Toyota MR-2
Price guide: £2,000
If you're in the market for a cheap and stylish 2-seater open-top, you're looking at this or the Mazda MX-5. Following its redesign in 2000, the Toyota MR-2 became two things: one, a thrilling but well-behaved roadster, two: easily mistaken for the Porsche Boxster when seen in the rear-view mirror. Like the Boxster, it's unlikely ever to break down. Unlike the Boxster it's relatively cheap to run - 38mpg and insurance group 13. Early models from 2001 will not even break £2,000, and will still be going strong after 100,000 miles, while low-mileage examples from 2006 are only Fiat Panda money - seven grand.
Price guide: £2,000
If you're in the market for a cheap and stylish 2-seater open-top, you're looking at this or the Mazda MX-5. Following its redesign in 2000, the Toyota MR-2 became two things: one, a thrilling but well-behaved roadster, two: easily mistaken for the Porsche Boxster when seen in the rear-view mirror. Like the Boxster, it's unlikely ever to break down. Unlike the Boxster it's relatively cheap to run - 38mpg and insurance group 13. Early models from 2001 will not even break £2,000, and will still be going strong after 100,000 miles, while low-mileage examples from 2006 are only Fiat Panda money - seven grand.
Toyota Supra
Price guide: £3,500 upwards
Not for the feint of heart. Boasting proper supercar performance, and outrageous looks, the Toyota Supra is a rocketship on wheels. Officially available in the UK until 1996, occasional Japanese import bargains from the mid-noughties also lurk around the used car market. The former can be as little as £3,500 while the latter hi-tech marvels trade around £5000.
Price guide: £3,500 upwards
Not for the feint of heart. Boasting proper supercar performance, and outrageous looks, the Toyota Supra is a rocketship on wheels. Officially available in the UK until 1996, occasional Japanese import bargains from the mid-noughties also lurk around the used car market. The former can be as little as £3,500 while the latter hi-tech marvels trade around £5000.
Either way, the sound alone of a twin-turbo 325bhp V6 will have bystanders thinking you've turned up in a racing car. And they won't be relieved of that impression should they join you in the passenger seat - the Supra will dispense with Ferraris and Porsches quite happily as it tears to 60mph in under 5 seconds.
Insurance you say? Well yes, that's the part of owning a Supra that isn't cheap.
Insurance you say? Well yes, that's the part of owning a Supra that isn't cheap.
Aston Martin DB7 Vantage
Price guide: £20,000
We're joking right? This is one of the most beautiful and desirable cars ever made, and a proper supercar to boot. Well the strange and wonderful news is that you can now pick one up late-1990s one for under £20K, and even secure the astonishing V12 version for around £22,000. Yes, that's right, less than a new BMW 318i - blame the recession, and of course the DB9 that replaced it.
That should be all that needs to be said, but if you need convincing...think about the gurgling engine, a leather-and-wood interior and handling to rival a Ferrari. Plus of course everyone who sees you in it will assume you are a billionaire, or are married to Cheryl Cole. Just close your eyes and try not to think about the running costs...
Hyundai Coupe
Price guide: £2,000 upwards
Hated by a Mr J Clarkson, but beloved by sports car bargain-hunters. It seats 4, is built like a tank, and even has a shopping-sized hatchback boot. Get the facelifted version (post-2002) in red and people might think you've turned up in a Maserati, having only spent a measly two grand. Or, for around £8,000 get the 2.7L V6 version of the SIII update (2007) to get decent sports car performance. Check you've got no loose fillings though - it's a bit of a hard ride.
Price guide: £2,000 upwards
Hated by a Mr J Clarkson, but beloved by sports car bargain-hunters. It seats 4, is built like a tank, and even has a shopping-sized hatchback boot. Get the facelifted version (post-2002) in red and people might think you've turned up in a Maserati, having only spent a measly two grand. Or, for around £8,000 get the 2.7L V6 version of the SIII update (2007) to get decent sports car performance. Check you've got no loose fillings though - it's a bit of a hard ride.
Mazda RX-8
Price guide: £3,000
Probably the most unusual car of the past decade. With a rotary engine, 4 seats and fear-inducing "suicide" rear doors, it looks like it was assembled by alien scientists with an unlimited budget and only concept car designs to work from. Better yet, you get Mazda reliability and a 0-60 time of under 7 seconds, all for around £3,000 if you find a 2003 model. Amazing.
Price guide: £3,000
Probably the most unusual car of the past decade. With a rotary engine, 4 seats and fear-inducing "suicide" rear doors, it looks like it was assembled by alien scientists with an unlimited budget and only concept car designs to work from. Better yet, you get Mazda reliability and a 0-60 time of under 7 seconds, all for around £3,000 if you find a 2003 model. Amazing.
Alfa GT
Price guide: £6,000
The Alfa GT is almost the complete package: a great engine, those startling Bertone-styled good looks, and the legendary Alfa handling. Of course it's an Alfa, so there's going to be questions over long-term reliability and the quality of servicing. But the sheer head-turning, eye-pleasing aesthetics make it a compromise worth taking. Plus you can pick one up for peanuts: £6,000 or thereabouts gets you a 5 year old one with the excellent 1.9L diesel engine, probably with leather trim and heated seats. Mmmmm. Revel in the Italian decadence of it all.
Price guide: £6,000
The Alfa GT is almost the complete package: a great engine, those startling Bertone-styled good looks, and the legendary Alfa handling. Of course it's an Alfa, so there's going to be questions over long-term reliability and the quality of servicing. But the sheer head-turning, eye-pleasing aesthetics make it a compromise worth taking. Plus you can pick one up for peanuts: £6,000 or thereabouts gets you a 5 year old one with the excellent 1.9L diesel engine, probably with leather trim and heated seats. Mmmmm. Revel in the Italian decadence of it all.
Porsche 911
Price guide: £10,000
So you want a Porsche but you do have friends, family and pets? Then you should consider a late-1980's Porsche 911 Carrera that looks like the one you had on your wall when you were 12.
For just under £10,000 you get the quintessential Porsche, a car that drives as well at 120,000 miles as it did 20,000, and the guarantee that everyone who sees you in it will assume you are a minted city trader. Well, we didn't say that owning a glamorous bargain was all good news.
If a lairy '80s Porsche is too scary, the more refined mid-1990s 993 models cost slightly more, with decent examples starting at around £13,000. That's still less than the price of a new Skoda Octavia. Seriously.
Price guide: £10,000
So you want a Porsche but you do have friends, family and pets? Then you should consider a late-1980's Porsche 911 Carrera that looks like the one you had on your wall when you were 12.
For just under £10,000 you get the quintessential Porsche, a car that drives as well at 120,000 miles as it did 20,000, and the guarantee that everyone who sees you in it will assume you are a minted city trader. Well, we didn't say that owning a glamorous bargain was all good news.
If a lairy '80s Porsche is too scary, the more refined mid-1990s 993 models cost slightly more, with decent examples starting at around £13,000. That's still less than the price of a new Skoda Octavia. Seriously.
Porsche Boxster
Price guide: £7,000
Talk of the devil. The Porsche Boxster is sufficiently long in the tooth now that what was once regarded as the finest-driving car in the world is now available second-hand for the price of a grotty Kia - £7,000. Franky that's ridiculous, and unless you have an utterly compelling reason to have four seats (friends, children, pets - all overrated in Boxsterworld) you owe it to yourself to own one, at least for a year.
Whether you get the 2.7 or 3.2 litre version (avoid the earliest 2.5 engine), they both drive phenomenally. If this car can't put a smile on your face as you walk up to it, and then for the next hour behind the wheel, you should seek professional help. It's the perfect converter of money into happiness.
Price guide: £7,000
Talk of the devil. The Porsche Boxster is sufficiently long in the tooth now that what was once regarded as the finest-driving car in the world is now available second-hand for the price of a grotty Kia - £7,000. Franky that's ridiculous, and unless you have an utterly compelling reason to have four seats (friends, children, pets - all overrated in Boxsterworld) you owe it to yourself to own one, at least for a year.
Whether you get the 2.7 or 3.2 litre version (avoid the earliest 2.5 engine), they both drive phenomenally. If this car can't put a smile on your face as you walk up to it, and then for the next hour behind the wheel, you should seek professional help. It's the perfect converter of money into happiness.
Rover 75
Price guide: £3,000
Not an obviously glamorous choice, but it's easy to mistake a Rover 75 for the much more expensive Jaguar X-type at first glance. BMW were holding the reigns at Rover when this luxury saloon was conceived, and you get a host of indulgent treats: big seats, a wooden dash, sepia-tinted dials, and a refined cruising drive. The powerful and smooth 2.0L diesel engine is the one to choose; five-year old models with it are plentiful. For a truly thrifty £3,000 you can treat your friends to the chauffer-driven limousine experience.
Price guide: £3,000
Not an obviously glamorous choice, but it's easy to mistake a Rover 75 for the much more expensive Jaguar X-type at first glance. BMW were holding the reigns at Rover when this luxury saloon was conceived, and you get a host of indulgent treats: big seats, a wooden dash, sepia-tinted dials, and a refined cruising drive. The powerful and smooth 2.0L diesel engine is the one to choose; five-year old models with it are plentiful. For a truly thrifty £3,000 you can treat your friends to the chauffer-driven limousine experience.
Skoda Yeti
Price guide: £13,000
Yes, it's not the sexiest car in the world, but it does look like a baby Range Rover (if you squint a little), and costs a fraction of its SUV/crossover peers. It's hugely practical, solidly built, drives well and tops owner satisfaction surveys. Most surprisingly it's also incredibly cheap to run - in the smaller 1.2 TSI engine configuration it returns 44mpg, insurance group 3 and tax band F.
Straight out of the showroom the lowliest Yeti sets you back just over £13,000. Which means if you do manage to fool the general public that you're in one of Land Rover's finest, you've just saved yourself over £30,000.
Price guide: £13,000
Yes, it's not the sexiest car in the world, but it does look like a baby Range Rover (if you squint a little), and costs a fraction of its SUV/crossover peers. It's hugely practical, solidly built, drives well and tops owner satisfaction surveys. Most surprisingly it's also incredibly cheap to run - in the smaller 1.2 TSI engine configuration it returns 44mpg, insurance group 3 and tax band F.
Straight out of the showroom the lowliest Yeti sets you back just over £13,000. Which means if you do manage to fool the general public that you're in one of Land Rover's finest, you've just saved yourself over £30,000.
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