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The open-top
roadster from the '60s is back with a vengeance in
the all-new Honda S2000. Sure, first came the Mazda
Miata in 1990, then the BMW Z3 a few years later.
Those vehicles also re-created the experience of
the roadster that dates to the days of the MG,
Triumph, Sprite, Sunbeam and other open-top
two-seaters -- mostly from Britain. They were quite
the rage.
 The
Miata and Z3 have their fans, and they are decent
roadsters that deserve credit for reviving this
fun-yet-impractical specialty-vehicle class. But I
believe Honda has done the most credible job so far
in bringing out a (nearly) affordable roadster --
with a list price of $32,000 -- that stays true to
the original theme. The S2000 provides exciting
performance, including power and road-hugging
abilities, and an exhaust note that is sweet to the
ears. This high-performance sports car is close in
appearance to the Honda SSM concept car that was
first shown at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show. It has a
race-car feel to it, reflecting Honda's success in
both CART and Formula One racing.
Perhaps what I
like best about the S2000, though, is that it
doesn't pander to our spoiled side, the one that
enjoys cushy cars that ride so smoothly you can
imagine you're still at home in your favorite
recliner. Anyone who ever drove one of the '60s
roadsters knows the ride is supposed to be a little
rugged, the passenger compartment a bit cramped and
the noise a bit on the wild side. That's the way it
is in the S2000, as evidenced by one of my
co-workers' comment after she went for a ride in
this beauty.
"Kinda rough,
isn't it?" she said. "And there's not much room
inside." Yeah. Right on! Maybe it is a macho thing,
but I don't think so. I know lots of men and women
who owned and thoroughly enjoyed the Spitfires and
Tigers and such, even if those vehicles did ride a
bit like trucks. There is a reason for such a stiff
suspension: it goes hand-in-hand with the
road-hugging capabilities of cars of this genre.
The S2000, like Honda's much-more expensive Acura
NSX sports car, is mostly hand-built, and it shows
in the detail. This car is well put-together, and
the unique Honda X-bone frame is largely
responsible for the structural rigidity that is one
of the S2000's most remarkable attributes.
 Most
convertibles shake and shimmy over every little
bump. The S2000 holds together and takes a bump in
one big lump the way a performance car should.
Cross beams and a reinforced center tunnel help
create this rigidity at the bottom to compensate
for the lack of continuity in the structure at the
top. (The soft top comes down, remember?) These
reinforcements intrude a bit on the passenger
space, but I can live with that. I took this baby
around some tight turns and hilly curves that would
challenge most decent sporty coupes, and the S2000
showed me what I had traded that interior comfort
for.
The 2.0-liter
four-cylinder engine turns out a whopping 240
horsepower -- the most power for this much
displacement of any non-turbocharged vehicle on the
street. There is no automatic transmission
available, and I hope none is ever offered -- it
would spoil the effect.This is a car that is meant
to be driven by someone who likes to drive, and for
that, it takes a manual gearbox. The S2000's is a
six-speed with a tight, short throw that allows for
up- and downshifting quickly and precisely.
 Yes,
this is a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, too --
something that was necessary to re-create the
roadster. Honda's last rear-drive car was the S500
roadster in 1973. Despite the 153 foot-pounds of
torque that this car gives at 7,500 rpm, I was
never able to break the tires free from the
pavement on start-up, which means that all the
traction is there to move this car along quickly.
With a very high redline of 9,000 rpm, this car
gets rather noisy when wound up, but that's just
part of the thrill. It is hard to get it up to
9,000 rpm on urban streets -- at least without
getting a ticket or raising too much attention.
That kind of driving is best left to country roads.
I really like the S2000's muscular looks. It's not
as pretty as the Miata and Boxster, and not as
weird as the BMW (not that there's anything wrong
with that ... ). Our test car came in the only
color that truly makes sense: arrest-me red. There
are some concessions to our latter-20th century
wants, including an electrically operated
convertible top, power windows and door locks and a
racing-style digital instrument panel. I'll allow
the power accessories, but I'd prefer an analog
speedometer, tachometer and other gauges. Digital
just isn't true to the roadster heritage and
certainly isn't necessary.
Braking ability
is among the best I've tested in any vehicle,
thanks to large power-assisted disc brakes with an
antilock system (standard). The rack-and-pinion
steering is power-assisted, too, but with a
variable-ratio setup that keeps the wheel rigid at
highway speeds for better road feel and control.
Starting the S2000 is a bit different. You turn the
key to the "on" position, then push a red starter
button on the dash to the left of the steering
wheel. This arrangement isn't new to me; my Piper
Tri-Pacer has a red start-button under the pilot's
seat. I can pretend I'm about to take off in my
airplane when I fire up the S2000 -- it will almost
fly, anyway.
Curb weight is
2,800 pounds, heavy enough to hold the S2000 to the
ground, but light enough to give the engine a
chance to move the car along. There are a few other
creature comforts included in the price: leather
seats, cruise control, air-conditioning, remote
keyless entry, high-intensity-discharge headlights,
and an AM/FM/compact-disc stereo (which can stay
hidden behind a pull-down dash panel while you
control it with remote buttons on the left side of
the dash above the starter button). Dual air bags
are standard. Lowering and raising the top are
easy. To lower it, you just pop loose the two
catches at the top of the windshield, then pull
back on the center-console-mounted switch (which
operates only with the hand brake applied). The top
folds back within a few seconds, and there is a
tonneau cover in the trunk to make everything look
neat and tidy.
There is a bit
more luggage space once the cover is removed from
the trunk, but still the total is just 5 cubic feet
-- slightly smaller than the Miata's trunk. With a
$415 transportation charge, total price of our test
car was $32,415. No options are offered -- a Honda
tradition that continues with this
vehicle.
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Vehicle
Type:
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front-engine,
rear-drive, two-seat roadster
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Base
Price:
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$32,000
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Engine
Type:
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2.0-liter,
4-cyl.
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Power
(SAE net):
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240-hp
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Transmission:
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six-speed
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Wheelbase:
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94.5
inches
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Length:
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162.2
inches
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Curb
Weight:
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2809
pounds
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EPA
fuel economy, city driving:
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20
city/26 hwy
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