Top 10 Fastest Cars Under $25,000

If you’re willing to spend over $50,000 on a high-octane performance car, you’re pretty well catered to. Even around $40,000, there’s no shortage of fun, tossable cars to choose from. But as you come down the ladder, it’s harder to find performance models in the sea of boring A-to-B cars. Or at least, it used to be.Today, automakers are catering more and more to young buyers who are looking for a vehicle that’s cheap to own and maintain, but doesn’t necessarily sacrifice its fun factor. While there are more than a few cheap thrills that can be had for under $20,000, the $20,000-$25,000 range is where things really start to get interesting. It’s the sweet spot where legendary performance cars like the Volkswagen GTI and Ford Mustang come into play, and as horsepower seems to get cheaper by the year, these models have only gotten better with age. As far as your bang for the buck is concerned, times have never been better for affordable performance.

We took a look at the cars available for under $25,000, and chose 10 that offer the most fun, speed, and power in their segments. Ranked by horsepower (from least to most), these cars are guaranteed to offer mile after mile 0f fun without breaking the bank.

10. Fiat 500 Abarth

The tiny Fiat’s 160 horsepower isn’t a lot by today’s standards, but it does more with those 160 ponies than some cars with twice as much. It’s small footprint and high degree of maneuverability make the 500 a great practical city car, but its Abarth upgrades include a performance-tuned suspension, bigger brakes, revised steering, and a heavy duty five-speed manual transmission, making it a true sports car. This adorable little bundle of rocket ship comes with an MSRP of $22,495, comfortably below the $25,000 ceiling, but the Cabrio model will send you over the mark.

9. Mini Cooper S

Like the Abarth, the Cooper S is a sensible city car that has bona-fide sporting credentials. With a 189 horsepower twin-turbocharged engine developed by parent company BMW, and a top speed of 146 (if you’ll ever need it), the Cooper S puts Mini’s famous go-kart-like handling to good use, sprinting from zero-to-60 in a respectable 6.4 seconds. At $24,100, it’s one of the most exciting cars under the $25K bar, and for a driver-oriented everyday car, you’d be hard pressed do better at any price.

8. Mazda MX-5 Miata

Don’t be fooled by the 155 horsepower Mazda Miata — when coupled with its 50-50 weight distribution and perfectly tuned suspension and chassis, the Miata is among the best drivers’ cars in the world at any price. At $24,915 for the Sport model, it squeaks in just under our budget, but honestly, we’d take this one over some cars that cost four times as much.

7. Ford Fiesta ST

With just 197 horsepower, the Fiesta ST joins the Miata as one of the best driver’s cars in the world at any price. And for $20,970, Ford is practically giving them away. Power comes from Ford’s turbocharged 1.6 liter EcoBoost inline-four, and routed exclusively through a six speed manual, as it should be. But its party piece is ST-unique sport suspension which makes the FiST a major-league corner-carver. It’s not everyday that a sub-$25,000 hatch can be mentioned in the same league as a Porsche or an Nissan GT-R, but it only goes to show that the Fiesta ST is truly something special.

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