Tarheel goes test driving!

A couple of days ago a friend called me to tell me about this car that was at this car dealership. It was a Honda S2000, one of the cars I'm looking at as my potential next car. At this point, I was like lulwut? because there are several S2000s in the area at dealership all around. But then he explained his relationship with the owner/sales associates there thanks to doing some detailing for them a while back. He went on to tell me that he could probably arrange a test drive for me.

When I heard this, I was like

.

Normally, a test drive isn't that hard to arrange, but it is when you're 18. Most places want you to be at least 21 to avoid joy rides and such. I'm seriously considering all the cars I'm looking at, but it's hard to prove that to the sales rep ("But sir, I have lots of moneyz in my bank account!" "Kthxbye").

So, feeling very excited, I made the 20 minute trip to Westgate Imports.

Here is the car we're talking about:

Good color, but not my favorite. I prefer the car without a spoiler, but it's not that big of a deal. The price is a little high, but it's still in my price range.

Anyways, after about a half hour of sitting waiting for our sales rep connection to finish up some stuff, we were finally ready to go. I'm going to attempt to make my description comprehensible for all of you non-car people, but I can't promise anything. The first thing you notice is how low you sit. I'm coming from a relatively sporty car (1996 BMW 328i), but this thing makes you feel like you're on the ground. The seats were awesome, and the side bolsters (those things that come out at an angle on the sides of the seats) would prove very effective at holding me in place later on. To start an S2000, you don't twist the ignition. Instead, you have a engine start button. It's not that different from turning the key, but it still feels awesome. The car also differs from most cars in that it comes with an entirely digital display. All the pictures I've seen of it make the display look blurry and cheap, but it's actually very crisp in person.

Anyways, onto the driving. The S2000 differs from the normal car greatly here as well. Most cars, even sports cars, only rev to somewhere between 6 and 7,000 RPMs. The first generation S2000 revs up to 9000 RPMs! (No, it's not over 9000. :(). The second gen only revs up to 8300 in an effort to create more torque, but it's not that substantial of a decrease. Anyways, it revs crazy high. I'm sure you guys are familiar with the infamous VTEC system on Hondas. It's Honda's version of the variable valve timing system that allows for better power up top and a smoother engine at lower, normal driving RPMs. Anyways, the S2000's VTEC engages at an astronomical 6000 RPMs. As most cars are reaching their redline and shifting, this car is just reaching it's peak power. So, as I took the car out and let the engine warm up, it felt pretty underwhelming. It felt about as fast as my current car. While that's not bad, it's certainly not the upgrade I wanted. However, when the engine reached operating temperature, and I got the green light from the sales rep, I floored it. The RPM's soared: 4,000 (this isn't bad), 5,000 (nice!), 6,000 -VTEC engages- (Oh my g- ), 7000 (I couldn't remove my head from the headrest if I wanted to), 8000 (The car is pulling too hard and I'm enjoying myself to much to be thinking), 8300 -shift- (*sigh of satisfaction*). Then, it's time for second gear. 🙂

TL;DR: The car slams you into your seat as soon you reach 6000 RPMs.

And the awesome thing about all of this is the car sounds amazing doing all of it. It screams like a banshee because of the high RPMs it reaches, and the soft top above you allows you to hear the engine and exhaust note without any distortion. Before I noticed it, I was doing 80 down a country road eating curves like they were nothing. The car was so insanely stable in high speed cornering, I would have sworn its suspension had been heavily modified if I didn't know it was stock.

Now it's time for some of the more subtle observations. The steering is amazingly sensitive. What would take a 120 degree turn in my BMW took 80 degrees in the S2000. Why does that matter? Well, when you're driving a car hard, you want both hands on the wheel at all times. If you have to rotate more than 180 degrees, you're going to have to move your hands around and take them off the wheel temporarily (read: bad). On top of this, it allows for quicker adjustments in case you start to lose control, and you don't have to fumble with huge turning radii as you try to keep your car from spinning out.

The gas pedal was also amazingly sensitive. You'd barely tap the gas in neutral, and the engine would already be revved to about 2000 RPMs. That makes it very easy to rev match.

If the steering and gas pedal were great, the shifter was heavenly. The shifts feel so smooth, and it has to have one of the shortest throws (distance between gears) I've ever seen. It felt like it was about a third of the distance it takes in my BMW. The reason all of this is awesome is 1) it simply feels awesome and 2) it allows for quicker shifts (shifts being one of the biggest slow downs in terms of straight-line acceleration; that's why you see all the race cars with fancy gear boxes that shift in a couple milliseconds, faster than any human every could).

Basically, I love the car. Plus, I didn't even get to experience it with the top down. The only downside is now my current car feels pathetically inadequate in comparison. 🙁

I've never wanted something (besides a motorcycle) so bad in my life.