Sports cars may be awesome, but they do have a few downsides. After all, they don’t exactly offer room for five friends to join you like the second-coolest type of vehicle — the minivan — does. They can also be unreliable and cost a lot of money to keep on the road. Plus, they’re typically just more expensive to buy in general. If you don’t have $100,000 to spend on a sports car or the patience to put up with something unreliable, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options. In fact, our friends at Consumer Reports recently put together a list of sports cars that you should be able to find for $25,000 or less that are also reliable.
That isn’t quite free, but it sure is a whole lot less than the base price of a new Porsche 911. Especially with used cars, prices also vary depending on where you live and what’s available at the time, so it’s possible you’ll end up paying a little more if you aren’t willing to travel, but at the very least, it’s a good general guide. Sadly, the list isn’t as long as we would like, but let’s see what made the cut.
$15,000 or less
If you want to spend less than $15,000 on any vehicle, much less a sports car, your options are kind of limited these days. That said, you really can’t go wrong with the current-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata that first went on sale back in 2016. You’ll probably end up paying at least $10,000, but you should be able to find them for less than $15,000. They weren’t all that expensive for a new car to begin with, while also offering more driver enjoyment than you can shake a stick at. Speaking of sticks, only get the automatic transmission if you have a specific reason to. The Miata just isn’t the same without a manual transmission.
These are small cars, and it’s entirely possible you may not fit, so definitely try before you buy, but as long as you do, the Miata is about as much fun per dollar as it gets unless you’re willing to get your motorcycle license and try something on two wheels. You get more power in newer Miatas, which makes them more desirable, but that just means the 2016s and 2017s are even better deals.
$15,000 to $20,000
If you can afford to spend up to $20,000, you have a few more options. You could, of course, always get a newer, more expensive Miata. That’s a little obvious, but it’s also partly your fault for looking for buying advice on a site with “Miata is always the answer” as its mantra. Also, post-refresh Miatas make about 25 more horsepower than the earlier ones, and in a car that started with only 155 hp, you’ll be able to feel it.
But that kind of budget also opens the door to a 2017 Ford Mustang. You’ll probably have to go older if you want the V8, but you may be surprised just how much you enjoy the turbocharged four-cylinder that has since replaced the V6 in the Mustang lineup. Heck, if you’ve only driven older Mustangs, you may just be confused by how something wearing a Mustang badge can be that good in the corners.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for something a little nicer inside, you could also pick up a 2018 BMW 4 Series coupe or convertible. That may sound terrifying if you’ve heard horror stories about old, out-of-warranty German luxury cars, but the results of Consumer Reports’ latest owner survey show these cars are actually pretty reliable. The six-cylinder engine is probably out of reach at this price point, at least in a car you’d actually want to buy, but the four-cylinder isn’t a bad consolation prize.
$20,000 to $25,000
At the $25,000 price point, you’re probably still best served by picking up an almost-new, gently used Miata. They really are outstanding as long as you aren’t too tall, too wide or in need of a back seat. Even if the specs don’t look as impressive as you were hoping they would, if you’ve never driven one, we promise you’ll have more fun than you ever expected. That said, not everybody wants a Miata, and that’s OK. (It actually isn’t, but we’re working on being more accepting around here.) If that’s the case, you should be able to get the six-cylinder BMW 4 Series, but you also have two other options that Consumer Reports recommends.
The first is a 2019 Audi A5, which falls a little more on the luxury side of things versus the BMW. That will turn some people off, but not everyone wants a coupe that corners as fast as physically possible. Sometimes you just want a comfortable, stylish coupe that’s still pretty fun to drive. If that’s you, you’ll definitely want to give the A5 a look. Alternatively, look at a 2022 Mini Cooper. Like the Miata, its engine isn’t the most powerful, but these cars are just so darn fun to drive, it’s hard to imagine you’ll care. Plus, you get a back seat and more practicality than the Miata thanks to the Mini’s hatchback design. And while older Minis aren’t exactly cheap to keep on the road, newer Minis are actually pretty reliable.
