[Swingle01]

Hi All. New member here from Dallas. I've lurked for a while, but I've had my '21 M40i since May of 21.

In a previous life, I owned an '06 S2000. So after two years of owning the Z4, I thought it might be interesting to do a little top-line compare-and-contrast.

Bottom line-- both the S and the Z are fantastic cars. Both are proper roadsters. Both put a smile on my face when I'm behind the wheel. But for different reasons. They are philosophically very different cars, and the driving experience of each is very, very different.

S2000 Pros:

• Phenomenal cornering ability. At only ~2800 lbs and with the 4-wheel double wishbone suspension, the car handled like a go-cart. Even on rougher roads, it always felt planted. This car was all about cornering. Into and out of corners-- at speed.
• Then there's the sublime 6MT. An absolutely beautiful short-throw stick with nicky-nick precision gates. And a perfect, almost effortless clutch pedal. I almost didn't mind being stuck in traffic.
• Good power, at least in its day.
• Amazing value/cost of ownership. I used mine as a DD, racking up 120K miles over 10 years. The only non-routine maintenance item I had to deal with was a faulty power steering module. I sold the car for just about half of what I paid for it new.

S2000 Cons:

• The S handled like a go-cart, but it also rode like a go-cart. You feel everything in the road, and it feels as though you're traveling about 20 mph faster than actual. That's all fine when you're playing, but maybe not ideal for normal, daily-driving commutes.
• Driving with the top up is not a great experience. Visibility is terrible. And it's loud. I don't mean fun loud... just loud.
• While the power was decent for its day, you only got that power at high RPM. Torque was not a thing on the S.
  
  Z4 Cons:
  
• The Z doesn't handle/corner nearly as well as the S. It feels much heavier, yet the ass-end is jumpier on rougher roads. In short, I don't have the same level of confidence when I'm entering or exiting a corner at speed.
• No MT. I get it. It's quicker without an MT. But as good as the ZF8 is, it's just not as engaging or fun as a proper MT would be. BTW, my wife took delivery of a 2023 M3 6MT a couple of months ago. Meh. I don't understand why BMW doesn't deliver an MT that's even close to Honda's. But they just don't. TBH, I doubt I would get a BMW MT even if it were offered.
• No vented seats option. I know, first-world problems. But still.
• The instrument panel is too busy and tricked up.

Z4 Pros:

• Torque! OMG, how cool is the torque on this thing? Even driving at 80mph, goosing the throttle delivers instant torque. What is this turbo-lag you speak of?
• And that beautiful exhaust note never gets old!
• When I have to drive with the top up, it's not bad at all. It's quiet enough (especially with my new PS4s) that you'd almost forget that you're in a convertible, let alone a roadster. Visibility is not terrible either.
• While the handling isn't great, the ride certainly is. It has a very solid, heavy feel to it. Very surprising for a convertible. And quite comfortable, even on long trips.
• An impressively roomy trunk for a roadster!
• This M40i is a good-looking, powerful, well-appointed, luxury GT car sold at a very reasonable price.

Cheers,

Swingle

[JustChris]

S2000 is a legendary car and a very unusual comparison to the current G29.

Glad your enjoying the new car.

Pics required

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Swingle01

Hi All. New member here from Dallas. I've lurked for a while, but I've had my '21 M40i since May of 21.

In a previous life, I owned an '06 S2000. So after two years of owning the Z4, I thought it might be interesting to do a little top-line compare-and-contrast.

Bottom line-- both the S and the Z are fantastic cars. Both are proper roadsters. Both put a smile on my face when I'm behind the wheel. But for different reasons. They are philosophically very different cars, and the driving experience of each is very, very different.

S2000 Pros:

• Phenomenal cornering ability. At only ~2800 lbs and with the 4-wheel double wishbone suspension, the car handled like a go-cart. Even on rougher roads, it always felt planted. This car was all about cornering. Into and out of corners-- at speed.
• Then there's the sublime 6MT. An absolutely beautiful short-throw stick with nicky-nick precision gates. And a perfect, almost effortless clutch pedal. I almost didn't mind being stuck in traffic.
• Good power, at least in its day.
• Amazing value/cost of ownership. I used mine as a DD, racking up 120K miles over 10 years. The only non-routine maintenance item I had to deal with was a faulty power steering module. I sold the car for just about half of what I paid for it new.

S2000 Cons:

• The S handled like a go-cart, but it also rode like a go-cart. You feel everything in the road, and it feels as though you're traveling about 20 mph faster than actual. That's all fine when you're playing, but maybe not ideal for normal, daily-driving commutes.
• Driving with the top up is not a great experience. Visibility is terrible. And it's loud. I don't mean fun loud... just loud.
• While the power was decent for its day, you only got that power at high RPM. Torque was not a thing on the S.
  
  Z4 Cons:
  
• The Z doesn't handle/corner nearly as well as the S. It feels much heavier, yet the ass-end is jumpier on rougher roads. In short, I don't have the same level of confidence when I'm entering or exiting a corner at speed.
• No MT. I get it. It's quicker without an MT. But as good as the ZF8 is, it's just not as engaging or fun as a proper MT would be. BTW, my wife took delivery of a 2023 M3 6MT a couple of months ago. Meh. I don't understand why BMW doesn't deliver an MT that's even close to Honda's. But they just don't. TBH, I doubt I would get a BMW MT even if it were offered.
• No vented seats option. I know, first-world problems. But still.
• The instrument panel is too busy and tricked up.

Z4 Pros:

• Torque! OMG, how cool is the torque on this thing? Even driving at 80mph, goosing the throttle delivers instant torque. What is this turbo-lag you speak of?
• And that beautiful exhaust note never gets old!
• When I have to drive with the top up, it's not bad at all. It's quiet enough (especially with my new PS4s) that you'd almost forget that you're in a convertible, let alone a roadster. Visibility is not terrible either.
• While the handling isn't great, the ride certainly is. It has a very solid, heavy feel to it. Very surprising for a convertible. And quite comfortable, even on long trips.
• An impressively roomy trunk for a roadster!
• This M40i is a good-looking, powerful, well-appointed, luxury GT car sold at a very reasonable price.

Cheers,

Swingle

good summary, also you left out that the S2000 was not fit for tall (6-ft +) people where the Z4 is.

[Swingle01]

I'm 6'2". As you say, the Z4 has plenty of room. But I'd also say the S was perfect-- when I drove barefoot. With shoes on, I could have used more legroom, maybe another inch.

It's interesting though... I have a buddy who's also 6'2", but a bit wider in the ass. He really struggled in the S. I'd say it's not just height that matters, but it's also the way that height is laid out, if that makes sense.

[TAZ007]

Originally Posted by Swingle01

I'm 6'2". As you say, the Z4 has plenty of room. But I'd also say the S was perfect-- when I drove barefoot. With shoes on, I could have used more legroom, maybe another inch.

It's interesting though... I have a buddy who's also 6'2", but a bit wider in the ass. He really struggled in the S. I'd say it's not just height that matters, but it's also the way that height is laid out, if that makes sense.

At least one thing is for sure....this Z4 looks will be timeless just as the the S2k.

[jlumaa]

I purchased the first S2000 I could find at MSRP. It was a 2001 and I drove it for 19 years but only in the summer. I agree with your review, it was just amazing and bullet proof. In 19 years I didn't even replace a light bulb.
However, I find my M40i more stable coming out of corners than the s2k.
It might be the AP1 which was more twitchy than the later AP2.
One of the greatest things about it was that I could wash it, spray wax it, and clean the wheels in the time it takes to clean 2 wheels on my Z4.

[Swingle01]

Originally Posted by jlumaa

I purchased the first S2000 I could find at MSRP. It was a 2001 and I drove it for 19 years but only in the summer. I agree with your review, it was just amazing and bullet proof. In 19 years I didn't even replace a light bulb.
However, I find my M40i more stable coming out of corners than the s2k.
It might be the AP1 which was more twitchy than the later AP2.
One of the greatest things about it was that I could wash it, spray wax it, and clean the wheels in the time it takes to clean 2 wheels on my Z4.

Having driven the AP1, I'd say you make a fair point. Oversteer could certainly bite you, especially if you hit 6000 rpm with the wheel still turned. My AP2 had the more forgiving suspension and the traction-control system not found in the AP1.

[jdhiro]

Former S2000 AP2 owner here as well. I don't have a G29, but I'm considering one. I did have an E89 and strongly disliked everything other than it's svelte looks.

I think these comparisons are very valid, but I also suspect there is a degree of looking back with rose colored glasses. Some of the points I feel were missed:

1. The S2000 steering feel was pretty lackluster. Coming from an E46 and 350Z, both had considerably sharper steering and more communicative feedback. My understanding is this is one of the reasons they upgraded the steering rack on the final CR cars.
2. With some sticky tires (I was running Bridgestone R-01Rs), cornering stability felt crazy good, but part of the reason for this is that the car just didn't have enough "go" to get weird in corners. From the S2000 I went to an E90 M3 which was a far faster car, but corners were terrifying because a little too much gas was just rip the back end away from you.
3. I did find the S2000 traction control on the 06+ cars to be some of the best traction control I've ever experienced on a car short of a GT Porsche. It was so non-invasive and would let you get that car completely sideways before stepping in to help.

Also, I'm 6'5" and I put something like 60,000 miles on my S2000. It wasn't the most roomy car, but it's far from the worst. Cars like the Miata an NSX are completely unusable for me, but the S2000 was OK.