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I DD'd an '02 AP1 for a couple years and my job was managing a territory which was the state of WA. I drove that thing ALL over the state. I absolutely loved it but it was kind of like that extremely hot girlfriend that's way out of your league, great in bed but kind of a pain in the ass to put up with. Although, unlike the actual girlfriend that was like that, I never stopped missing my S2000.
Let's think about the S2k's shortcoming's as a Daily Driver; Aka the "CONS List".
CONS:
1: Non adjustable steering wheel = Too tall? Tough!
2: Noisy cabin - well duh! It's a soft top but even with the hard top, still as noisy.
3: No storage room except for tiny trunk.
4: 30+mpg... Nope Sorry. You might see 30mpg on an all freeway trip while doing the speed limit and never using vtec... but this 2.0 4cyl doesn't deliver on mpg's. (Cuz they didn't make the 6th gear a cruising gear like they should have!)
5: Say it with me now: THEFT. Hope you like aftermarket seats and paranoia! What does one S2k owner say to another S2k owner?... "So how long did you have yours before the seats were stolen?"
6: City drive-ability. Driving it in traffic without any power below 4k rpms it was kind of a pain. This is kind of better with the 2.2L of the AP2
7: AP1's only had 2 speakers. Later AP2's had speakers in the head rest.
8: Most clubs hosting track days at local race tracks don't allow convertibles unless you hack up your car to install a roll bar.
PROS:
1: PURE driver's car. Just excellent
2: Top down in the summer time. I was really surprised at how often girls flashed me on the freeway when I had the top town. Strange... but a good strange I suppose.
3: 9k rpms and 240hp! Uh, yes please
4: It is pretty... real pretty and those seats! I'd love to put S2k seats in an FRS.
So my theory is this. The FRS only slightly sacrifices some PROS of the S2k while drastically reversing the CONS.
FRS:
1: Low paranoia level
2: Rear seats and room for stuff along with larger trunk
3: Great highway mileage
4: Quieter cabin
5: Adj steering wheel so people over 6' tall can enjoy it
6: More than 2 speakers
7: Excellent drive-ability in traffic
8: Track day compliant (and there's room for your helmet!)
CONS:
1: 40hp power reduction over S2k
2: No topless girls on the freeway. (AKA, not a convertible)
And that's about it. The seats are still great and the car is stunning.
It doesn't appear as if adding close to 40hp to the FRS is going to be difficult with bolt on's and a few dyno runs.
Unless you really really really want the convertible the FRS over the S2k is an ABSOLUTE no brainer if this is your DD.
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