controls on the steering wheel.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by PhatFreshPrince

I agree. I would not have his S2K just because there were no controls on the steering wheel.

The S2000 driver controls are RIGHT at your finger tips. I never considered the audio or HVAC controls to be out of reach.

[PhatFreshPrince]

Originally Posted by Frost

The S2000 driver controls are RIGHT at your finger tips. I never considered the audio or HVAC controls to be out of reach.

I'm sure they are for the stock steering wheel, but in the video, he had a removable steering wheel. One more reason why it was not better than the BRZ. IMHO.

[farfar g]

That video was a fast ride down memory lane - A '00 S2k was my daily drive for 9 years and 200k miles, year round in central New York, commuting between Binghamton and Ithaca. I pretty much wore it out -- two sets of front wheel bearings, a transmission rebuild (bearings!) and ageing suspension bushings. The only corrosion issues were in the passenger side door latch. Such a simple, uncompromising driver's machine - I loved being totally aware of what was going on inside! First car I bought without a test drive -- the only regret is not having traded up before they were discontinued.

Twitchy? mine was, until I had it aligned - rear toe-in was off by more than a degree out of the box. Turns out the used Z4 I traded it for was just as twitchy aligned to spec. I soon discovered that well-cared-for used S2k’s were hard to find.

Rawness? I was in heaven!

At 5’6” the S2k felt made for me LOL.

That said, the '22 BRZ (I've ordered a WRB Premium) looks very similar on paper (except for the lack of a drop top <grin>) and looks much preferable to the '14 370Z I'm driving now. I miss 9k rpm and the “timeless” classic wedge style already, and will miss the drop top, but the BRZ seems to be a worthy alternative.

[Adam_L]

Originally Posted by Yoshoobaroo

Also let’s not forget the S2000 was a 50K USD car in today’s money.

Are you sure ? In the year 2000 .... or in the year 2008 /'09 ?

I remember in about 2007, they were about $30k new , adjust for inflation .... I'm not sure what that comes out to now.

[nikitopo]

It looks it is closer to 40k USD nowadays ...

[Adam_L]

Thanks. That's what I was going to approximate .... I was going to say close to $40k ... , but you beat me to it , good job !!

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

Thanks. That's what I was going to approximate .... I was going to say close to $40k ... , but you beat me to it , good job !!

It’s actually closer to 47k since the S2000’s MSRP was 35K by 2007. I was using the 1999 MSRP and inflation rate for my estimate.




Either way the BRZ is a steal compared to its historical segment-mates.

[Adam_L]

I remember a invoice sticker at mt local Honda dealer, I distinctly remember $30k... but I may not have been looking at any destination charges, probably closer to $31k ... $31,500 + tax !! Tax weight there is $2300 roughly . So adjust for inflation , probably closer to $42-44k . Honda Fit sport was $17.5k ( maybe my local dealer had special pricing) , expensive extended warranty , better off saving more dimes /pennies , and get a S2K !!

Last I heard a final 1-2 year NSX was upper $97-98k , adjust for iinflation , closer to $125-130k

Does anyone know how **safe S2K cars are ??
If I ever wanted to go for a convertible , I'd consider a S2K , but I'd want to make sure they're pretty safe

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

I remember a invoice sticker at mt local Honda dealer, I distinctly remember $30k... but I may not have been looking at any destination charges, probably closer to $31k ... $31,500 + tax !! Tax weight there is $2300 roughly . So adjust for inflation , probably closer to $42-44k . Honda Fit sport was $17.5k ( maybe my local dealer had special pricing) , expensive extended warranty , better off saving more dimes /pennies , and get a S2K !!

Last I heard a final 1-2 year NSX was upper $97-98k , adjust for iinflation , closer to $125-130k

Does anyone know how **safe S2K cars are ??
If I ever wanted to go for a convertible , I'd consider a S2K , but I'd want to make sure they're pretty safe

It does alright for the time, frontal and side protection yields it a 4star rating in Euro NCAP. Rollover protection isn’t as good as modern convertibles or even the contemporary Z4. It also did not get tested for a pole impact or small overlap (those were not in the test battery at the time).

The BRZ by contrast does better in the frontal and side impact tests (5star rating), and also does very well in all the test that were added since the S2000 went out of production.

Safety wise, an S2000 cannot hope to hold a candle to the new BRZ considering it’s 20 years its junior and Subaru spend a lot of effort on crash structures. Subaru’s modern B pillars are notoriously tough and required new training for US firefighters to learn to cut through.

[Jegan_V]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

Does anyone know how **safe S2K cars are ??
If I ever wanted to go for a convertible , I'd consider a S2K , but I'd want to make sure they're pretty safe

Assume its not the best car to take a crash in taking into consideration all the cars available.

[Kona61]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

I remember a invoice sticker at mt local Honda dealer, I distinctly remember $30k... but I may not have been looking at any destination charges, probably closer to $31k ... $31,500 + tax !! Tax weight there is $2300 roughly . So adjust for inflation , probably closer to $42-44k . Honda Fit sport was $17.5k ( maybe my local dealer had special pricing) , expensive extended warranty , better off saving more dimes /pennies , and get a S2K !!

Last I heard a final 1-2 year NSX was upper $97-98k , adjust for iinflation , closer to $125-130k

Does anyone know how **safe S2K cars are ??
If I ever wanted to go for a convertible , I'd consider a S2K , but I'd want to make sure they're pretty safe

Not safe at all compared to a new car lol.

[Adam_L]

Thanks for the input.

Well, your health is your wealth. It's doubtful I'd go convertible ... let along S2k anyways then given safety. Plus the distance from rear bumper to rear axle /seating doesn't look to be that much room ( thus rear end collision probably wouldn't score so high) . Cool car .... cool looks , fast for a 2.2L , but again I've never been a fan of the Vtec ... in that you have to rev it high to get the gumption /HP/torque out of it.