Yahoo Autos These Are the Most Fun-to-Drive Sedans for 2024 and 2025
The world may have shifted toward SUVs, but four-door sports sedans are a far more fun and efficient way to transport a few people and their stuff. The best sports sedans deliver performance and driving satisfaction rivaling many sports cars while providing plenty of space in the rear seat and trunk. The best part is, that driving joy we’re after can be found at just about any price point. Here are our favorite fun-to-drive sedans, listed in order of preference.
More Car Rankings: Best Fun-to-Drive SUVs | Best Fun-to-Drive Family Cars | Best Compact Cars | Best 4-Door Sports Cars | Best Convertibles
2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing
Base Price: $99,090
Want Corvette thrills in a comfortable and capable sedan wrapper? The CT5-V Blackwing is your ticket. It hits 60 mph in around 3.5 seconds thanks to the 668-hp supercharged V-8 engine that sends power to the rear wheels. Best of all, that V-8 can be hitched to a six-speed manual, which we think makes the Blackwing the most exciting sedan on this list. The standard adjustable magnetorheological dampers work their magic delivering a smooth ride in the city and flat cornering when the roads get good. So really, you get the best of two performance worlds: muscle-car acceleration as well as supple and rewarding sport-sedan handling. This could be one of the last new cars with a V-8 engine, rear-wheel drive, and a manual transmission. So if you’re considering one, now is the time to pull the trigger.
The New Track Pack Is the Spiritual Successor to the Camaro 1LE
2025 Porsche Taycan
Base price: $101,395
It’s easy to find a performance EV that accelerates hard. EVs are known for delivering silent, seamless thrust that pins you to the seatback. But only the Taycan delivers the joyful handling of a Porsche sports car. It's an absolute blast to bend into the curves on a winding road. And it looks brilliant doing it. The Taycan Turbo S and GT both offer supercar speed but are priced at over $200,000. The base Taycan with 402 horsepower is plenty quick, while the 4S turns up the wick to 536 horsepower. Either of those models offers the driving elan one expects from a Porsche at a (slightly) friendlier price point. And Porsche has increased the range of this sports sedan for 2025, so there will be more canyon miles before needing to plug back in.
Review: The 2025 Taycan Sharpens Its Case
2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
Base price: $63,590
Why does Cadillac have two entries so high on this list? It’s because these engineers have a knack for building just the kind of sports sedans we like to drive, with loads of power and nuanced handling. The CT4-V Blackwing is the little sibling to the CT5-V Blackwing and is therefore quite a bit cheaper. That makes this Blackwing a great performance value compared to the more expensive BMW M3. The CT4-V delivers a thrilling ride thanks to the 472-hp twin-turbo V-6 engine and balanced rear-wheel-drive chassis. And yes, you can have a six-speed manual to extract as much fun as possible. This is a sedan that enjoys being tossed around twisty roads and yet, it delivers a composed ride when you need it. We’d happily park either Blackwing in our garage.
Why The CT4-V Blackwing Is One of the All-Time Great Sports Sedans
2025 Alfa Romeo Giulia
Base price: $45,990
The Giulia is a great car for those who want a serious sports sedan without any badge snobbery. Alfa Romeo is an inherently cool brand thanks to its reputation for building machines that are both beautiful and rewarding to drive. And the Giulia carries on that tradition. Alfa has trimmed the lineup significantly, with just a base model and a Tributo Italiano special edition available for 2025 (the 505-hp Quadrifoglio variant has been discontinued, sadly). Both versions use a 280-hp turbocharged four-cylinder that sounds symphonic and pulls hard. The real magic here happens when you point the Giulia’s pretty nose toward some bends and push the pace. This is one of the most responsive and agile sport sedans on the market. It’s also a forgiving sedan that’s easy to drive hard. And unlike in many modern cars, the steering is highly communicative.
The Next Giulia Will Reportedly Be Electric
2025 Hyundai Elantra N
Base price: $35,100
Hyundai is on a mission to show the world it can make fun, exciting cars for enthusiasts. And it doesn’t seem to matter if the powertrain is gas or electric, as the super-fun (and battery-powered) Ioniq 5 N proves. The Elantra N is Hyundai’s stab at making a gas-powered sport sedan that’s a blast to drive while remaining reasonably affordable. It’s priced like a Civic Si but is closer to a Civic Type R in terms of power. The N has a turbocharged 286-hp four-cylinder channeling power to the front tires with either a standard manual transmission or an optional dual-clutch automatic transmission. The fantastic suspension tuning makes the N a blast on any backroad, and Hyundai made some tweaks to the chassis of the N last year to make it an even sharper handler. Few high-performance front-wheel-drive cars can dance with as much agility as the Elantra N.
Info on the Recent Updates to the Elantra N
2025 Honda Civic Si
Base price: $31,045
Cars that seamlessly blend zesty handling with easy daily driving are rare. But this Honda does exactly that. The Si’s crisp-shifting six-speed manual is a joy to use and features rev-matching that works well. Thanks to the limited-slip differential, this front driver can put all of its 200 horsepower to the ground. It’s reasonably quick, but is no match for the hotter cars in this segment in terms of acceleration. The fun here comes mostly from shifting that wonderful transmission and enjoying the Si’s balanced and responsive chassis on a nice road. The Civic can truly do it all. And the best part is that all that performance is included in the Si’s very reasonable base price.
We Drive the Updated 2025 Civic Si
2025 Lucid Air
Base price: $71,400
When it comes to electric sport sedans, few can match the performance or the graceful design of the Lucid. And that’s especially true as you walk up the price ladder. Even the least powerful, least expensive, single-motor Pure model can hit 60 mph in around 4.0 seconds. And the good news? That one can travel an impressive 512 miles between charges. Step all the way up to the quarter-million-dollar Sapphire model and you’ll have a mind-numbing 1234 horsepower under your right foot which allows the Air to sprint to 60 mph in just 2.0 seconds with impressive handling to match. That’s bonkers for a large sedan that can carry four people comfortably. It’s the kind of performance that will leave your passengers either slack-jawed, sick to their stomachs, or both.
The Sapphire Is an Insanely Quick Luxury Liner
2025 Audi RS3
Base price: $65,000 (est)
The RS3 is a great machine for those who appreciate a small sedan that packs a big punch. Underneath the mild-mannered and crisply tailored Audi bodywork is a 401-hp turbocharged inline five-cylinder engine. It rockets the RS3 to 60 mph in less than 3.5 seconds and sounds a little like an Audi Group B rally car from the 1980s. In fact, there is no other car in Audi’s lineup that makes music so reminiscent of those early-1980s performance Quattros. Audi has finessed the torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system for 2025 so that it’s easier to drift. Thanks to optional R compound tires, this little beast can hang on a racetrack too, delivering plenty of smiles per lap. And yet, when you’re done roughhousing and dial the performance back for the ride home, it can be just as sedate and composed as any other Audi sedan.
We Drive the Updated 2025 Model
2025 BMW 3-Series / M3
Base price: $46,675 (3-series) / $77,175 (M3)
The BMW 3-series has been a sports-sedan icon for decades—one that other manufacturers have benchmarked over and over. Why? It’s BMW’s knack for developing a chassis with rewarding, agile handling as well as refinement. And today’s car carries on that tradition. The base 330i delivers 255 horsepower while the M340i offers an inline-six with 386 horsepower. A manual transmission is sadly no longer available on the standard 3-series, but our pick would be the 330i paired with the M Sport Package which offers a firmer suspension, variable-ratio steering, and other goodies. Of course, if you have a spare $30,000 or so taking up space in your bank account, you can slide into the high-performance M3 and have an even more powerful inline-six with a six-speed manual transmission for maximum smiles.
The M3 Will Keep its Inline-Six Into the Next Generation
2025 Lexus IS 500
Base price: $60,320
We all know that V-8 engines are an endangered species. So when we find a thundering V-8 strapped to a nimble four-door sedan, we take note. The IS 500’s naturally aspirated, 472-hp 5.0-liter V-8 is a honey of an engine. Yeah, the competition from Caddy, BMW, and Benz all deliver quicker acceleration times. But this naturally aspirated motor delivers a satisfying old-school muscle car vibe that we dig. The IS 500 is no slouch when the road bends, but it delivers a less intense driving experience than its rivals. This year there’s a new F Sport Performance Premium model to help celebrate the IS’s 25th birthday. There’s only one color available for that one, so hopefully you like yellow.
IS 500 Review: Lexus Builds a Muscle Car
2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI
Base price: $33,940
VW has legit fun-to-drive heritage when it comes to the GLI. Since the very first one hit our shores over 40 years ago, the compact performance sedan has brought delight to anyone who has rowed through its gears. The latest GLI (still available with a manual transmission, thank goodness) packs 228 horsepower from its turbocharged four-cylinder. In terms of power levels, it splits the difference between the Civic Si and Elantra N. However, the Jetta is tuned to be a little softer overall than either of those rivals. For buyers who hit Costco a bit more frequently than canyon roads, the roomy GLI is a great compromise. To that point, the GLI only comes with all-season rubber. One way to ratchet up the potential for fun? After that first set of tires wears down, get a set of sticky summer tires.
Why the Jetta GLI Keeps the Manual and the GTI Doesn't
2025 Subaru WRX
Base price: $34,000 (est)
The WRX may have lost that hard-edged STI variant, but this year’s model still packs plenty of goodness. Like the rally-bred Subarus that have come before, the 2025 WRX comes with a manual transmission, all-wheel drive, and a turbocharged flat-four engine. The WRX will never shy away from a hard-charging blast in the canyons—whether those roads are paved or gravel. This year, the WRX tS model (tuned by STi) adds some serious hardware to the mix with big Brembo brakes, adjustable dampers, and meaty 19-inch summer tires. If hitting a track day or two on occasion sounds like fun, the tS is the WRX to have. We’d upgrade the exhaust with an aftermarket cat-back system so we could really hear that 271-hp flat-four sing.
Just 17 Percent of WRX Buyers Choose the Automatic
2025 Mazda 3
Base price: $25,135
Mazda has proven that you don’t have to spend big to have a highly entertaining sedan parked in your garage. The Mazda 3 is playful and poised on a twisty mountain road, and the well-tuned suspension isn’t overly firm when the pavement turns nasty. That old “Zoom Zoom” tagline still holds up today with the 3. It’s the least expensive car on this list but is no less fun than some much higher-priced performance sedans. The 3 with the optional turbocharged engine hits harder when it comes to acceleration, but it also can’t be optioned with a manual transmission like the 191 hp base engine can. In fact, the manual is only available on one trim level, the 2.5 S Premium in the 3's hatchback body style. Since that one is likely to be as rare as it is engaging, we’d probably choose it over the more expensive turbo models.
We Review the Hatchback Turbo Version
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