Top driver's cars from just £1000

A big chunk of the magic over the years has been the sheer variety of machinery that we’ve pedalled around the UK’s most testing roads and circuits. You might think that the finest performance exotica of the past 35 years are out of your price bracket, but there is some salvation. Thanks to the forces of time and depreciation, plus the aforementioned diversity of machinery, there are plenty of fantastic yet properly attainable options out there.

So read on for our guide to the best-handling bargains we’ve driven over the past three and a half decades. Let's begin with the cheap as chips cars...

Once every generation, a sensibly priced sports car comes along and upstages six-figure supercars. The MX-5’s “sublime flingability” meant it did exactly that in 2003, outshining the contemporary Porsche 911 GT3. Prices start at around £1000, but watch out for rust.

A divisive car in its day due to a razor-sharp front end, but time – and an absence of affordable featherweights – has proven kind to the final MR2. Get one before they’re too expensive: nice ones are now roughly £3500.

The Boxster’s minor facelift in 2002 made it a precise tool on track yet also comfortable and accessible in real-world conditions. In 2002, it was only just pipped to the post by the ludicrous Lamborghini Murciélago, making it incredible value for a £5000 used buy.

It’s easy to write the Tigra off as a Corsa in a designer suit, but it was more composed and communicative than its hatch sibling and good fun. It’s rare now, so pricing is mixed, but decent ones can be had for £1500.

Now let's take a look at the £20k club...

Find a corner, pick your slip angle and build some speed: the GT86 will slide through pretty much any bend out there. And with almost any driver too, thanks to its communicative, hugely accessible chassis. High-milers sit comfortably below £10,000 today.

Take a Lotus Elise, cram a thunderous V8 behind the driver and glue it to the road with four-wheel drive: that’s the Audi R8. It was a true landmark when new and is a bargain of historic proportions today, because prices open at a shade below £30,000.

A simple car for simple things, such as going sideways as much as possible. Pretty resilient, too, provided you buy a car that’s been maintained properly. About £7000 gets a good one. Beware huge tax bills – £695 per year – on some 2006 cars and all from 2007 onwards.

There’s not much we can tell you about the Elise that you won’t have heard before, but heed this warning: if you want one, move now. Even the roughest examples are selling for more than £10,000 and perfect ones regularly tip £30,000.

Hugely satisfying to drive, regardless of whether you’re blatting around Oulton Park or just trundling to the shops. You’ll pay £15,000 for an immaculate Cayman and servicing costs are surprisingly cheap, at around £200 for an annual check.

Now let's take a look at the supercar club...

Another milestone from the late Noughties: the GT-R’s clever computer assists warped what we thought was possible to extract from a road car and ensured that bombastic performance was accessible to even the most novice driver. Good examples are tricky to find thanks to the 1000bhp-touting ‘Stage X’ tuners but, like the R8, they can be found for less than £40,000.

Note that earlier cars (2008 to 2010) are prone to gear-selection issues.

The replacement for the legendary F355 proved that it was just as magical on its arrival in 1999, “combining racing car responses with road car civility”. We rather liked its F1 gearbox, too, noting its “razor-sharp” response – good news, since cars so equipped are now significantly cheaper than those with the gated manual.

Prices start around £45,000, but the best sit between £65,000 and £75,000.

Our millennial victor proved there was a place for the Turbo in the 911 line-up, displaying searing pace with a playful edge. It got even better on soaking wet Tarmac, where it lapped faster and more securely than even rally-honed machines such as the Subaru Impreza P1. Expect to pay around £50,000 for a tidy example now.

And now for the sports cars...

Our inaugural Handling Day victor almost became the first double winner thanks to the sheer intuitiveness of the driving experience. (It was beaten by only the Mazda MX-5 in 1990.) A decent runner will cost around £10,000, but the best examples approach £30,000.

The older sibling of the 944 came alive when Porsche dropped it by 25mm and put it on a 70kg diet to create the Club Sport. The late, great John Miles called the 968 CS a “peach” when it won in 1993, praising its stellar brakes and front-to-rear handling balance.

You’ll pay £25,000 for a rough one, but many now nudge the £50,000 mark.

The Evora bore all the characteristics needed to give a driver confidence on track when it arrived in 2009: great balance and communicative steering, plus those crucial elements of predictability and consistency. Around £30,000 gets you into an early car in decent condition.

Even when it was brand new, we noted the “monotonous regularity” with which the 997-generation 911 was winning group tests, but it was just that good back in 2005. Earlier cars now represent stunning value, with take-a-chance high-milers priced well below £20,000. Even sparkling-fresh ones barely surpass £40,000.

But what about the hot hatches?

Back in 2010, we reckoned this Mégane had been set up by “trouser seat and Sparco racing boot”, such was the delicacy of the feedback it provided. Lively on both road and track, this is a bargain at less than £10,000.

Our top hot hatch from BBDC 2006, thanks to its huge grip, adjustable rear end and thumping five-pot engine. It has all the hallmarks of a classic fast Ford – including the challenge of finding one that hasn’t been fettled by someone with more money than sense. Reckon on £7000-£10,000 to buy a tidy one.

To call this ‘hot’ would be to suggest that a korma is spicy, but the earlier 206 GTi is still worthy of consideration for its chuckability and composure. Indeed, we noted: “The 206 stayed nearly as calm and composed in the wet as it had in the dry.” It’s a solid option for track-day newbies, and prices start at just £1000.

One of the most hyped cars in recent memory, thanks to its supercar-crushing point-to-point pace and all-weather adaptability. They were selling above RRP for a while, but prices are now beginning to slide under the £30,000 mark.

Too small? Take a look at the family haulers...

No, we aren’t joking: the Mk3 Mondeo held its own against a pack of supercars back in 2007, avoiding a last-place finish. That’s laudable, given it’s a humdrum family saloon. Knackered ones start well below £1000, while this rare five-pot petrol variant costs anywhere from £2000 to £5000, depending on condition.

We reckoned that taking a luxury Jag to Donington was like “using a sofa as a filing cabinet”, yet the Supersport proved surprisingly graceful on the circuit. It’s now a bargain too, with prices opening just north of £10,000.

It has the best traits of a classic AMG Merc: a snarling 6.2-litre V8, precise steering and more interior space than you could ever make use of. Well-looked-after cars start just shy of £20,000.

The final Evo certainly carried an ‘FQ’ attitude, with honey-badger-aggressive steering and an uncompromising stiff ride. Children big and small will love the turbo’s whooshing noises, but they come at a cost: £20,000 appears to be the starting price for this rare variant, and many have been modified.

Last but certainly not least, here are the best of the best...

Such was the purity of the NSX that it was still a top-five finisher in 2002, an entire decade after it became our first two-time victor. On its maiden win, in 1991, it made even the contemporary Porsche 911 seem “inept” and secured its place as “by a clear margin, the best-handling car we have ever driven”.

Unfortunately, such high praise doomed it to becoming ludicrously expensive. You’ll struggle to find a tired example for less than £50,000 and low-mileage ones regularly dip into six figures.

Precise feedback, that glorious atmo boxer-six lump and a rare flexibility of character propelled the GT3 to the top in 2021, preventing an Atom three-peat.

“This car lets you drive it precisely or yobbishly and seems to love it either way,” we noted. It faced a threat from the Cayman GT4 RS last year, but that sheer obedience – on track and the open road – enabled the 911 to take the win again. You’ll need more than £170,000 for one, though.

The first ‘track toy’ to emerge victorious, proving just as joyful on the open road as on the circuit.

What really marked the Atom 4 out from the pack, though, was its composure in the wet, as we discovered in 2020. Seldom do featherweights prove as eminently drivable, let alone exploitable, in horrendous conditions, hence its repeat victory that year. Used prices start around £60,000 and occasionally stretch to double that.

Arguably the definitive Ferrari GT, packing an orchestral V12 and a propensity to devour apexes and straights alike. It followed in the Honda NSX’s footsteps in becoming our second double winner, proving “categorically that front-engined cars can handle as well as mid-engined ones, so long as they’re set up by people who understand”.

It has never been an affordable option for most: even ‘cheap’ ones net £60,000 at auction and exceptional ones are into six figures.