Anyone here owned both a Evo and a S2000?? need opinions
 

hey im very seriously thinking of trying to sell or trade my s2000 for an evo 8/9
i really love the car but at the same time i would love to have a turbo car, and being that this is my daily driver, an Evo would probably be more practical for me, i live about 35 minutes from Tahoe, so i could head up to go snowboarding on a weekly basis in an evo.

anyway if you have owned a s2k and an evo, or even just driven both cars, i would love to get your input on what you like better and why.


also some general information on owning and maintaining an Evo would be nice as well, and any tips for me when im looking at used ones.

thanks guys

wellllll, i havent owned an s2k before...but i did own a RSX-S....and switched to my Evo 8 and haven't looked back. No more waiting for Vtec, no more living above 7k....

Oh and I will say AWD is amazing and I will never go back to a performance car that isnt AWD..

ummmm general maintenance as in what??? If you get an evo, are you gonna heavily mod it or keep it stock....need more info!

i like both cars but evo def wins for dd, track, drag racing and more

hi there. I currently own and DD an 04 evo 8. while I have never owned a s2000, i have driven them, driven in them, and had the pleasure of experiencing a turbo s2000. both of them are great cars, so lucky you, you will be happy with both!

to keep this brief, since I am freaking exhausted, here is my opinion.

S2000: Great, great, fun car. handling is top notch from the factory. It is like a go cart, as you know. shifter feel does not get much better in the honda. shifts smooth, short, and perfect. I also love the fact that is sparse and void of anything unnecessary. Sounds mean once Vtech kicks in, especially with straight pipes. That is the best performing honda engine (arguably ever built by them), and will last a very long time with the proper maintenance.

Awesome for track, and comfortable for DD. That being said, without going the forced induction route, it is hard to make the car "fast" without spending a lot of money. A supercharge S2000 or turbo'd is hard to beat and a blast to drive!

The drop top is also great. Looks clean (hard to do nowadays) with the top both up and down. Super stiff chassis with great potential. But like you said, not great for year round driving especially if your heading up to the mountains.

Evo: Another great car. Faster in stock form than the honda, and much easier and cheaper to mod and make faster than the honda. Four doors, AWD, and enough room for skis/board even without a roof rack (cant do in a drop top as you know). With the proper tires, you can drive the evo year round and up to the mountains without having to worry about a thing.

Heavier than the S2000, but with a well set up suspension it will handle just as well if not better than the honda.

Reliability wise, both cars are what you make of them. The honda is known for reliability. Either car's reliability will decrease with extensive mods, but if you keep up on the maintenance you will be fine in either. There are plenty of evos out there (myself and friends included) who mod, track, and DD their car to high mileage without a hitch.

If you are willing to spend the money, the S2000 will be hard to beat in terms of raw performance. For an all around well performing car, the evo is hard to beat. It has the best of every aspect. You can fit 5 people in the car, fit your board/skis, drive it through anything, beat pretty much anything else on the road (especially in the price range).

In the end, it really all comes down to what you want out of the car. You will obviously get biased opinions on the evo since this is an evo forum after all. I would vote for the evo, based on what your useage sounds like it may be, but again, either one will make you happy.

I am a turbo guy, so the evo is a no brainer for me. But again, all up to you.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope this has provided some direct insight and help. If you have any other questions, please feel free to PM me and we can discuss further.

Regardless, best of luck with your decision, I am sure you will be happy with whatever route you choose. GL with you choice, and keep us posted!

Cheers,

Ryan

I used to own an s2000 and I loved it. The cockpit and handling characteristics were second to none for a factory sports car under 30k. The sleek lines and convertible top made it a sexy Sunday driver. However, I started driving my brother's 06 Evo IX RS, and started to fall in love all over again.

It too has an aggressive look and great handling capabilities, but the power even when stock, superseded the s2000. True, it's not convertible nor is it a roadster, but the pure joy of blowing off and getting put back in the seat makes up for it.

They are both enjoyable cars, it just depends on your needs and preference. 2 seater vs 4 seater, convertible vs sedan etc.

As far as the maintenance goes, the Honda is less complicated of course. I own the Evo now and I've learned that there's a lot more to consider when driving a turbo charged vehicle. Especially when you start to mod for more power...

S2000 is fun, but too small of a car for me. Handles great and shifts nice. Evo MUCH more powerful and very practical. I like the evo more than S2000. Get a evo if you can only choose one.

i will probably mod it, but nothing to crazy, just bolt ons and maybe a tuner. nothing internal

well i'll chime in on EVO reliability and maintenance costs...it doesn't cost anymore than any other car to maintain unless YOU break it. I wanted to buy an S2000 after i bought my EVO, but the one I wanted got sold out from under me. I still plan to buy one eventually.

Well if your going with straight bolt-ons and a tune, you would be set...

I mean maintenance is like a normal car like the previous post said..changing oil...tune-ups, it costs a little more for awd wheel balancing....its not bad really, unless you break something via launching or whatever....but if you dont kill your car, its pretty easy to maintain!

thanks! i keep hearing that putting a BOV on the car could cause problems, whats the deal on that?

If this will be your only car, I would probably go with the Evo. I have an 8 and I drive my buddy's S2000 quite a bit. I absolutely love to drive his S2k, but there is no room to put anything bigger than some groceries or small duffel bag in it. I have never ridden in an Evo that was really set up to handle well, but I find it hard to believe that it would handle as well as an equally set up S2000. On the other hand, the Evo is pretty easy to make quick with some bolt ons.

Really though, if it's your only car, the evo would be more practical for everyday use. My .02

trade? <3 the s2k. evo is definitely more practical though

I never owned an s2k but I do have a Evo 8. You won't regret it when you buy the Evo.. AWD power is the way to go. Feel the pull when 2 step launching it from a dig or full boosting.
Then you'll know what we are all talking about :) Good luck man

It's worth the trade, in your particular situation. A lot of people have come to the crossroads between an S2000 and an Evo. It sounds like the Evo would be a better fit for you, especially if you want to snowboard at Tahoe. The AWD is helpful (and fun, assuming you have the proper tires as well), plus you'll have room for your stuff.

I've owned two Evos (a IX and a IX SE) but never an S2000, though I have driven a few and have a couple of friends who own daily-driven S2000s. It's just funny to see them barely fit a boogie board in the front passenger seat. It's just so much more practical yet more powerful right off the bat, with far more tuning potential (if you want to go that route). I admire the fact that the S2000 revs so high and makes the kind of power that it does despite its displacement, but it's lifeless throughout most of its rev range. It gets annoying having to drop down two gears just to pass a car that isn't even speeding.

Maintenance isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Yes, it needs synthetic oil, but if you drive an S2000, you probably already use it anyway. It's not a cheap car to maintain, but a lot of vendors on various Evo forums have pretty decent pricing for the more significant services, which really helps.

Bs, this car has more maintenance cost than 99% of 4 dr cars in it's price range. The drivetrains super noisy things that are really expensive are known to fail, the interior leaves a lot to be desired, etc etc, you are basically paying for performance with the absolute least Mitsubishi could do in terms of comfort and features.