Hey guys. I am currently trying to decide between purchasing an '04 Crossfire coupe, a Honda S2000, or an Acura RSX-S.

If any of you have had experience with the latter two and can compare it to the crossfire, I would truely appreciate it.

Main things I am wondering about the crossfire, is how it would compare in handeling, peppiness, reliablitly, and cost to repair and maintain.

Also, is the manual/standard transmission variety of crossfire fun to drive, moreso than the automatic? Or is it more of a hassel? I personally like manuals, and am going to get a manual if I get an RSX or S2K, but some cars, it is better to get an automatic version of, and was wondering that about the crossfire.

Thanks!

 

I'm not a professional and I don't have many experience, but I test drove many sport cars on the exact same route before I bought the crossfire. What I like the crossfire is the exceptional handling and performance, I can make super fast sharp turns so smooth with confidence, while most japanese sport cars can't, they lost grip easily when I do crazy turns. However if you want more horse power and strong acceleration, crossfire is not the one.

I would recommand both the S2k and the crossfire. both are very nice.

Reliablitly and repair cost, crossfire is a MB, you make your own judgment, I believe it depends on your luck.

 

I think the rsx can be ruled out, FWD sucks. s2000's are nice, but if im not mistaken, they are more expensive than crossfires. Of course I'm biased, and I'd say go with the crossfire. I couldnt tell you if an s2000 is expensive to maintain, but I've heard they have puny differentials, and practically no torque. I dont know what kind of warrantee honda offers on them, but chrysler offers an 8 year 80k warrantee on certified used (from day of first service) on the drivetrain. I love my 6speed, and I'm glad I didnt get the auto. 1st gear is pretty steep though, at least compared to what Ive driven.

 

Watch the "best motoring" roadster comparison race and see for yourself.

By the way, you're not comparing apples to apples. Do you know how much price difference there is between an S2000 and an 04 Crossfire Coupe?

Forget the Acura RSX-S. It's not in the same league as the S2000 or the Crossfire.

 

RSX -- not a bad car, my buddy used to have one, but its a little 4-cylinder, and to really get moving, you have to turn 4-6K. the shifter is so vague; its got zero feel. plus its FWD, its basically a Civic.

S2000 -- my uncle has one, and same notes about the motor (even more so)... you have to be turning 6-8K (think "GSX-R" revs) to get moving; otherwise its a dog. it may do 0-60 in 5.x seconds, but your transmission wont like you after a couple of dumps like that. it does handle well though; im comparing this to the Crossfire, and my Miata before that. its got a great shifter compared to the Crossfire, but not as nice as the Miata. and its tight, space-wise.

neither one is expensive to maintain -- they're Hondas.

The Crossfire has grunt in the 2-3K range, it will feel more powerful than the other two at a normal rev range, even if the HP numbers dont say so. the torque numbers are whats important here. It also has a nicer interior (fit and finish).

and of course, the disclaimer: IMHO, my 2¢, YMMV...

good luck!

 

i use to own a rsx and i gotta say it is a very good handling car and needless to say, reliable. the biggest plus for the rsx is the hatchback (at least for me); i could fit two mountain bikes inside with the back seat down. the only downside, in my opinion, is front wheel drive; i just really dig rwd now.

the s2000 looks like a miata to me. it has power, but only if you REALLY rev it up into the double digit rpms. i test drove one before i tried the crossfire.

the crossfire feels like a true sports car- low and wide. storage is a minimum though. the crossfire is also very reliable, but more expensive to fix than the others. but the key is- nothing looks even close to a crossfire.

maybe go to a car max that has these cars and give them all a shot. then, you can post pictures of your new crossfire on here.

 

Interesting that you come to the Crossfire forum to get advice on three cars including the XF. I have to say that you should be impressed with the honest ( somewhat unbias) opinions that you are getting. No one spoke openenly negative about the RX or S2000, they simply gave their opinions.

That should tell you something about Crossfire owners and those individuals on this forum.

Good luck on your decision. Personally, I am not that familiar with the other 2 choices, but you really out to drive an SRT6. It depends on your price range that you have available to you. There are some great deals to be made on XF's

 

Here is my long winded advice:
The RSX is a good little car. I had a 97 Prelude and loved it. FWD in a sports car is not great though.

The s2000 is a great roadster. Very reliable, but loud, rev happy, and small on the inside. They only make ~160 lb. ft. of torque. I wanted a s2000 really bad when they first came out. A friend of mine (Jag dealership manager) got a 2001 on a trade a few years ago and brought it home for me to test out. I loved it. Fast forward a few years, I drove a 2007 and was not nearly as impressed.

I have not driven or ridden in a non-SRT Crossfire. But I can tell you that I looked at a lot of different cars and one test drive in the Crossfire SRT6 sold me. The SRT6s only come with auto transmissions so I can't comment on the manuals. I know KcKey12's Limited Roadster is a 6 speed and he loves it.

If you need a back seat, go with the RSX (go for the RSX-S), or maybe a Civic Si (which they have in a 4 door now). I really can't say enough good things about Hondas.

The Crossfire prices make them very ripe for the picking. You can get fantastic deals on them. Not sure what your budget is, but you might want to check out a SRT6.

Good luck.

 

Go with the crossfire! I myself was once a honda fan, but none of the ones I've owned (prelude,H22 civic,4 door civic) come close to the ride quality of the crossfire! You really can tell they are made by MB. My girl's mother had the top of the line accord v6 ex leather and all and it still not in the same leage. I haven't had a chance to drive an S2000 but I know one of my friends about bought one and said he wasn't impressed with the power/TQ at all. Also in my neck of the woods the crossfire is rare and gets looks from young and old alike. It just depends on if your looking for something to modify or not. After my civic was stolen I had enough of the younger crowd eyeing my car and was ready to move to something more adult.

 

I will just touch on the topic of reliability. Today had lacrosse practice in the freezing cold/rain/sleet. When I got back to my car water was iced over the entire exterior. I opened the door without any sticking of the weatherstripping (due to frozen condensation). The the six cylinders came to life immediately upon turning the ignition. The thermometer readout was 28 degrees. I know this might not be that cold for some, however my point is that I had an overwhelming sense of solidarity about the car. I knew I could trust it even in really poor conditions. Considering that the Crossfire rolls on high performance (low profile) tires, has low ground clearance, and is a RWD sports car, it is surprisingly trust worthy for a sports car. You just can't find that with all high performance vehicles.

 

Crossfire and S2000 - two seat sports cars. The Acura is the odd man out.
Crossifre and S2000 - RWD. The Acura is the odd man out.

The Crossfire and S2000 are very, very different cars though, with the S2000 being the purer sports car of the two and the Crossfire more the fast GT car. I love the S2000 and I have owned a Miata. The Miata was a blast even though it didn't have a lot of power. I mention the Miata because of its highly regarded manual gearbox, and the fact that I have no issues at all with the manual box in my Crossfire. I have had my Crossfire on a road course and during one session I started out third in line, passed the second car, and lapped several of the others. Nothing even caught up to me, let along got in behind me and was held up. The first car in the line was a Crossfire SRT6 and of course I ran away from me. I think that says a lot about the Crossfire's abilities.

In the end though, what you want is what you want. I have to imagine the Crossfire is going to be the more expensive vehicle to maintain, but if you fall in love, you fall in love.

 

Yeah true, I know they are different cars, but if you look at it in a price-range sorta way, I can pick up a 2006 RSX-S from about 16-18k, or a 2003 S2000 for about 17k, or a crossfire for about 13-15k

So they are roughly in the same area price wise if you look at it tha tway

But the theme that ties them together is that they are all sporty, the s2k and XF are 2 seaters, while the RSX, if you get the S Type, it is pretty sporty and has some decent pep in the higher RPMs especially when vtec kicks in. However, the non S-type is pretty much a civic :P

Lots of good advice and comments on this thread, thanks alot guys, it has helped alot.

 

forget the rsx-s. that car is dumb. go with either the s2k or the xfire for sure. i like both and hell i would be happy with either one. but i would choose the xfire for one reason. its rare to find on the road. you constantly turn heads. butoverall man. choose whats gonna make you happy. choose the car that youll wake up and see it and be happy to be an owner.

 

S2000 are just way to small, nice car but noisy with the top up...my son had 2

 

RSX = Juvenile, teenager car.

S000 = Nice car, chicks dig it, lots of engine technology, reliable, very respected, up scale

Crossfire = Some people think it's a chick car, German/Mercedes engineering, sophisticated, upscale, fairly reliable, a more mature prospect

SRT6 = Some people are afraid of what this car can do, animal, pure unadulterated power, rare, sophisticated, ridiculously fast

 

You were also questioning which tranny was more appropriate for the Crossfire, auto or manual. I haven't driven a manual but can chime in on the auto. If you have to settle for an auto then the MB 5 speed auto is the one to get. I don't miss a manual at all in my auto Crossfire.

Also, the auto is rated at a higher MPG than the manual. Don't know how true this is - maybe a member with both can clear this up?

 

I've wondered this too, how the auto can get better gas mileage than the standard, that goes against convention doesn't it?

 

Allpar.com has an article on the Crossfire and in it they offered the conjecture that the manual appears to emphasize power over economy.

 

Srogue, for the record, I've been a Honda fan for over 25 years. I recommend them to everyone. If you want a car that's economical to own and operate, offers excellent performance, is dependable, rides and handles great, then you could do allot worse than anything with a Honda logo on it.
But if you want a sports car with a German pedigree, for the price of a Hyundai, that you can really get passionate about, then there's only one game in town.
I've got 3 other (fairly competent) sports cars in my garage, and since the Crossfire showed up nearly 3 years ago, they've all just been gathering dust.
I prefer the 6 spd. and magazine road tests say it's about 1/2 sec. faster than the auto in the 1/4 mile. But ya can't go wrong either way.
Good Luck

 

You might also want to consider the Mazda RX-8 if 4 seats are important to you. I have this and the crossfire. The 8 is faster then the N/A Crossfire but not as comfortable and gets all of about 20 mpg. But it will eat the curves up like few others. The Crossfire is a better cruser. My experience with the RSX is the rear lets go way to soon for it to be considered a real sports car. The S2000 would be a hard car to drive a daily commute but is the real thing.