Sports cars are fun to own and drive, especially if you get the variety that may be a tad expensive at the beginning but does not cost much on the upkeep. Of course, sports cars do not usually make for great daily drivers and if you can own only one car, and have a family, a sports car may not suit you.
That said; if you have made up your mind to get a sports car, and prefer to head to the used car lot for one, then we suggest you go for the ones that give you the best bet for your money, the sports cars that were made keeping the driver in mind. These sports cars will be fun to drive, give you thrills and yet keep you in some cool comfort as you zip along the road in your dream car. Plus, these are rather economical buys as well.
So here go 10 of the greatest driver-focused sports cars under $15,000 on the used car lot that may tempt you in getting one right now.
10 1997-2004 Chevrolet Corvette C5: Sophisticated Tech
The C5 Corvette’s overhead engine took the 24 Hours of Le Mans with surprise and did a fairly good job at the American Le Mans series as well. And yet its fiberglass-built rear leaf-suspension does a cool job of keeping road shocks out.
On top of this Corvette also gives a pretty cool fuel economy of about 19mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. So how does it do all? There’s a skip-shift in it, that lets you take off from the first gear, directly to the fourth gear when you speed up and this kind of tech makes it the perfect driver-focused sports car.
9 1999-2009 Honda S2000: Super Thrills
The Honda S2000 came with some serious speed, brought about by that 237-horsepower jetting naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter engine and had pretty sharp handling. All years of Honda S2000 was all good, although, in 2004, Honda’s snap oversteering was lessened a bit.
More than 66,000 of these were sold in the US alone in the decade-long run, and worldwide over more than 100,000 of these were sold. Today, you can have one for less than $15,000 and it will still make a great garage addition.
8 2005-2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata: A Thrilling Run
The Mazda Miata Mx-5’s third generation debuted in 2005 and was the first time this sports car got a power-retractable hardtop, taking about 12 seconds to stow itself in the trunk. The 167-horsepower four-cylinder engine does not sound like great shakes but is enough to propel this lightweight car to cool and thrilling speeds.
It’s a simple, easy-to-handle roadster, and on average, you can get one of these for about $6,000-8,000 on the used car lot, depending on the six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
7 1968-1980 MG MGB: Classic Capers
Technically the MGB debuted in 1963, although initially it was brought out by Morris Garages that was under British Motor Corporation. In 1968, there was a merger and now MG’s master was British Leyland, with slightly better build quality a little more technology to offer.
These are classic roadsters and yet many can be found below the $10,000 mark, making them rather cool little possessions to race down wide open roads in. Obviously, they are unlikely to come with the bells and whistles of a modern sports car, yet, they are incredibly fun to drive.
6 2004-2010 Mercedes-Benz SLK: Luxury With Power
While roadsters are incredibly fun to drive, soft-tops do come with plenty of leakage and damage issues, not to mention security lapses. A retractable hardtop is your best bet and the second-generation Mercedes-Benz SLK may just be the perfect car to go for.
The hardtop is retractable and takes 22 seconds to lower or raise, with the 3.5-liter V6 jet 300 horses for a very respectable 0-60 mph sprint of under six seconds. And yet, it's on the used car lot for under $10,000, waiting for a rescue.
5 1996-2004 Porsche Boxster: A Savvy Sale
When Porsche was in trouble, it approached Toyota for help, getting some serious consultation on how to slash costs across product lines. And so in 1996, the Porsche Boxster 986 was introduced, sharing those bulls-eye headlamps with the 996. It became Porsche's first two-seat convertible since the ‘50s and first mid-engine in two decades.
Obviously, it was a rip-roaring success, with more than 160,000 sold in eight years. 1996 models can be had for closer to $5,000 today and many more can be had just under $15,000. Needless to say, it's one awesome car to drive, period.
4 1999-2007 Toyota MR2: Superb Looks
The name MR2 is basically short for “mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seater", so that’s one mystery solved. The best models to get are the ones that come turbo-charged, obviously, and although the MR2 does tend to oversteer and drive a bit too speedy, it's perfect for long and zippy highway drives.
The steering is very responsive, and this is one cool car in looks and budget, with many examples costing just $5,000. Remember this car has been many a championship winner as well and set land speed records too.
3 1996-2006 Jaguar XK: Luxury, Redefined
In 1996, the Jaguar XK replaced the XJS as Jag’s GT coupe and convertible model in a 2+2 format. The silhouette was sleek and the 4.0-liter V8 initially jetted 290 horses, although soon a supercharged version was added in for 370 horsepower.
More Gran Turismo than a sports car, the XK is as sporty as it is luxurious with plenty of accouterments thrown in for maximum driving pleasure. Getting one of these under $10,000 is a fairly easy job considering they haven’t been holding on to their values well.
2 1990-2000 Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO: Overlooked Potency
Most ‘90s JDM and Japanese cars are giving out an excellent return on investment to people savvy enough to buy them at the right time, especially ever since the Fast & Furious craze took over the car market. But the Mitsubishi 3000GT is still largely overlooked, despite being one of the coolest sports cars of the time.
So sure, the engine is a tad complicated and you really need a mechanic who knows his stuff under the hood of one to get any repairs or upgrades done. An American 3000GT is an easy buy under $10,000, look hard enough and you may find a JDM GTO as well.
1 1982-1991 Porsche 944: The Poorest Porsche
The car Porsche should have never built, as it is often denigrated today, was made for VW, using Audi parts. When VW backed out, Porsche launched the car as the 944, this time bearing a water-cooled four-cylinder engine. While we often mock the car today for being very non-Porsche-like, it did save Porsche from bankruptcy back then.
It may not be the most beloved of all Porsches, but if you have to have a Porsche and have to have it cheap, this is the car to go for. And it does make for a cool and catchy ride.
Sources: CarGurus, Autolist, CarsForSale, Hemmings