| + Used Car Home + Used Cars for Sale + Car Reviews + Auto Repair |
| 2006 Honda S2000 Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
|
Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
|
|||
| Road Test | |||
Ask Honda to build a sports car and you can count on one thing. See, these guys have this fetish for setting the world record in the amount of power squeezed from an engine, then breaking it every three years. First it was the NSX, then the Civic Del Sol, then the Integra Type R. Latest in line was the motor in this S2000, whose forged pistons, hollow camshafts, and huge, easy-flow airbox (among other measures) were to thank for its 2.0 puny liters exploding with 240 all-natural horsepower - enough to destroy 3.0-liter Supra Turbos and 5.7-liter V8 Corvettes from just one decade prior. But we'll get to that later, because that's exactly when this engine unleashes its torrent of unsuspected ferocity: later.As for the right now of ordinary driving, there ain't a whole lot of shakin goin on. The S2000 doesn't launch from a stop with much authority, the electric steering speaks in muted tones, and sticking to the bottom half of the tachometer's range is about as blood-pumping as 60 Minutes. A layman's reaction to the S2000's plain behavior is "this doesn't feel like 240 horsepower" - which the more informed among you know is because that's not the horses you're feeling. What you're feeling is the torque, a.k.a. the muscle, or with 162 pounds-feet of it, the lack thereof. The only way to ride the horses is to take the adage of "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and apply it to the tachometer. Slam that lever into 2nd or 3rd and keep that right foot where it belongs: the engine's voice and digital tach crescendo in unison with your adrenaline... then comes 6,000 RPM and BAM!, the VTEC switches to the heavy breathing cams, the scenery blurs, and the shriek erupts into the most pleasurable cry legally heard by adolescent ears. Now that's getting what you paid for! Such addictions were already familiar to Honda sport compact veterans. What the S2000 brought to the table were the unique characteristics of rear-drive handling, raising the car's limits and making those limits more adventurous to explore. The Bridgestone tires (now model RE050, not S-02) grip beyond 0.90g, and the perfectly-weighted nose and low center of gravity let you dart about the road with feline grace. The short-stopping brakes (just 114 feet from 60 MPH) and new drive-by-wire throttle are also pleasures to work with. Finally, it quickly becomes clear why some call the S2000 home of the world's best shifter. I can't completely agree - the gates are packed so tight that crunches are common on shifts to 3rd; the need for deliberation detracts from the fun. But it's definitely the most pure and direct, with an unmistakable metal-on-metal feel for the hardcore. The lack of slack in any part of this machine - right down to the turn signal - is a key reason it's such an exhilarating companion for open roads of any kind. Everything written above has always been true, but here's what changed in 2004. To fix the most universal complaint - torque that maxed at 153 and peaked at a far-in-the-distance 7,500 RPM - Honda added 9 pounds-feet and scheduled the whole mass to come online 1,000 RPM sooner, courtesy of a boost in engine size to 2.2 liters. Sure enough, 162 pounds-feet is enough twisting force to motivate 2,855 pounds with Accord-like alacrity - a reasonable if not heart-pounding rate. Just be sure the stick's in the right slot, and you'll never be left high and dry in the daily grind. But the engine's growth came via a 6.7mm stroke extension. That was enough to drop the redline from a stratospheric 8,800 RPM to a merely sky-high 8,000, and because the VTEC still starts at 6,000, the party's now over, faster. The gears also got juggled: the first five numerically higher for faster acceleration (again, hitting redline earlier), sixth gear lower for quieter cruising. Win some, lose some. Elsewhere, the wheels grew from 16s to 17s, with the fronts also expanding a half-inch wider (to 7) and the rears by a full inch (to 8.5), making for one of the most staggered layouts in any car today. Similarly, the springs got firmed up in front (6.7%) yet softened in back (10%), and finally the rear stabilizer bar shrunk by 1.8mm, just enough to make it smaller than the front bar. The steering ratio also increased from 13.8:1 to a less hyper 14.9:1. All that sounds like a guarantee for uninspiring understeer - the front tires do scrub first - yet handling isn't nearly so lopsided. Whether it's the 51% rear weight bias (that's right, a front-engined car with a rear bias), creative calibration of the Torsen limited-slip differential, or something else, the S2000 remains almost as tail-happy as the Miata. Better yet, there's now a standard stability control to catch you should you fall. Some of the mods helped daily drivability - the S2000 now rides like one of the more upscale skateboards - but it's still as noisy as ever, with racket coming from all directions when the top isn't dropped. Even with the enlarged engine and calmer sixth gear, the tach is still pegged at an Automotive.com record high 3,700 RPM when traveling 70 MPH, nearly crying out for six more gears. It's a tolerable commuter car, but even after a lifetime of maturation, the S2000 still has a one-track mind - a mind set on the track. |
|||
| UsedCar.us.com - Copywrite - All Rights Reserved |