Euro cars get a bad name. They're considered so rough and tough to maintain that they're sometimes referred to as Eurotrash. That's a bit harsh no matter what kind of car it is, but today we turn the tables. No matter what you've heard we're going to look at some hard data about some of the most lovely European cars ever made.
I think you'll be blown away that you could own some of these and not break the bank taking care of them. Some might cost a pretty penny but the point of today's piece is ownership costs. What does it really take to take good care of these cars? Less than you think.
15 Aston Martin DB7
This is one of the final cars from the Ford era of Aston Martin. Because of that the interior is mostly just poshed up Ford bits. In addition, the motor is pretty stout and easy to work with too. Add to it that it looks the business. I would have one in a heartbeat if I had the room.
14 Porsche 911
There's no more reliable semi-exotic car company in the world than Porsche. They wake up every day and do whatever you ask of them. The older air-cooled versions are reliable too so you can't go wrong with a 911.
13 McLaren MP4-12C
Oh yes, the McLaren MP4-12C is one of the most reliable supercars you can own. The motor is well sorted and aside from a few expensive bits like the battery, they're easy to maintain. There's not much else that gets the attention this will either. Doug Demuro drove one with 25k on it and called it "Dead Reliable".
12 Alfa Romeo 4C
Alfa just smashed it out of the park with the 4C. The motor is a 1.7l 4-cylinder that can be easily kept up. The body is one of a kind. The sound is astounding too for what it is. 80% of people will think you just pulled up in a triple-digit sports car too.
11 Lamborghini Gallardo
It may surprise you but the V10 in the Gallardo is such a stout motor that you'll see examples of this car make it well past 100k miles. That's objectively outstanding for any supercar. The marriage between Audi and Lamborghini couldn't have gone better.
10 Audi R8 4.2
No bickering about this, Audi made an amazing motor in the 4.2 V8 that ended up in a bunch of their cars. I've personally driven one and it lit my soul ablaze. The transmission is reliable too. Take care of the body and the rest will take care of you.
9 BMW Z4 35i
I quite like the Z4 35i and is. The engine is the same N54 from my 535i and the 135i as well as the 335i. They use it a lot because it's incredibly strong and capable of dealing with sinful amounts of power for the road. They use a regular inline-six with a couple of turbochargers, drama free.
8 Lotus Elise
Only car people seem to know what the Elise really is. I would imagine that most people would think this is a car worth far more than it actually is. What you may not know is that the car is equipped with a Toyota motor that's been retuned for high-performance duty so reliability isn't an issue.
7 AMG SL55
Look at that monster. If you weren't a car person I would bet that you may not notice the differences between this and a regular SL coupe. The AMG, of course, gets the hand-built V8 pushing so much torque that it should be illegal. That kind of power in such a sedate looking car is like opening your hood and 500 actual horses leap out at you. Violent and dangerous.
6 Jaguar F-Type
Jaguar hasn't been known for reliability in their past but recently things have started to change. The F-Type, for instance, is well known as a proper Porsche competitor. By that, I mean reliable, daily performance without sacrifice. Honestly, these sound better than a Porsche too.
5 Porsche Boxster
I have a good friend who has one of these. In fact, the yellow one above is his car. It's a bulletproof little rocket. It's capable of being put away for a couple of weeks here or there if need be and then waking up and running like it never took a break. It handles so exceptionally well that it embarrasses my purpose-built Rallycross WRX that's next to it.
4 BMW E30 M3
Look at that fetching car. The fender flares are stunning. The body overall is a timeless masterpiece. The engine is high-revving and properly reliable. You can drive this hard every day and enjoy it without worrying one bit about taking good care of it.
3 Fiat 500 Abarth
I will admit that some of these have had major electrical issues that have been sorted via recall. However, the engines and the transmissions are stout. They sound like a Jack Russell Terrier finally got it wishes to be a real dog too. Having driven a few I can promise you, I'd own one if I could've fit in the bloody thing.
2 Audi TT
Perhaps one of the best balanced cheap sports cars is the Audi TT. No matter if you end up with the 3.2 or the 1.8 you can have a ton of fun in these. The 1.8 is tunable to end up with serious power. The 3.2 is almost perfect and Quattro makes you the weakest link in the car.
1 Aston Martin DB9
We begin with Aston Martin and we'll finish there too. Ford seemingly showed Aston how to be reliable because the DB9 is significantly more reliable than any Aston made before it went into the hands of Ford. The looks of the thing are perhaps the best here too.