the ride is probably a 5 or a 6. I drove an '03 is300 and wasn't that impressed with the comfort. the interior plastic seemed as cheap as the evos and the ride wasn't that much more comfortable. My s2k is a lot noisier and has a much rougher ride. I have tein springs on my Evo now, but will be swapping for some jic coilovers soon because the ride is still not stiff enough. The evo has a lot more body roll than the s2k and is definately my preferred mode of transportation. can't wait to get it back.

 

The Evo rides (as far as sound) like most other small cars. Quiet on smooth roads, and noisy as a Civic on the rough style highway surfaces. Stock is actually pretty quite as far as over all noise. The ride softens a bit after 10K, especailly if you change tires.

I'd give it a 3 (or 4 with really sissy tires), if a Civic is a 2. Around Colorado there are alot of roads with small rocks embedded in the pavement. These roads are a pain in the @$$. On average roads you really get used to it quickly.

I know you have heard it before, but handling is the issue.

If it rode like a touring car, it wouldn't handle like an Evo.

I have driven mine since 9/17/03 with almost 40K on it and I still love driving it. Everything else feels like a sponge. As far as the "old man" ride in others cars. Some men get old faster than others. I'm 51 and dig the $h!t out of this thing. If the ride's too harsh, you can always do what my 87 yearl old mother does on road trips. She sits on a flat pillow and enjoys the ride just fine, she even has had back surgery, the turbo spool up does scare her a little though. She's afrad that it'll give her whiplash, but then I'm up about 100HP over stock :-)

See if you can take a used one for a test drive, with maybe 20K on it. Assuming it hasn't had the holycrap driven out of it (and many have)... you'll get a good idea where the ride will end up. I would deffinitely recommend 2 sets of wheels and tires. I wish I'd have done that, but I put all my disposable income into the engine bay. (Raising teenagers is really expensive)

Good Luck!

 

I used to own an 2001 S2000. I only bought it for the performance of the car. It being a convertable was just a bonus. The car got very loud as it got older. Creaks, rattles, bad tire noise, wind noise when the top up, wind noise with the top down, crappy radio (couldn't overcome noises), loud tranny, and if you put a cold air intake in it became louder than it was fast. Not to mention snap oversteer at freeway speeds and terrible wet weather handling. Oh, and it was the most unrealiable Honda I have ever owned. Not a nice car at all. All it was good for was to pick up chicks and thats it. In some ways it was like a beautiful blonde, sucking your pockets dry, whinning all the time, and you just get bored of her when she doesn't put out enough like an EVO will.

 

I've driven the s2k and have an evo 8. From the interior the s2k makes much more noise. The evo is a bit noisy from the outside but when youre riding in it, it is nowhere near as noisy as the s2k. As far as ride goes the evo feels more stable. The s2k has that low to the ground feel to it which I like better though.

Given the numbers I'd say the evo is a 4 or 5

 

answers seem biased...

 

chobits, I had a brand new 2004 S2000 which I drove three times a week. I had no creaks or rattles after a year of use, but the interior sure was noisy (road/wind/engine/transmission).

If the S2000 is a 2/10. I would give my 2005 Evo a 4/10. I also have a 2005 Lexus GS430 for comparison. Before mods, the Lexus was a 9/10. With suspension mods, it is now an 8/10.

 

love the evo VIII

 

The ride is def harsh. And the car rattles a bit here and there because of it, it's just structural dynamics! The tires def add to the harshness, if you put some Potenza S03's, you'd be totally golden, the A046's are that stiff walled, but of course the handling is unprecedented!
The MR is noticeably less harsh, so I'd recommend the MR if you an afford about $40k (incl TTL).
The GSR is more cush than the RS because it still has sound deadening material.
I'd CONJECTURE the RS is the harshest since it has now sound deadening and has the SAME suspension setup as the GSR.

To me, it's worth it, and you'll get used to it. I personally feel, since I've driven an M3 and an X5 before, this suspension is no more harsh than a nicely tuned German cars suspension. The EVo isn't that noisy at all, so don't worry about that, and if You get the SSL package, you can really crank the music if those noises on the horribly paved bumpy roads annoys you. . .

You WILL NOT regret owning an EVO, very few on these boards have, and we aren't all necessarily biased. . . .