Most fun car to drive at around $15-18k?

[thedarkwolf]

oh and you can get a pretty nice c5 vette for that.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
oh and you can get a pretty nice c5 vette for that.

Link?

 

[dmw16]

I know you said you didnt like the S2000, but an S2000 with a hardtop wouldnt be a drop top (unless you wanted it to be). And in that price range you won't find a car nearly as nice. I have driven the RX-8 and it cant hold a candle to the S2000. (oh, i have an S2000)

 

[jpeyton]

EVO if you can find one; STi/WRX in second place.

 

[sniperruff]

isn't it popular to turbocharge that little pod called the MR-S? that looks hella fun.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
oh and you can get a pretty nice c5 vette for that.

Link?

assuming a long autrader link will even work
Lots with around 50k-60k miles.

 

[DanFungus]

s2k with a hard top? Or wrx - good luck finding an evo/sti at that price that hasn't been beaten into the ground.

 

[Tommy2000GT]

if brand new, then v6 mustang

 

[Minjin]

I didn't care for convertibles. Always thought they were silly. And who wants a car that flexes around because it has no top? In spite of those prejudices, I bought a Miata based on the shear volume of recommendations. They didn't prove to be wrong. It is definitely some of the most fun you can possibly have on the road. And this is coming from someone with a 400hp AWD car so the Miata feels dog slow. But that doesn't matter. Its just so much fun to drive around turns. And I actually found that I enjoy being able to put the top down in the summer.

-immense fun
-fairly cheap
-half decent gas mileage
-easy to park because its so small
-incredibly reliable and very easy to work on
-great resale value

Get a Miata.

 

[postmortemIA]

new mazda3

 

[Dr. Detroit]

'03 or '04 Mustang GT
'02 Camaro SS or Firebird WS6
'98 Corvette C5
Mini Cooper S
E36 BMW M3

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: Fmr12B
'03 or '04 Mustang GT
'02 Camaro SS or Firebird WS6
'98 Corvette C5
Mini Cooper S
E36 BMW M3

I have an 04 Mustang GT. It's not all that fun. If I hadn't chosen an automatic, to appease the wife, it might be fun.

 

[Imported]

S2K with a hard top!

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
isn't it popular to turbocharge that little pod called the MR-S? that looks hella fun.

Or you could grab a mk1 MR2 and do an engine swap...probably $4-5k, all told. Of course, the body style doesn't appeal to everyone, but I like it fine.

 

[RelaxTheMind]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
new mazda3

+1

my 07 was $25k though..used 06 would be in range.

 

[imported_hscorpio]

Ditch the car idea and get one of these: R6

 

[DanTMWTMP]

Originally posted by: RelaxTheMind

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
new mazda3

+1

my 07 was $25k though..used 06 would be in range.

ya, this car is very fun to drive. I toss it around tuns all the time. ya it's FWD, but ah well...

my 07 was 19k OTD ..just the base 2.3

 

[thedarkwolf]

A mazda 3 is spiffy little economy car but its hardly the car you would buy as a weekend toy.

Vette

 

[imported_Mike]

B5 S4
IS300
R32
WRX
S2000 with a hardtop

 

[CloE]

why write off the miata? get a NB 99-05 with hard top. you will have ton's of fun, for $15k you get nice NB miata plus cash left for turbo kit and exhaust.

 

[mwmorph]

2000-2005 Turbo MR-2 Spyder for $17K, with a hardtop. No other car until 2x the price with the, MR layout which provides the most fun possible. Also running 12.9s isnt half bad...

Or offer 18K to this guy...

Miatas are fun but MR2-S are more fun.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: RelaxTheMind

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
new mazda3

+1

my 07 was $25k though..used 06 would be in range.

Sounds like you guys have never driven fun cars.

 

[gsellis]

Missing from this list

300ZX - I drove one at Road Atlanta at a school and it was pretty fun (too tall with a helmet for the T-Tops though, but it could have been the mount of the racing seat too.) No understeer there. I was driving a Type-R at the time, so the 7k redline was a little annoying

WRX Wagon - If you need it to be a hauler too. A little ugly, but that has some charm. Great for using for stuff like mountain biking while still going fast the rest of the time.

93-94 RX7 - I hesitate though as the two guys I know who had them replaced a turbo charger.

IF you can find one, an Acura Integra Type-R. Risk is that is has been driven hard and it could be stolen. But on the RE-92 Bridgestones, it is beyond special.

mmorph had a good one, but get an 04-05. The earlier models were too hard to drive at the limit. They fixed it in 03 IIRC.

 

[overst33r]

You should not write off the EVO because it's a Mitsubishi, unless you have had bad experiences with them, that seems a bit ridiculous. The Evo is probably the most fun car listed yet, I would argue the S2000 is more fun, but you don't like convertibles. I defintely say you go for an EVO or STI. Nothing beats the traction of AWD and the EVO, the fact that you can toss it around as hard as you want and not lose control is amazing fun.

 

[RelaxTheMind]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: RelaxTheMind

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
new mazda3

+1

my 07 was $25k though..used 06 would be in range.

Sounds like you guys have never driven fun cars.

heh...