Everyone likes the idea of owning a sporty little number. As well as being far more fun to drive than a dull family box car, catching your reflection in shop windows is the only way to while away a traffic jam.
But proper sports cars are super expensive, right? Not necessarily. Confused.com has found a selection of sporty gems that will give you a buzz without leaving a hole in your wallet.
Best for seat-of-your-pants thrills - Caterham 7
OK, so there’s a little bit of cheating involved here. The Caterham 7 is the definitive, stripped-down sports car, in more ways than one: it has the bare essentials, some models don’t even have a windscreen, but the upshot is you get spectacular performance and handling for a relatively modest outlay.
The snag is, unless you pay extra, you have to build it yourself. But with the cheapest versions starting at £17k, you won’t find more fun for your cash anywhere else.
Best for everyday use – Ford Focus ST
Don’t be fooled by the familiar body shape, the Ford Focus ST is a real wolf in sheep’s clothing. The standard Focus is already a hoot to drive, but add some serious power, racy underpinnings and steroid injections to the bodywork and you have a proper performance machine.
Thankfully, this hot hatch has lost none of its charm and everyday usability in the transformation, with a five door option available, as well as a big boot and comfy cabin. All this for a car that tops out at around £22k.
And hot hatches don’t have to cost silly money to insure either. Why not compare car insurance quotes to see what a Ford Focus ST will cost you to cover – you may be surprised.
Best for top-down poseurs – Mazda MX-5
Calling the MX-5 a poseur’s car is a bit unfair. From the outside it has all the right ingredients: long bonnet, pert little rump, folding roof and just the two seats, so it’s a hit with those who want to look the part. But the truth is the MX-5 is also a real driver’s car.
It has a sharp rear-wheel drive chassis, a choice of keen petrol engines, and is undemanding behind the wheel. Cynics might say it’s a carbon-copy of a certain British roadster, but the truth is that the MGB was never this good.
The MX-5 range starts at £15,420.
Best for tight budgets and tight parking spaces – Fiat 500 Abarth
This little rocketship is a triumph in compact style and performance, and is expected to cost under £14k when it’s released in spring 2009.
You’ll need to be quick though as this could well be hit of the year. The standard 500 is already a pleasure to look at and to drive, but the Abarth version adds a mean streak and some serious punch.
It outshines the Mini Cooper for style and should cost about the same, so get ahead of the fashionistas and go Italian. The Abarth is expected to fall into car insurance tax band D.
Best of British – Lotus Elise
The little Norfolk car maker has been plugging away for years producing some of the best sports cars at any price, and the current Elise is arguably their best yet.
The combination of light weight, sparkling engines and some of the best chassis engineers in the world means you, the lucky driver, gets to savour a car that simply loves bends, looks fantastic and is exhilarating to drive.
Even better, the entry-level S model nips in at £24k – bargain basement for a pint-sized supercar. The top-spec SC model is head-bangingly fast but just creeps over our £30k barrier.
The lightweight approach also pays off at the pumps – despite the performance, the Elise S can still do 34mpg, which is cheap motoring by sports car standards.
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(701)
-
▼
March
(193)
- New York Auto Show Debut: All New Subaru Legacy Sedan
- Next Generation Porshe Boxster Spy Photos
- 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedan released officia...
- Nürburgring: Audi RS3 Mule First Spy Photos
- Rumour: Dacia SUV to Resemble Nissan Qashqai
- Spy Photos: Opel Insignia OPC in Blue - Clearest
- New York Auto Show: Acura ZDX Luxury Four-Door Spo...
- Black is back for California drivers
- Spy Photos: Mini working on 50th Anniversary models?
- Mini Beachcomber concept in Detailed
- Drifting 101 with world champion Rhys Millen
- Autoblog stops at the Symbolic Motors Annual Sprin...
- Button Leads BrawnGP 1-2 in F1 Season Opener in Me...
- 2009 Brawn BGP 001 : F1 Pictures
- Brawn GP Fantastic Team Debut in Formula One Firs...
- Project Sipster: Sipster Indeed
- Wind-powered car breaks record
- Spy Shots: Fiery new Insignia VXR uncovered
- BMW Z4 priced from $46,575
- Brawn locks out Melbourne front row
- Driven: 2009 Audi S5 vs. 1985 Audi Ur quattro
- Ratan Tata seeks U.K. aid for Jaguar Land Rover
- Spy Photos: Facelifted Audi Q7 Spotted in Atlanta
- Pagani Zonda R Official Commercial Trailer Release...
- Video : TH2 Volkswagen T5: 558 pk
- New Ferrari.com website to go live during first 20...
- 100 New Ford Fiestas Arrive in U.S. From Germany
- Toyota Launches a Redesigned 'Crown Majesta'
- Opel Sponsors Royal College of Art Students to Des...
- 2008 Chanel Fiore Design Concept in Video
- Tesla Model S Revealed to Media
- 2009 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-24 Formula One Pictures
- 2009 McLaren-Mercedes F1 Team and Launch Pictures
- F1 2009 : Ferrari Team and Pictures
- 2009 Ferrari F60 Technical Specifications
- 2009 Ferrari F60 Launch
- 2009 Regulations Could Lead to Shake-Up : Renault ...
- Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster Concept Revealed
- Supercars _ GTA Concept to Launch Next Month
- EV Innovations to unveil Wave and Inizio electric-...
- New Details and Spy Photos for Range Rover Facelift
- B&B Pumps 300 Ponies Out of Volkswagen Tiguan
- China seen producing scaled-down knockoff of Peuge...
- Kia unveils Forte LPI hybrid electric vehicle (HEV...
- Final Design and Details for Melkus RS2000
- 30 Cool Car Wallpapers
- Cool Car Wallpapers
- Audi releasing new low-cost 1.8 TFSI TT Roadster i...
- Porsche Speedster
- Lamborghini Murcielago by Prindiville
- Rolls-Royce 200EX (RR4) to Get 500 Horsepower Turb...
- Volvo V70 pickup aka Volvomino
- VW Golf GTI MkVI in Depth
- Timo Glock goes up on two wheels in a Toyota Hilux
- Freightliner debuts RunSmart Predictive Cruise Con...
- Live webcast of Hyundai Genesis coupe press intro ...
- Formula One : Toyota have unveiled the TF109
- Lamborghini Estoque canned
- New Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
- BMW says no to making a new Z4M
- Reasonably Priced Car Comparison: Honda CR-V Vs Ci...
- Corvette GT1 Commemorative Edition Unveiled Ahead ...
- Audi launches Facebook fan page for the R15 TDI
- Road to Formula One 2009 Information
- Aston Martin One-77 Episode 3 in Video
- New York Auto Show: 2010 Mazda CX-9 & CX-7 Facelifts
- New York Auto Show: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG
- Dodge Challenger Mr Norm Super Cuda
- BMW M3 to move to turbo six; 1-Series M green lighted
- Gronholm's Prodrive Impreza WRC2008 Revealed - Rea...
- 2020 Hyundai City Car Concept
- High-speed Detroit-Lansing rail line envisioned
- BMW 5 Series GT _ TV Video
- Caparo T1 Race Extreme Details
- Most Successful Porsche Race Cars Reunite at 12 Ho...
- 2010 Ford Taurus SHO/ST Concept and Pictures
- New 2010 Ford Taurus SHO
- 2009 Geneva Auto Show: Ford Iosis Max Previews Nex...
- Spyker's owner shot in apparent assassination attempt
- New Roush 2010 427R Mustang Unveiled
- Audi to be Featured Marque at Goodwood Festival of...
- Video: Terrafugia "Flying Car" Makes First Flight
- Video: Tazzari ZERO EV to Arrive in North America ...
- New York Auto Show: Scion Announces Micro-subcompa...
- Platinum R Rover Sport Concept802 wide body kits n...
- Frankfurt Motor Show: Mini Planning New Small City...
- FIA introduces voluntary budget cap for 2010
- First 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 & Two Mustang GT Conc...
- Quandt Family nixes BMW and Daimler 7% share swapp...
- Audi: brand can not support the small cars in the ...
- Porsche 911 4S Coupe & Cabriolet Pon Edition
- Facelift Audi Q7 is launched in April
- eBay Find of the Day: World's Fastest Production Car
- Driven: Ronn Motor Company Scorpion, the world's f...
- Opel Insignia Spied in Michigan by WCF Reader
- Toyota nearly axed F1 team - boss
- Rast test car in crash
- Ferrari F450 Test Mule Spied Up Close During Winte...
- Upcoming Audi RS3 powered by the turbo engine foun...
- Catch Truth in 24 this Friday on ESPN
-
▼
March
(193)