Expensive sports cars set standards in performance, luxury, and design. That may well be. But when it comes to the sheer amount of fun you can have with a sports car, you'll find that price doesn't always dictate what's best.

And some sports car companies have found the recipe for fun, putting together simple and straightforward vehicles that balance affordability with performance, providing unrivaled amounts of smiles for the Dollar. You can even go a step further and look into the used car market, where you'll be tempted with cars that cost as low as four figures.

related: You Can Buy These Stunning Sports Coupes For Cheap

Still, their combination of sporty suspensions, lightweight designs, and powerful engines that will glue you to your seat make them some of the most exciting sports cars out there for the price, and they're just as fun as a supercar.

10 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Coupe: The Perfect Pony

via Autoblg

Muscle car purists may insist the base Mustang is just a pony car but even then, it remains a fun car to drive, even in a six-speed stick shift. The EcoBoost coupe in the Ford Mustang is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and while it is not as powerful as a V8, its also not as expensive and still jets 300+ horses.

via CarandDriver

It falls in the under $30,000 category of thrilling rides, at $26,670 a pop. A 10-speed AT will cost you almost $1,600 more but there are plenty of $1,000 packages on it to make driving safer and more fun.

9 Toyota GT86: Nothing But Pure Fun

via CheersandGears

The mechanical twin of the Subaru BRZ, the Toyota GT86 is pure pleasure to drive. It's one of the simpler things as well, with no luxury or refinement and no turbocharger either. What this car is, is awesome fun on a rear-wheel-drive, and starts at $26,985, base trim.

via DoubleClutch.ca

The GT and Hakone trims are also under $30,000 and come with little bits of luxury and tech if you want to take the GT86 to the next level. The engine option is a singular one, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder one jetting 197 horses, for a 140-mph top speed. But where this car trumps the competition is in the corners and on curvy roads. Its featherlight design and boxer engine paired with RWD makes them corner like crazy without losing any of the speed they have built up.

8 FIAT 500 Abarth: Cheap But Amazing

via Road&Track

You may love it or hate it, but the Fiat 500 Abarth is the perfect cheap car that’s amazing fun to drive with prices starting at $23,500 with shipping. When it comes to horsepower, it makes only 160, but since its only 144-inches or so long and weighs 2,500 pounds, it flies from 0-60 mph in 7 seconds.

via TopSpeed

The sportscar-like exhaust is another interesting touch, and the car handles beautifully because of good tires, riding on a sporty suspension, and revs up so fast, the sensation of speed is amazing.

7 Mini Cooper: Perfect Little Package

via MotorIllustrated

The Mini Cooper is a small and iconic car, the kind everybody has a hankering for at least once in their lifetimes. It's small but has enough power, and even the cheapest base trim that starts at $22,400 is a plucky drive.

Blue 2016 Mini Cooper S rear
via Thecarmagazine.com

While the highest trim, John Cooper Works, starts at $32,000 and goes up, the Cooper S model starts at $26,900 for the coupe and $27,900 for the four-door model, jetting 189 horses for a 145 mph top speed. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is turbocharged and inter-cooled for maximum performance.

6 Honda Civic Si: A Cool Front-Drive

via GrassrootsMotorsports

Most front-wheel small-sized cars are hatchbacks, but the Honda Civic Si comes in a coupe or sedan, for more or less the same price, and with no noticeable difference in performance. The turbocharged 1.5-liter engine jets 205 horses mated with a six-speed manual for top speeds of 137 mph.

via TheTruthAboutCars

There’s not much of a weight difference between the coupe or the four-door sedan as well, so there’s no question of choosing comfort over performance. It's one of the best front-drive cars out there.

RELATED: Everything You Need To Know About The 2020 Honda Civic

5 Hyundai Veloster N: A Very Hot Hatch

via CarandDriver

The three-door funky design has been catching many an eye since the launch of the Hyundai Veloster, especially with its very affordable base price of less than $20,000.

Hyundai Veloster N blue 2020 red lining
Via Cnet

The top trim is the Veloster N which is a four-door with the rear accessible only from the passenger side doors. The turbocharged 2.0-liter engine in it churns out 250 horses with 260 ft-lb torque for impressive road movement even at 155 mph. It is one of the best hatchbacks money can buy.

4 Subaru WRX: Awesome Rally Driving

via CarandDriver

The Subaru WRX is an all-wheel-drive entry and for less than $30,000 you get some seriously slick driving, but only if you take the six-speed manual. The CVT gets into the pricey variety. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine revs up 270 horses even though the interior of the WRX is pretty basic.

via AutomobileMag

But you cannot have the best of both worlds on a budget, so if its performance worthy a rally you are looking for, the WRX should do very nicely especially since it has a track-tuned suspension and torque vectoring.

3 Jeep Wrangler: The Perfect Off-Roader

via Jeep

Why the Wrangler? Well, why not? No, it will be a thrillingly fast car, but it’s a thrilling off-roader that provides you the pleasure of great driving on beaches, through jungles, and even on winding mountain roads. At a $24,000 base price, it's perfect. Do bear in mind that the base model cannot go rock crawling.

via ToledoBlade

The roofs and door and removable for good weather driving, and even if you plan to use Jeep Wrangler only as a city car, it will do, with an all-new spruced up cabin perfect for a daily driver.

2 Mazda MX-5 Miata: Japanese Performance

via CarBuzz

The Miata may not be rotary anymore, but its still loads of fun with its four-cylinder engine that makes only 181 horsepower. But they made the Miata MX-5 extremely light and perfect to get your thrills in as it races down the road at 135-mph top speed.

These Cars Prove A Cheap Car Can Be Just As Fun As An Expensive One
via InsideMazda

You will have a bit of a body roll in this one, and this means the Miata will only teach you to be a better driver even though it can take corners without needing to hit the brakes. At $26,880 base price, the Miata MX-5 adds in blind-spot monitoring, forward collision, and lane departure warnings as well.

RELATED: Best & Worst Mazda Models, Ranked

1 Volkswagen GTI: Versatile And Fun

via TheTorqueReport

Sometimes, you just need a car that can do it all and still be cheap. Presenting the Volkswagen GTI, which is based on the VW Golf. It comes powered with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and makes 228 horses with 258 ft-lb of torque at a base price of $28,595.

via SixSpeedBlog

A cool hatchback, the GTI offers a nifty and nimble drive, and yet has plenty of cargo space to go around as well. It may sound a little expensive but with luxury interiors and a top speed of 155 mph, it’s the perfect affordable ride.

NEXT: These Classic Muscle Cars Are More Expensive Than Modern Sports Cars