1HaytchZed
Active member
E39 M5
period. fullstop.
period. fullstop.
budget performance cars
- Thread starter haven
- Start date
The poor Mazda front engine answer to the 911, LOL
A fun car, a competitive club racer if you can keep it running with that Wankel engine. Known as the worst gas guzzlers in the 2+2 coupe world they just had reliability issues, ignition and timing issues that were unique to the rotary was a bit foreign to most folks in the pits.
I'd say they are rare on the road, maintaining one is probably not for the old school mechanic, but a nice one should hold it's bottom basement value. Good power to weight ration for it's wheelbase would make it a fun weekend driver. Nice interior and sporty looks are a plus.
BEEMERS, first class I ran was 2 litter 2002's a fun, quick steering shoebox. I like the M5 (German car named after a stretch of roadway in England, LOL), the 302 could scream. Fine for sedan races, rallies and long tracks, but saying "sports car" they are not. Performance car, that gets a nod, they certainly are. A Camel series Mustang chaser.
I haven't kept up on Beemer prices but I have seen some pretty low asking prices on the 3 and 5 series.
Bob Boyer
Member
Late to the party on this one but, yes. Buddy of mine - and autocross co-driver - had an Elise for a while. I had a well-prepared CSP Miata that was also my daily driver. We went on a run one Saturday and swapped cars back and forth. The Elise just smacked the ******** out of the Miata in the twisties, didn't matter who was driving it. That said, we both agreed that the Miata was the more well-rounded car.
The old 6 banger Camaros were slow.While it is far from being a small budget, it is one of my favorite performance cars.
And, it's also a sleeper as well.
Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3.
Faster than a Camaro from 0 to 60 and also a higher top speed.
All in the comfort of a luxury car that seats 5 while doing it.
Nice cars, and you can find a bargain, but most are commanding good money. And maintenance costs could push them out of the "budget" category.
I decided to look for a fun car as a stop-gap while I decide what I want to replace my SUV with and I found this. $27k with 340 miles on it. (Older lady bought it and decided she didn't want a manual 6-speed and it was sitting on an Acura dealer's lot collecting dust). It's a freaking blast. It's more fun than my fully-sorted '90 Spec Miata race car was.
jkam
nomadic man
But the V-8 ones weren't and the Benz spanked those.
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
Your data is off a bit- the Camaro v8s of the time were faster to 60 and in the quarter pound.While it is far from being a small budget, it is one of my favorite performance cars.
And, it's also a sleeper as well.
Mercedes 300 SEL 6.3.
Faster than a Camaro from 0 to 60 and also a higher top speed.
All in the comfort of a luxury car that seats 5 while doing it.
My budget performance car is one people often don’t think about, but that I think is great fun and quite fast. A Honda Accord… yes an Accord. But only with the J series V6 and the 6 speed manual. My particular car is a 2006 with the 3.0 V6 and 6 speed manual. Mine is a sedan which they only made with the manual in 2006 and 2007. It does 0-60 according to Car and Driver in 5.9 seconds and is quite fun in the twists for a family sedan.
It’s also extremely reliable to boot. I bought it in 2016 for $6,500 with 119,000 miles and it now has 215,000 miles and regularly sees its 7000 rpm redline. It has one of the smoothest shifting 6 speeds I’ve ever experienced.
The newer Accord coupes with the 3.5 liter v6’s are also a great option with a little more power. It’s kind of an unconventional performance car, but I love it. It’s comfortable, smooth, fast, and fun. Really the perfect daily driver. With snow tires it’s even good in the snow since it’s front wheel drive!
It’s also extremely reliable to boot. I bought it in 2016 for $6,500 with 119,000 miles and it now has 215,000 miles and regularly sees its 7000 rpm redline. It has one of the smoothest shifting 6 speeds I’ve ever experienced.
The newer Accord coupes with the 3.5 liter v6’s are also a great option with a little more power. It’s kind of an unconventional performance car, but I love it. It’s comfortable, smooth, fast, and fun. Really the perfect daily driver. With snow tires it’s even good in the snow since it’s front wheel drive!
If you are willing to deal with the maintenance costs, I would recommend a 2008 Volkswagen R32. Not as engaging as the 2004 R32 since the 08 has the DSG transmission vs the 6-speed manual. But 250 hp naturally aspirated 3.2l V6, 6-speed flappy paddle gear box, Haldex AWD and a pretty nice interior. I picked mine up off BAT for 10k, have about the same into the car since I bought it to cover all needed maintenance along with new BBS wheels with summer tires and Fifteen52 wheels with winter tires. It has been a blast as a fun daily driver. You can find them for as little as about $8k, but a solid ready to go example is about $15k. In a world where the new GTI gets up to $40k and the Golf R is $50k I feel the MK5 R32 is a very attractive budget "performance" car.
