Miata vs Focus ST vs S2000 vs Civic SI

[sammm]

Please discuss.

[jrj512]

Stock or Street Touring?

What gen of Miata?

New Civic? It is being replaced with a much better car for 2016.

[sammm]

^All good questions, but I'm thinking in more general terms.

[POS Racing]

Lets hope the fixed the interior of the Civic Si for the next gen. Current car seems cheap and lacks features that you'd get on a Kia...

FWD is also a turn off for me on the Ford and Honda.

New Miata just doesn't seem worth the current price to me.

Have you looked at the Subyota BR-S??

[sammm]

^Agree with FWD comment, but then again I've never raced one. Also agree that I wouldn't pay >$30K for a Miata.

The Toybaru is too small for me...I'd keep my NA before I bought one of those.

[POS Racing]

Oh yea with the current going rate for an original low millage S2000 - I believe you are too cheap.

[sammm]

^They are proud of those cars, that's for sure!

Keep in mind this is would be my daily driver, plus AX'er, plus occasional track day.

[OZMDD]

I can say that modern FWD is so well-engineered that it is not the understeering-pig experience that most of us expect it to be. In the case of the Mini, adn the last couple of recent hondas I've driven at autox, they are not too tough to setup in a way that is lots of fun to drive. In fact, you can really be much more aggressive without the fear of looping the car, which is a nice added-benefit. Everyone here has heard me rave plenty about how much more usable the hot hatch is than my miatas. The power of the Civic's is pretty sweet too. If they are implementing some of the e-diff technology in the next gen car, it will be hard to ignore. I've also heard what JJ mentioned about the new civic being a huge improvement over the previous gen.

The focus ST is a known ringer for autox, which puts it ahead of the Si in the info/development side, but is still a Ford. Whether that's a plus/minus is tough to say for me, as it seems to be a personal preference regarding the feel of the interior and styling. I do know you can get them for under $20k new. I'm underwhelmed with the FoST, and I think it is a very numb-feeling driving experience. Also, they won't hold resale value as well, relative to a Miata or Honda. Tons of bang-for-your-buck though.

I'm leaning towards an S2K for my next car after the Mini lease is up in a year. they really do everything well, and have built-in potential to be exceptional as a track car or an autox car to whatever level of prep you're willing to take it to. At the same time, they can be left practically bone-stock and still be good in all of those situations, while being a comfortable and nicely-built daily. And $10-12k will get you a wide section of lower-mileage choices. The aftermarket is good, and surprisingly affordable. They ricers have taken a big foothold in the S2K world however, which can be sad/annoying, but we are pretty accustomed to that with Miatas at this point. The one thing I will criticize is the total lack of TQ in normal low-rpm street driving. They feel weak even when compared to a 1.6 car. If you get in the habit of keeping the revs up they are sweet. If you want to be civil and drive calmly, they feel anemic. Definitely optimized to be high-strung at the expense of a broad powerband. The NC was the polar opposite; very strong down low (for a 4 cylinder low-HP car) but ran out of breath up high. When you get into V-tec and keep it matted, the S2K keeps on giving.

I can't really figure out what you want in a car, based on the last 4-5 choices you've made. Did you actually like/dislike any of them, or are you just playing musical cars for fun? You obviously favor miatas, but you seem like you haven't been happy with one for a while.

[sammm]

^Great stuff Mike, thanks! I like/love Miata's, especially NA's, but they don't love me. What I mean is I'd like to find a car that does everything the Miata does, but also gives me some extra elbow/hip/ass/leg room. The Miata being a convertible is another plus that I really enjoy.

I've been looking at StooK's, but haven't seen any low-mileage ones in the $10-12K range. Any examples you'd like to share?

[OZMDD]

I guess it depends on what low-mileage means to you. Anything under 150k for a 10-15 year old car seems ok to me, especially if its clearly a weekend/3rd vehicle that hasn't seen extensive track/autox use. Everyone I've talked to with S2K experience says the motors are very durable to/beyond 200K with reasonable maint. Wallace, Miatamoto, IPee all seem to agree on that.

I haven't shopped recently, but I found several <100k AP1's under $12k a few months ago.

[jrj512]

S2K example: http://bringatrailer.com/listing/2002-honda-s2000-2/

You should sign up for their emails, as I see low mile S2000s in their auctions every now and then.

[sammm]

^Thanks, I signed up! I also have a good friend who attends local car auctions...I'm going to explore that route too.

[wrx74]

Zo bought the Monheim S2k a few months back. Think he's ready to sell, yet??

[sammm]

I should mention that I considered the VW GTI (the original hot-hatch!), but those german otto's skeer me.

[sammm]

Zo bought the Monheim S2k a few months back. Think he's ready to sell, yet??

Probably not.

[POS Racing]

I should mention that I considered the VW GTI (the original hot-hatch!), but those german otto's skeer me.

If they were good enough for the Führer they should be good enough for you.



Plus now that they seem to have German engineered around emissions testings the prices are already coming down!

Today's bad VW news - http://www.wsj.com/articles/volkswag...ads-1446628400

[Gator Bait]

I know where there's an Flyn Miata built LS3 NA for sale. I think it would be perfect for you. :)

[sammm]

^That's exactly what I need!

[Sharpie]

Are you selling Bert?

[sammm]

Are you selling Bert?

Is that Barbara's old LE that I bought? Didn't know its' name.

The answer to your question is, probably.