The engine is pretty high strung so you’re lucky to get 20-24 mpg. If you drive it hard (and it wants to be driven hard) it’s going to be less. That’s still probably better than the kind of huge muscle car in the picture, though.
The other thing is it’s just not a pleasant car to drive in traffic. It’s a manual transmission car (only ever made in manual) and it’s really easy to stall, among other things, so it’s not fun to drive through rush hour.
Ahh, gotcha. Thats a shame, my dream car is a miata which I’ve always wanted to daily drive, and I tend to think of the s2000 similarly since they’re a lot alike in many respects
Miatas are pretty similar, but modern ones have some nice advantages! It’s rated for 25/35 mpg, for example, and unlike a lot of car makers Mazda’s fuel economy numbers are pretty realistic. A Miata isn’t going to be as painful to drive in traffic, either. Not unless you modify it or something.
Also the clutch doesn’t require much force to engage, and 1st gear seems pretty forgiving, at least on the NDs. I can’t say I enjoy driving in traffic, but it’s not too bad
…i’m surprised to read that; my elise and MX-5s all get around thirty miles per gallon on the street, it’s only on tracks where fuel economy drops precipitously…
The S2k is just in a weird spot due to the engine being so crazy. The 2005 EPA rating was 17/23 for example. It’s a combination of high revving engine (you seriously drive in the 3-5k rev range in normal traffic), short gear ratios, and more weight than either an MX-5 or Elise. The thing is a legend but it’s far from perfect! Or perhaps, it’s a legend because of the imperfections the engineers gave it.
…the elise’s 2ZZ-GE is nearly as highly-strung as the F20 (splits the difference from the F20C at 8500 RPM) but it’s also 10% less displacement, which may make the most difference in fuel economy compared to pushing 40% more weight in the S2000…
Yeah, it also makes 50 less horsepower (but more torque!) than the s2000 engines and that power has to come from somewhere. Ironically, the cars with the F20C tend to do a little better than the cars with the F22C, probably down to the gear ratios being shorter for the latter cars (in the US at least). That said, the difference in engines is probably not as relevant as the difference in weight. It’s crazy how light the Elise is.
ND Miatas are getting there. The new engine is 180 bhp and revs to 7500 (i think?), combined with its light weight that puts it at a similar performance level to the S2000. Obviously i’m not rushing to trade mine in any time soon but the fact that Mazda is still willing (and able) to make a car like that is really impressive imo.
The engine is pretty high strung so you’re lucky to get 20-24 mpg. If you drive it hard (and it wants to be driven hard) it’s going to be less. That’s still probably better than the kind of huge muscle car in the picture, though.
The other thing is it’s just not a pleasant car to drive in traffic. It’s a manual transmission car (only ever made in manual) and it’s really easy to stall, among other things, so it’s not fun to drive through rush hour.
Ahh, gotcha. Thats a shame, my dream car is a miata which I’ve always wanted to daily drive, and I tend to think of the s2000 similarly since they’re a lot alike in many respects
Miatas are pretty similar, but modern ones have some nice advantages! It’s rated for 25/35 mpg, for example, and unlike a lot of car makers Mazda’s fuel economy numbers are pretty realistic. A Miata isn’t going to be as painful to drive in traffic, either. Not unless you modify it or something.
My dream car is an NA, so a bit less practical lol, but I still desperately want one
Also the clutch doesn’t require much force to engage, and 1st gear seems pretty forgiving, at least on the NDs. I can’t say I enjoy driving in traffic, but it’s not too bad
It’s a shame the MR2 isn’t made anymore.
…i’m surprised to read that; my elise and MX-5s all get around thirty miles per gallon on the street, it’s only on tracks where fuel economy drops precipitously…
The S2k is just in a weird spot due to the engine being so crazy. The 2005 EPA rating was 17/23 for example. It’s a combination of high revving engine (you seriously drive in the 3-5k rev range in normal traffic), short gear ratios, and more weight than either an MX-5 or Elise. The thing is a legend but it’s far from perfect! Or perhaps, it’s a legend because of the imperfections the engineers gave it.
…the elise’s 2ZZ-GE is nearly as highly-strung as the F20 (splits the difference from the F20C at 8500 RPM) but it’s also 10% less displacement, which may make the most difference in fuel economy compared to pushing 40% more weight in the S2000…
…i wish my mazdas revved so high!..
Yeah, it also makes 50 less horsepower (but more torque!) than the s2000 engines and that power has to come from somewhere. Ironically, the cars with the F20C tend to do a little better than the cars with the F22C, probably down to the gear ratios being shorter for the latter cars (in the US at least). That said, the difference in engines is probably not as relevant as the difference in weight. It’s crazy how light the Elise is.
ND Miatas are getting there. The new engine is 180 bhp and revs to 7500 (i think?), combined with its light weight that puts it at a similar performance level to the S2000. Obviously i’m not rushing to trade mine in any time soon but the fact that Mazda is still willing (and able) to make a car like that is really impressive imo.