S2000 is a much rawer car, need to be paying attention with two hands on the wheel at all times at this time of year on summer tyres and no safety aids to help you out. Lots of road and wind noise, peaky engine that you need to stay right in the power band for. A few degrees of rear steer built into the suspension makes it very darty but you don’t want to lift off mid corner and it can feel like the rear is wandering about a bit over cambers and bumps. Was my second s2000 so knew what I was getting, a bit easier to live with than an Elise or vx220 and fun enough on my 10 mile b road commute. Cost peanuts to run , Honda service isn’t expensive and just routine maintenance needed, averaged high 20s mpg though did 40mpg on the long run down south crawling through the snow. Highly recommended as reliable fun transport if you can be patient and wait for the right weather before hitting the 9k limiter. I only lost a few thousand in depreciation in 18 months even with a dealer trade in so held its value very well.
Z4M Coupe finds much more traction even though it has more torque and power, m-diff just much better at getting the power down and geometry must help as the tyre footprint isn’t much larger. Can cruise in much more comfort, hear the stereo and even move the wheel to get comfortable. Feels like a much heavier car on the road and you can drive it like a 3 series on a long journey (though it doesn’t like pot holes and the outside lane is usually nicer than being bumped around). Averaged 34mpg for the first 100 miles at 70ish mph which was quite surprising as my E46m3 struggled to better 30. Expect the average to drop to high 20s which is great for the power.
Better than the Honda in most areas with better brakes, steering and front end grip. Lots of low down pull from the Z, gearbox not as nice and likes a slower hand but suits the car and makes the next lunge more exciting when you have a pause. M tax is much higher but service intervals are longer, probably cost £100 a month more to run over the Honda by the time you take into account the higher tax band and more expensive consumables. Worth it for the engine though which is fantastic and similar to the Honda from a high power N/a tune perspective. Not as easy to slide as my E46 m3, shorter wheel base and more grip but sure it will loosen up a bit as the tyres wear down. Need to get used to slowing my steering input and being more gentle on the brakes but sure it will be a great car to own and should hold its value well too.
Wife too scared to drive the S2000, seen me have to catch it a few times from the passenger seat, loves the M coupe though and did a 100 mile stint on the way back.