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CarsLore / Compare / Sports cars / Z4 vs S2000

BMW Z4 vs Honda S2000

Two sports cars, compared on the same official records: MOT and inspection results, safety ratings, fuel use, recalls and owner complaints. 4 like-for-like measures: the BMW Z4 leads on 2, the Honda S2000 on 2.

Where each one leads

BMW Z4

  • Fewer BMW Z4 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (4.2% against 8.5%).
  • On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 BMW Z4 uses 8.4 l/100 km, the 2009 Honda S2000 11.8.

Honda S2000

  • Against cars of the same age, the Honda S2000 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 40% more often than average) than the BMW Z4 (passes 20% more often than average).
  • Against cars of the same year, the Honda S2000 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 67% less often than average) than the BMW Z4 (fails 51% less often than average).

Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare

At a glance

BMW Z4Honda S2000
Model years in the US safety record2002–20252000–2009
New cars registered in Europe60,724 (2010–2022)—
Licensed in the United Kingdom32,4583,072
On the road in the Netherlands5,299711
In traffic in Finland773—

EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).

Reliability and problems

BMW Z4Honda S2000
UK MOT first-time pass rate77%80%
… against cars of the same age+20%+40%
New York safety inspections failed1.0%0.7%
… against cars of the same year−51%−67%
Illogical odometer records (NL)4.2%8.5%
US owner complaints1,282107
Most complaints aboutSteeringEngine and engine cooling
Model year with most complaints2003 (414)2000 (40)
US recall campaigns285
Manufacturer service bulletins1,817420
NHTSA defect investigations9—

Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).

Fuel, emissions and price

BMW Z4Honda S2000
Official combined fuel use, Canada8.4 l/100 km (2026)11.8 l/100 km (2009)
Real-world use in Europe, petrol8.9 l/100 km—
Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe170 g/km—
Average power of new cars in Europe193 kW (259 hp)—
Average mass in running order1,554 kg—
Dutch list price when new (median)€70,203€50,060
Average odometer in Finland136,000 km—

Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).