Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
I actually am quite fond of a lot of those things, LOL!
The auto up/down windows are a real treat, the climate control is fantastic, you never need to touch it, and the heated memory power seats are beautiful to sit in for long drives and offer exceptional bolstered comfort when pushing the car.
The wheel mounted controls mean my eyes never need to leave the road to change a song or adjust the cruise (a plus in my books).
I appreciate the idea of a stripper (my buddy has owned a few Mustangs that way and my F-250 was that way) but at the same time, if you have a proper array of features that aren't intrusive and are well integrated they can be a bonus to you if you do a lot of driving. Some of them probably more so in a sedan than a roadster of course, but I can't deny I'm fond of the convenience of these things in application.
Touch screen, back-up cameras and lane control? No, not in a "drivers car". Those are frills that add no convenience and do in fact take away from the "experience" of driving IMHO. So I agree with you there.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
S2000 has 1 feature that no car in its price range had in early 2000's as standard that is HID headlight. I do like the very bright and wide that light up the country roads that no halogen headlight can match.
Yes, the HID's are a fantastic feature! Are yours auto-levelling? They are particularly, as you noted, beneficial on country roads at night
No, it doesn't have auto-leveling. Probably because it's fairly complicate and expensive to implement so Honda didn't incorporate that feature in S2000, at least in USA they don't have it but they may have this feature in Europe along with headlight washer/wiper. I do think they should if the extra cost was less than $1k.
The auto up/down power windows are okay in a 4-dr sedan or SUV, but isn't needed in a small roaster, less weight and less parts to break.
My E430 has auto/manual dual zone climate control but I almost always use manual mode. I'm glad Honda uses simple manual HAC control in the S2000.
S2000 and most other Honda's vehicles have very simple and clearly marked cruise control on steering wheel. They are very easy to operate and I use it a lot on highway.
There are few buttons and knobs for the stereo on the left pod, the controls for manual HAC are on the right pod, they are fairly easy to reach because they are only 5-6" from the wheel steering.
There is 1 feature available with the E430 that I like but missing in the S2000 and most Honda vehicles; it is passenger side mirror tilt in and down when you are in reverse gear, this does help the driver seeing the curb when doing parallel parking or back out of garage.
The manual leather seats in S2000 I believe are made by Recaro, they have good side bolsters and only adjustable features are forward and back and seat back recline, nothing else.
In general, it has fairly minimum features and in 2008-2009 they deleted power window, A/C and stereo in Club-Race model to reduce weight.
