Z4 3.0 or 04 S2000
 

am seriously considering one of these cars...although i havent test driven any of them yet, i'm more the type to read up first than to have 20 test drives etc

I understand the Z4 3.0's suspension is too hard and totally crap, and the 04 s2000 is much improved from previously, therefore its at the top of my list....

...any opinions ?

cheers
sean

Z4 I've driven the 3 litre one and it was brilliant.

The S2000 is better to look at but the 3.0 Bimmer sounds like much more fun to me :D

As with most Honda VTECs, you really have to keep the revs pegged high to make it anything other than a glorified shopping trolley - but if you do its immense fun, and damn quick!

Are you doing alot of miles ?

If its the Z4 ditch the run-flat tyres which may make a slight improvement

that is a tough one
i used to have an s2000 man i loved that car!
due to family expansion i now drive an m3 evo
and i love this car too
yes you have to work the s2000 to have any fun in it
but it isnt hard to keep it in the zone with the 6 speed box
and the noise it makes is something else, sounds way better than any bmw engine i have ever heard.
Bmw's are better put together, i havent driven a z4 but i bet it is a class act
the servicing on the z4 will probably cost at least double if not 3 times what the S2000 cost

You want punchy or screamy?

.....why have you ruled out the obvious? 02 Boxster S?

boxters are too expensive to service IMHO

Boxster's are expensive to service - much more so than the Hondo for sure though I can't be sure relative the Z4.

The resale values are strong though so consider the total ownership cost. Could be less than the Z4 - the Z3's were a false economy due to their poor trade in values.

yes i lost about 6k in a year on a 2.8 Z3..ouch!

I bought an S2000 recently, and really like it.
Cant compare to the Z4, but can say they drive like a normal 2.0l car when you're not pushing on, so not bad really, plenty go for normal driving, and when you want performance, you drop a gear.
Well put together too, and hood is up and down in no time, handling is very good, and it doesnt do too bad in the MPG department, though the amount of driving I do has quadrupled since the sun came out!! loads of fun.

I’ve driven both. There are 2 totally different cars.

The Z4 is more a nice refined car with great performance.
Actually, in term of performance, the Z4 accelerate faster has a lot more torque and pass a lot faster in the curve than the S2000. However, it is not a sporty car. You do almost not have any involving feeling. The car is very “neutral”, in term of comportment and sensations.

The S2000 is a fantastic car for any serious enthusiastic drivers. You have to work hard to “extract” its power which is really great. The gear box is perfect. Despite the assisted direction is not the best you really feel the car. However, if you want to go through the bends fast you have to have some good driving skill. That car has a real tendency to oversteer, which is really the fun factor.

To summarize. it all depends of your need and your choice. You want the faster car, the easiest to drive with the best ability for town or for cruising, the BMW is for you.
Now if you want to have a lot of fun, and a real driving experience, do not hesitate and get the S2000.

Z4's are still cheaper on the continent, it was this that killed the Z3 2.8 resale, they were 28k new here, 23k new abroad.

S2000 loads of car for the money, latest ones are supposed to have sorted the steering out a bit, fairly strong still on resale

Z4 expensive when specced and given its styling looks funny today, it might look very silly in a couple of years time. Never driven one but supposed to have decent chassis and steering.

Was lucky enough to test drive the Z4 2.5 ltr and it was a great car in many ways, altough the 3.0 is meant to be much better. I did find though that it lacked in cabin space, I'm 6ft 4ish and normal weight but didnt have anywhere near enough lateral room.

Steering was pretty numb but accurate enough and the build quality was far ahead of the Z3 I passengered in once.

My money would be on the Z4, the S2000 is just too much of a niche product when you consider residules.

Having driven both cars and ending up with one of them, I'm in a good position to judge and therefore give some advice.

The S2000 is a lovely car but even with the Mugen package which I had for a weekend is somewhat flawed in that it lacks any real low end torque. If you have the opportunity to thrash it everywhere then this isn't a problem but sadly with the state of our roads (plus driving in towns) this simply isn't possible. It can also be tiring having to watch out for sudden oversteer which on occasion can be fun but irritating when you're just cruising and despite what the driving gods will tell you oversteer plus a lack of torque can be a pain in the real world. Although the engine screams nicely it cannot be compared to the Z4 which has a fantastic howl at the top end, nicely complimented by bags of torque where you need it - low down the rev range.

The interior of the Z4 is better (although not a par with the German built cars) being very minimalist and the roof is sheer opulence, retracting in less than 10 seconds. If you opt for the Carver sound system you'll also get decent audio at 100mph plus with the lid down and still be able to talk if necessary. I can see why people complain about the ride but coming from an Impreza with Eibachs it doesn't seem unduly harsh to me but if you're really worried then opt for the 17" wheels and replace the run flats for tyres with a softer sidewall.

In terms of handling, the Z4 is neutral whereas the S2000 has a tendency to oversteer which is no bad thing provided you're in the mood - all in all the S2000 is the better handler and probably the ride quality is slightly better. In a straight line and in the real world with an average driver I'd say there's nothing in it or if anything the Z4 would be slightly quicker as a by product of all that torque.

As I've already said, the Z4's interior is superb whilst the S2000's is also good but purleasse why did they feel the need to have a start button - that is naffness in the extreme. Both cars split the two boxsters in terms of performance but if it came down to just performance then I'd take the Boxster S anyday despite not being happy with it's looks.