VX220 or S2000 - in 18 months time :p

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I drive an S2000 as my daily, its very comfortable and the most fun ive ever had driving.

I think a VX220, while an awesome machine, would get a bit tiresome with the hard ride as a daily driver! S2000 is on the edge of what I would put up with creature comfort wise :P

S2000 insurance is ridiculous though, £650 for me this year :(
 
I am currently driving an Mk2.5 MX5 1.8i, and seriously considering upgrading to a S2k in a year or so. Insurance should be fine at 36/37 :p

For a runner I would definately take the S2k over the VX, I really wouldn't want to live with the VX every day.
 
Lord-Jaffa said:
I drive an S2000 as my daily, its very comfortable and the most fun ive ever had driving.

I think a VX220, while an awesome machine, would get a bit tiresome with the hard ride as a daily driver! S2000 is on the edge of what I would put up with creature comfort wise :P

S2000 insurance is ridiculous though, £650 for me this year :(
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Always makes me chuckle, what i'd give for me insurance to be £650 a year!

Fair enough i'm only 21 with one years experience and no claims, but when i've got quotes for a VX220 it's been about £3000.

A RX8 231 is about £2000, and even a Fiesta ST is around £1600.
 
ganesh said:
I think it cost him a small fortune to run in the short time he had it and it was rather twitchy so he always had to be very cautious when driving and couldn't really enjoy it properly.
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It's an aluminium chassis, with plastic body panels and wheel arches that never rust, and some bland GM engine that could drive around the planet a couple times before needing a service.

What could possibly go wrong?

Sounds like he bought a minger.
 
ganesh said:
I think it cost him a small fortune to run in the short time he had it and it was rather twitchy so he always had to be very cautious when driving and couldn't really enjoy it properly.
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True, i don’t think in hindsight i would say it was "twitchy" just not as useable as i would have wanted. Decent back roads obviously do not offer the best road surface and this seriously hindered progress. It was on hard coilovers with a track set up :o but hey it just wasn’t ever the car for me. It was always broken too, i would fix it and the next day something else would break which isnt what i expected at all. To top off the fantastic experience of owning the car one day the rear clam decided to shed all of its paint which cost me about £1500 to have repaired (which shouldn’t really have been repaired but i did just to get rid) IE - The problem will come back again within the year although note this isn’t a problem on N/A cars just the turbos.

On a side note make sure you test drive both as much as you can, i wanted an S2000 untill i drove one where i just found it didn’t offer any kind of excitement to me whatsoever.... In fact i was so unimpressed with the 06 model i test drove i went back to another dealer to try another car , nope still not for me :D

Try an Elise of some sort, i drove a 11R and found it too be a much more pleasant experience over my VX .....
 
I like the Elise, but got scared as my old man said the running costs will be really high, a lot higher than an S2000. Sounds like the VX220 can be just as expensive.

The better move maybe the S2000, Honda's are rock solid aren't they? Will have to test drive one.

Back to the VX220 I was only looking at the baby version, the non turbo. Is that version ok?
 
To put things into perspective for you. I looked at VX220's a year or so before I could insure one and fell in love. When the time came around, 350z's were in my price bracket and insurable ....so in my honest opinion I would just save up and wait till nearer the time. I gathered lots of info on celica's, VX220's, then Elise S2's then after a promotion and a few bonus's, along with the price dropping over the year.... I got a completely different car :)
 
Oxy said:
I like the Elise, but got scared as my old man said the running costs will be really high, a lot higher than an S2000. Sounds like the VX220 can be just as expensive.

The better move maybe the S2000, Honda's are rock solid aren't they? Will have to test drive one.

Back to the VX220 I was only looking at the baby version, the non turbo. Is that version ok?
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You've got that 100% the wrong way around.

Elises aren't expensive in the slightest. Lotus don't charge a fortune for labour and parts aren't too bad - an official stage 2 exhaust upgrade is around £500...not exactly a monumental amount compared to Mtech or AMG parts.

The VX is much more refined than an Elise where an Exige is totally hardcore (although they have aircon). The VX Turbo is 10000% better than the NA engine which is why there is such a massive price difference in the 2nd hand market.

S2000's are bullet proof as we already know, but they won't keep pace with a VX Turbo in a straight line, although around a track it'd be closer.

Totally down to preference - the VX220 N/A is crap so don't bother with it. If you can't afford a Turbo then buy an S2000, if you can afford a Turbo then drive them both and see what you prefer.

ganesh said:
I think it cost him a small fortune to run in the short time he had it and it was rather twitchy so he always had to be very cautious when driving and couldn't really enjoy it properly.
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Twitchy? One of the best handling cars money can buy, the rear tyres are about as wide as 50% of of the cars width. If you want twitchy with snap oversteer, drive an S2K!
 
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In fact I'd say it's the poorer choice of engine for the car.

It's far too heavy for the car and the power delivery is not instant (there is turbo lag) and when it does come on boost there is a significant surge in power which is not what you want in a car that is to be driven on the throttle.

The 2.2 engine knocks spots off many of the K series variants in terms of performance and reliability.
 
Wardie said:
Always makes me chuckle, what i'd give for me insurance to be £650 a year!

Fair enough i'm only 21 with one years experience and no claims, but when i've got quotes for a VX220 it's been about £3000.

A RX8 231 is about £2000, and even a Fiesta ST is around £1600.
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What i'd give to be 21 again!
 
Oxy said:
I like the Elise, but got scared as my old man said the running costs will be really high, a lot higher than an S2000. Sounds like the VX220 can be just as expensive.

The better move maybe the S2000, Honda's are rock solid aren't they? Will have to test drive one.

Back to the VX220 I was only looking at the baby version, the non turbo. Is that version ok?
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S2000s are rock solid but as with all cars there are things to watch out for.

On the flip side even a moron can service the car themselves, it really is that easy to work on! I done a full service on mine this year myself, including gearbox/diff/brake/clutch fluids, brake pads and discs with almost zero previous mechanical experiance.
 
Muncher said:
In fact I'd say it's the poorer choice of engine for the car.

It's far too heavy for the car and the power delivery is not instant (there is turbo lag) and when it does come on boost there is a significant surge in power which is not what you want in a car that is to be driven on the throttle.

The 2.2 engine knocks spots off many of the K series variants in terms of performance and reliability.
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Don't the 2.2 engines have problems? It is better than the K series engines but if you buy a Toyota powered Elise then it won't keep up. My turbo dooesn't surge all that badly, not compared to previous cars i've driven, but yes it does have lag and needs to be in the right gear for the right speed - ie) no torque whatsoever below 2,000rpm...but then again I don't drive it slowly, so never been bothered about economy.
 
Muncher said:
The 2.2 engine knocks spots off many of the K series variants in terms of performance and reliability.
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It's certainly more powerful than the base spec. 1.8 K series, roughly equivalent to the lower powered VVC engine, and lagging somewhat behind the 160 variant. All of them weigh less than the Vx engine as well.
 
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