These Are Best Reliable Used Sports Cars For Under $25,000, According To Consumer Reports
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.
Read more: These New Cars Just Aren't Worth The Money
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.
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.
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.
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
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USA Today
8 hours ago
- USA Today
The 10 fastest Mustangs we've ever tested
The Ford Mustang has dramatically transformed from an entry-level muscle car to high-performance sports car over the course of the past 25 years. Although V-8 power has always been in the mix, modern engine controls, improved tire technology, and incredibly quick-shifting automatic transmissions have conspired to boost the Mustang's straight-line speed as never before. Of course, it's not all automatics and electronic trickery, as we found plenty of quick manual-transmission Mustangs when poring over our decades of test results — especially among those models most capable of taking advantage of the recent handling upgrades that have been made to the Mustang's chassis. Before we get to the cars, a note about how we do what we do. The MotorTrend test team measures the acceleration of more than 200 vehicles every year to inform the rigorous, unbiased reviews written by our experienced editors. To ensure our 0–60 and quarter mile times are accurate, we hold ourselves to high standards. We test at automotive proving grounds in California and Michigan with Racelogic Vbox Touch data loggers that record a vehicle's speed 25 times per second using high-accuracy GPS. All our acceleration times are weather-corrected using the methodologies outlined by SAE International, the standards organization formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers. The weather correction defined in SAE J1349 allows MotorTrend acceleration numbers collected on a Michigan winter day to be directly compared with those captured during summer testing in California. After sorting through our exhaustive database to ID the top-performing Ford pony cars, here are the 10 fastest Mustangs MotorTrend has ever tested. In the event of a tie, the car with the higher trap speed was used to break it. Which of these Mustangs would you want in your stable? Iconic classic cars: The most significant and beloved cars of the 2000s 10. 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 - 12.3 seconds at 115.8 mph Ford had been building special-edition Mustangs for decades, but the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 showed how serious the company was about reimagining the muscle icon as a potential sports car competitor. The Boss 302's name called back to the heady days of 1970s Trans Am racing, yet the extensive list of upgrades and alterations made to the 2012 car's suspension, engine and aero were cutting edge, rather than throwback, when experienced on a road course. The first Mustang to come with a special key that unlocked TracMode engine management and a two-stage launch control — and the only Ford at the time with functional side pipes — the Boss 302 was able to fully leverage the 444 horsepower produced by its 5.0-liter V-8, cracking the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds at 115.8 mph. Pretty impressive for a car that was designed to do the opposite of a straight-line shot. Read the First Test of the 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 9. 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 - 12.3 seconds at 117.0 Ford never followed up on the Boss 302 after its two years of production, but it did replace it with an equally potent, track-oriented model, the Shelby GT350. Get used to that name, because you'll be seeing it often on our list of the fastest Mustangs. The Shelby GT350 was an even more radical departure from the standard version of the car, swapping in a 5.2-liter V-8 in place of the factory 5.0 and taking advantage of a flat-plane crank design to spin the engine all the way up to an 8,250-rpm redline. The upper reaches of the tachometer yielded 526 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque, and that was enough to achieve a 12.3-second quarter mile at 117.0 mph. This edges it past the Boss 302, using our trap speed tiebreaker. Read the First Drive review of the 2019 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Electric vehicles for collectors: Cadillac Optiq EV goes pink for Mary Kay sales stars 8. 2024 Ford Mustang GT Convertible (10A Premium w/ Performance Package) - 12.2 seconds at 116.8 mph How is it possible that the 2024 Ford Mustang GT convertible – even one equipped with Ford's Performance package — was able to best the lighter and more powerful Shelby GT350 at the dragstrip by a tenth of a second? The answer is the car's 10-speed automatic transmission, a gearbox so much better at managing torque than the launch control built into the manual-equipped Shelby that it doesn't even have a dedicated launch feature. Then there's the fact that the GT makes more of its power down low compared to the soaring scream of the GT350's slightly larger V-8, which makes it less frenetic off the line. The result for sun-loving Mustang fans is a 12.2-second quarter mile with a trap speed of 116.8 mph. Read the First Test of the 2024 Mustang GT Convertible 7. 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R - 12.2 seconds at 119.0 mph For those seeking the utmost in track performance, Ford sharpened its hooves of the GT350 with the GT350R model. This version of the Mustang made no changes under the hood but instead focused on weight savings through the inclusion of carbon-fiber wheels and a rear seat delete. It also improved downforce by way of additional aero equipment, and it tweaked the suspension to dial out whatever remaining concessions to street comfort were left in the S550 Mustang's platform. Our testing revealed the GT350R to be a better fit for turning in hot laps rather than stacking up time slips, but with a performance of 12.2 seconds at 119 mph, this version of the Shelby is far from a slouch at the dragstrip. Read the 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R vs. 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 comparison test 6. 2018 Ford Mustang GT - 12.1 seconds at 118.8 mph What happens when you lose some of the weight added by the Ford Mustang GT convertible but keep the slick-shifting 10-speed automatic transmission in the mix? The answer, according to our test of the 2018 Ford Mustang GT coupe, is another tenth of a second at the dragstrip. The 460 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque from the Mustang GT's 5.0-liter V-8 do good work in partnership with its autobox (which features more aggressive gearing than the manual), making it a full half-second quicker by the end of the quarter mile than the same car with a six-speed gearbox installed. We saw 12.1 seconds at 118.8 mph during our testing. That's better than even the Performance Pack 1 and Performance Pack 2 versions of the 6MT Mustang GT that we tested later that same year. Read the First Test of the 2018 Ford Mustang GT 5. 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R - 12.1 seconds at 119.6 mph The second appearance for the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R hails from the year it debuted, and it turns out our initial test was a tenth of a second quicker than what we could manage with the 2017 edition of the car. Our best efforts yielded a 12.1-second quarter mile with a trap speed of 119.6 mph (though a test with a different car brought us closer to the 2017 model with a result of 12.2 seconds at 118.9 mph). What's the takeaway? Variables like weather conditions, remaining tire life, vehicle break-in periods, and even driver skill can all impact the test results of even seemingly identical cars. Read the First Drive review of the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang 4. 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse (10A Premium) - 12.0 seconds at 118.4 mph Sure, the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is one of the heaviest editions of the coupe to ever hit the streets, but you wouldn't know it based on its quarter-mile performance. In our testing, the Dark Horse posted a 12.0-second dragstrip run with a trap speed of 118.4 mph, good enough for fourth place all-time on our fastest Mustangs list. It certainly helps that the Ford Mustang Dark Horse comes with a 500-horsepower version of the pony car's 5.0-liter V-8 (though torque is down just a smidge versus the standard Mustang GT), as well as sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires as part of the Handling pack on the car we tested. As with other 10-speed automatic Mustangs, there's no launch control required to achieve the best results off the line, as the car's Drag Strip mode sets up the transmission for maximum swiftness when swapping cogs. Read the First Test of the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse 3. 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake - 12.0 seconds at 129.2 mph Before the Shelby name expanded to the GT350, it ruled supreme on the GT500 as a warning that you were about to be completely overwhelmed by horsepower. No vehicle better represents this philosophy than the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Super Snake, which delivered 850 horsepower and 613 lb-ft of torque from a 5.8-liter supercharged V-8. That's a significant step up over the 662 horsepower generated by the 'standard' Shelby GT500 version of the car, and it's enough to push the Mustang to a 12-second flat e.t. for the first time on our list. Officially, we squeezed 12.0 seconds at 129.2 mph from the GT500 Super Snake and its six-speed manual gearbox. Given its huge power advantage over the similarly quick, automatic-equipped Mustangs we've seen so far, this result shows just how difficult it can be to corral all that output with a clutch pedal. Read the First Drive review of the 2013 Shelby GT500 Super Snake 2. 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally - 11.9 seconds at 115.2 mph It might shock you to find out that there are only two factory-spec Mustangs to slip under the 12.0-second mark in all our years of testing at MotorTrend — and one of them is electric. The Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally is a contentious model among brand purists, especially given its tall-riding SUV stature and four doors, but that doesn't change the fact that it turned in a time slip of 11.9 seconds at 115.2 mph during our quarter-mile testing. As that trap speed might indicate, the Mach-E Rally is all about hooking up and making the most of its instant-on electric torque, which comes courtesy of two motors churning out a heady 700 lb-ft. With no gear shifts to worry about, the EV Mustang just hooks up and goes, melting your face like the climactic scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark in the process. Read the First Test of the 2024 Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally 1. 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (Carbon Fiber Track Package) - 11.3 seconds at 131.6 mph Here it is: the fastest Mustang we've ever tested, and one that combines huge horsepower with the traction-grabbing certainty and lightning-quick shifts of an automatic gearbox. The Mustang Shelby GT500 lassos its 760 horses and 625 lb-ft of torque with a seven-speed dual-clutch autobox that features not just the Drag Mode found with the 10-speed automatic but also an actual launch control. All that electronic overwatch, and this pony is still a bear to launch. Our best result, after an afternoon of learning the ins and outs of maximizing the Mustang's traction, was 11.3 seconds at 131.6 mph. Our second-best time was just two-tenths off that figure. That's exceptional for a street car, especially one that, like the GT350R, is intended to lap the competition rather than pound dragstrip asphalt into submission. Read the First Test of the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 A couple more Mustangs, just for fun 2003 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra - 13.12 seconds at 109.6 mph The SVT Cobra was the first super Mustang for the masses. It was a car that punched well above its weight with a supercharged V-8 remarkably amenable to power-boosting modifications. Of course, if you stuck with the stock 390 ponies and 390 lb-ft of torque, you certainly weren't complaining, as those were monster numbers at the time for any car, let alone an affordable Ford. When we took a convertible version of the Ford Mustang SVT Cobra to the dragstrip, we managed a quarter-mile time of 13.12 seconds at 109.6 mph. That's a few ticks slower than the coupe, but you get to hear that 4.6-liter motor at full gallop, unfettered by a sheetmetal cocoon. It's no wonder the SVT Cobra quickly earned the nickname 'Terminator.' 2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R - 12.9 seconds at 110.8 mph The Cobra R was a low-production project intended to build the nastiest Mustang that had ever seen the inside of a showroom. With no back seat, a huge rigid wing affixed to the trunk, a track-ready suspension and brake setup, and a 5.4-liter naturally aspirated engine under the hood, this was the most focused version of Ford's muscle coupe to have ever emerged from the factory. The Cobra R was able to nearly match the Terminator under the hood, where it produced 385 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque. Combined with its weight savings, that was enough for a 12.9-second quarter mile with a 110.8 mph trap speed in our testing. Photo by MotorTrend, illustrations by Ryan Lugo
The Verge
18 hours ago
- The Verge
A veteran toy racing company is trading slots for smartphone-controlled RC cars
Carrera, a German company that has been making slot car toys since the '60s, has announced a new scaled racing experience that does away with the slots altogether. Carrera Hybrid still has you racing 1:50-scale cars around a reconfigurable track, but you control them using an app on a mobile device and you're now free to steer anywhere you want, even off the track to overtake an opponent. Carrera Hybrid is already available internationally, but the company is launching a starter set in the US on September 1st for $199.99 that includes a mix of 15 straight and curved track pieces and a pair of Porsche 911 GT3 R racers. The company currently offers a wide selection of licensed vehicles for its traditional slot car products, but plans to expand the Hybrid version with recognizable cars from Mercedes-AMG, Audi, and BMW. Instead of drawing power from metal rails on the track, the Carrera Hybrid vehicles use rechargeable batteries good for about 30 minutes of racing. Each one connects to a mobile device like a smartphone or a tablet over Bluetooth. You can steer the vehicles by physically turning your device like a steering wheel, but the free accompanying mobile app, available for iOS and Android, can also be paired with a wireless controller making the racing feel more like a video game. Sensors on the bottom of each car detect printed patterns on the track so the app always knows the position of all the vehicles, and while up to 30 users can race on a single layout, the app limits that to 16 for competitive races where stats are tracked. The free roaming nature of Carrera Hybrid creates more opportunities to overtake opponents while the app increases the realism through sound effects and by letting players fine tune the performance and handling of their vehicles including tire grip and brake sensitivity. The app can also simulate various track conditions for a bigger challenge, or assist less experienced racers with driving aids. The company says it spent the past few years developing the Carrera Hybrid. It's reminiscent of Anki Drive that debuted in 2013 with a fixed track layout, and the follow-up, Anki Overdrive, that introduced reconfigurable track layouts in 2015. Overdrive offered a lot of the same features and functionality of Carrera Hybrid, plus AI-controlled opponents, but Anki eventually shut down in 2019. Hopefully, given Carrera has been making racing toys for around 60 years, it will continue to invest in its Hybrid offering and keep the AI-powered racing sets around for a lot longer than Anki did. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Andrew Liszewski Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gadgets Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Toys Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Transportation
Motor 1
a day ago
- Motor 1
‘That's Your Sign Not to Sell It‘: Man Is on His Way to Sell His 1966 Mustang. Then It Breaks Down in the Middle of the Highway
A University of Texas track and field athlete hit a stroke of bad luck trying to sell his 1966 Ford Mustang. It broke in the middle of the highway on the way there. Sam Hurley ( @samhurley ) documented his misfortune in a TikTok that's accrued over 189,000 views on the popular social media application. Hurley's clip begins with him sitting shirtless inside of his stuck vehicle. 'Well my car broke down in the middle of the highway,' he says before flashing a thumbs-up into the lens. While he speaks, the sound of vehicles zooming past him reverberates off-camera. 'I'm kind of scared. I bought this 1966 Mustang like a couple years ago,' he adds, showing off the classic car's interior. 'And I'm on my way to sell it right now when it broke down in the middle of the highway,' the athlete tells viewers. 'I've been out here for like 10 minutes, called a few tow trucks. I brought my homie with me and he was supposed to follow me. But he passed me and then now I've been here for 20 minutes.' Even though Hurley was left stranded on the side of the road, he didn't have any shortage of attention from other commuters. 'People keep honking at me like I could do something about it. I've been sitting here trying to start it for 10 minutes. So, now my only thing I can do is come rant to TikTok cause I don't want to get rear-ended out here,' he says. As he talks, Hurley constantly checks to see if any other cars are getting too close for comfort. A Final Start? 'And I'm scared about it,' he adds, throwing in a bit of footage showing a large cargo truck zooming past his window. Following this, he attempts one last time to bring his Mustang to life. 'Hoping this is the one that starts it, I got a good feeling man, I got a good feeling,' he says, before turning the car's ignition. He pumps its gas pedal, but it doesn't seem to work. 'Next time,' he says, dejected. Afterwards, Hurley records the exterior of the car, which had completely stalled out in the middle of the busy road. The classic convertible sits motionless as other cars drive by. He wasn't even able to get the car out to a shoulder, putting it at a greater risk of being smashed into by another vehicle. Are Older Mustangs Reliable? The aesthetic appeal of classic American cars is undeniable, especially with an icon like the Ford Mustang. Hurley's 1966 model is no exception, but as much as folks love these vintage rides, the same enthusiasts will admit using one as a daily commuter can be problematic. The blog Daily Car Tips says Mustangs overall offer 'mixed reliability,' giving credence to the mean-spirited acronyms some have appended to Ford: 'Found On Road Dead' and 'Fix Or Repair Daily.' The article says that some classic Mustangs easily make it to 200,000 or so miles or more with regular routine maintenance. But other drivers find themselves 'on a first-name basis with [their] mechanic.' A 1965 Mustang owner corroborates this assertion in a Hot Cars article. They reportedly claimed to have zero issues with their classic car. However, they did say that buyers must make sure they're purchasing 'the right one,' during their classic vehicle search. One upside to owning an older Ford Mustang is that they aren't exactly rare, and many people enjoy driving them. A car insurance company that targets the classic vehicle market reports that there are over 350,000 1965-1966 Ford Mustangs still on American roads today. Clearly it's a popular car. So Hurley shouldn't have any trouble selling his car—after he gets it out of the middle of the highway. Viewers aren't sure he should sell it after all. 'That's your sign not to sell it. Keep,' wrote one. Another urged, 'It doesn't want to be sold. That car's a dream bro.' Motor1 has reached out to Hurley via email for further comment. We'll update this if he responds. More From Motor1 'Game On:' Ford CEO Responds to the Corvette's Nürburgring Record '70s Mustang Dyno Cobra Result Shows the Horrors of the Malaise Era Ford Just Issued Another Massive Recall. And It Doesn't Even Have a Fix Yet Ford's Newest Incentive Is Even Better Than Employee Pricing Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
