Congratulations on becoming an "influencer". Hope you can cope with all that responsibility.

If your daughter dubs you "influencer," you ARE an influencer. Own it!

Still driving my now 30 year old Miata that I bought new in 1993. Still love driving it.

After having a testdrive of a Tesla Model 3 back in 2020, I have to say, sure it´s fun while overtaking others on the highway, but my little Peugeot 206 Sport is utterly superior fun when the road is twisty. To me the Model 3 felt very heavy and cumbersome in the bends compared to the 206.

I agree with a lot of your commentary but there is no way that a Tesla Model 3 is more fun to drive than a manual MX5. Yes, I’ve spent ample time driving both the latest examples. If you are referring to an automatic MX5, there is a slim chance a Model 3 might shade it as a better drive. The MX5 in manual? It beats the Model 3 for fun by a country mile.

good list, I agree with the top 3, BRZ, MX-5, and the GR86. As I live where Caterham doesn't sell any cars, in my eyes those are the true top 3 best value sports cars.

Not sure I agree that a Tesla is more fun than a MX5 as being able to drop the top adds a completely different dimension. However the GR86 is a cracking minimalist RWD car and a high revving naturally aspirated engine makes every journey fun.

You definitely "influence" me to sit around watching You Tube, drinking coffee and not painting the the living room! Top vid as always ❤

I actually bought the GR86! It's the best decision I ever made!

Quick correction: you can't buy the Alpine new in Australia anymore. Couldn't meet an ADR (Australian Design Rule) by its deadline of November 2021 and was pulled from the market because of it. Same thing happened to the GT-R too.

An old Mx5 NA. Why ? Light, 115 PS, uncomplicated, easy to repair, pieces cheap and plentiful, great looks, gets a smile very often by other people, rising in value…. Get one while you can.

I was very surprised the Toyota GR yaris wasnt #1 on the list so i went back on the video to hear the criteria to find it was 2 door cars and the yaris is a 3 door But the GR yaris is definitely a car to consider when looking for sports cars, is a true all rounder!

I would say the GR86 and BRZ twins - i hope they stay in production a bit longer. It would be good if Toyota could bring back the Celica and Nissan brought back the Silvia, though I've always loved the Z as well.

Another amazing video, thanks and Happy New year!!

The previous generation Mustang actually failed minimum crash safety standards for Australia but it got on the market because local police were interested in procuring them but they can only procure local market cars so strings were pulled to get them on the local market, only for them to fail Police proving tests for every state & territory, their automatic transmissions all suffered catastrophic fluid loss, all police vehicles(with maybe the exception of trucks & offroad vehicles) in Aus are required to be automatic.

Best sports car value by far in the world right now is the C8 Corvette. Nothing else comes close for performance for value.

Couldn’t agree more with your findings. Own a Miata NA since 1997 and reassigned it as my daily driver once again. 2 weeks ago picked up a brand new GR86 Premium. Both are true lightweight cornering & momentum cars….. and daily driver’s fun in twisty canyons where I do all my driving….skill instead of horsepower!

If we're counting barges like the A5 as a sports car then I'll take something most wouldn't count as a sports car: a BMW M140

The Z3 was my younger self dream, I still remember riding the tube with a friend making all these plans to buy one. Alas it was not to be... I can still dream about it, though I think I'd go with the MX-5 now...

As a Corvair enthusiast, I'd love to see you do the Corvair Story, one day!

In the US the best value Sports car that routinely outperforms mustnag and supra and all the others is the 6th Generation Camaro SS 1LE. Hands down the best in its class since it went on sale.

Fantastic video - thank you! I’m still very much in love with my 2013 981 Boxster, but I’ve been missing my ND MX5, lately… Such a sweetheart.

Definitely my favorite “influencer”

For including the lexus RC in the list you have my respect- sports cars can do multiple things, not just "brr go fast" !

Wonderful to have such thoughtful daughters! Another excellent vid, thank you.

Love it. Influencer. Good at something. Do enjoy the videos.

Also, thanks for your work, especially the Ford series. Watching the videos about the Ka and the Fiesta brought a tear to my eye as a Ford fanchild in India. There are recent rumors that they may come back (they’ve filed a patent report for the Everest in its indian name, the Endeavour and have also listed a lot of jobs at their unsold plant in Chennai) but only time will tell. Thanks for your work and please keep at it :) (ps, if time permits, please do episodes on the likes of Mahindra and Tata, I’m pretty sure you’ll have a larger crowd watching that.)

No ad before start? Love it!

Not sure if within budget but Alpine A110 is one of my favs 😊 BTW agree 100% on the MX-5 epic fun car.

*The ND wasn't the first MX-5 with an electric folding roof, the NC also came with it

Love your videos…. But I need to push back on pronunciation of the Nissan Z. Zed is the creep from Pulp Fiction that kept the Gimp in a box. Nissan named the Z (Zee) specifically for the American market because Fairlady wasn’t masculine enough for our market. I know this is a kings English( and Canadian/Aussie) vs American English thing (and the fact the language is named English isn’t lost on me) but we win this one. lol

Great video. I would love to see this analysis with second hand cars as I never buy new or lease but it would be a lot of work for you as the data would be complex (mileage and years old) would have big impacts on pricing. Comparing new is more like an apples to apples comparison. I have a second hand 2018 A5 and its great. All of these cars are great value second hand.

Very interesting exercise. I don’t lease my cars but it is facinating to see what you can get if you lease. I think I would personally go GR86.

Downunder, I've got that silver 2022 BRZ that took out 1st place in this list. Very entertaining for the dollars spent - love it. In Aus the manual BRZ costs less than the equivalent GR86.

Good one. That was fun

Thank you very much for your video and all the others on your channel I enjoyed. Your daughter should take off those quotation marks from the sign :). It would be interesting a simmilar analysis and your opinion on 2nd hand vehicles in this categry, perhaps 4-7 years old cars. Or even on hot hatches, for those of us who dream of sports cars, but are wise enough to buy something more practical. Oh, and a happy 2024 to you and all the people commenting down here!

Solid list. Currently own a 2016 MX-5, previously owned a 1990 (which became a Spec Miata club racer), a 2000, and a 2008. But if I had the money, I'd be seriously tempted by the Z (was in high school when the original 240 came out and really loved that first gen). Possibly the Cayman as I always aspired to a Porsche (they gained in cost at a much faster rate than my salaries). But I'd most likely go for the 'Vette as the biggest bang for bucks (they look effin fantastic too). As for EV sports car...the range thing is probably not as critical as on a passenger car, and we only use our MiXer for relatively short day drives these days anyways so one would be a viable option if we weren't fast approaching a fixed income lifestyle.

Interesting list…I’ve never thought of sports saloons as ‘sports cars’ before, feeling that a sports car is one that was designed as such from scratch and not just a fast edition of a mass market model but I suppose why not! In that case you might have included some hot hatches….great fun and certainly a lot less to finance. I noticed in your description of the current BMW Z4 a picture of the previous E89 model snuck in…not sure if this was deliberate but seemed a bit confusing. Great work though, I always enjoy your videos - thanks 👍

I own and drive a 2017 Honda Accord Coupe. I bought it in 2019 for only $19k (Canadian). 2017 was the last year for the Accord coupe. It is an absolutely fun car to drive. I took it on a 21,150 km road trip last summer (18,000 km the summer before that). It is too bad Honda stopped making these.

The best value sports car is one that Doug hasn't talked about in any positive light, or even in general ;)

an old focus/fiesta ST will do the job, thanks 👍🏾

I think I must be a purist when it comes to what a sports car is. I own both a Lotus Evora and a Lotus Elise, but to me there were several cars on the list that I'd consider sporting saloons rather than sports cars in the traditional sense/sihilouette. The cars I consider sporting saloons are the Merc, the Lexus, Audi A5, Mustang & Camaro. Happy with the Lotus Emira as an honourable mention; definitely a good call there. Regarding the MG Cyberster, a prototype had been seen just before Christmas 2023 at the Hopwood motorway services of the M42 on the south side of Birmingham in the UK, not far from MG's base at Longbridge.

I appreciate your inclusion of us Americans in your list. I used to have Mustangs until my daughter was born and we had to put a safety seat in it. Since then, I've had pick-ups and SUV's, and even a mini-van at one time. I was able to name her Shelby, so I can say I have a Shelby, lol. Both of my kids are out of the house, but I'm still driving a pick-up. I was able to drive a rental Mustang recently and it only renewed my appreciation for sports cars. Maybe someday...

Great video Did she make the sign influencer or effluencer? I never realised we got so many of the current great sports cars here in Australia. Thanks for including that info

As the owner of a BRZ (1st gen in my case) I'm glad it got the top spot. By the way I heard the Manta is getting cancelled

I would like to but can't get excited about Toyota's collaboration cars- the Supra and 86. To me they've simply sacrificed their name with them- I'd never trust one enough to buy one. On that note Mazda now seems to be the only pure brand that I would trust, and they are doing a great job across their range. They are still committed to ICE and also proper, reliable automatic transmissions. Bravo Mazda, smart decisions not following the rest of the flock, you get my dollar votes.

My son has always loved the AE86 trueno, even before watching Initial D, and was sad that he'll probably never own one, till I explained that the 86 is the modern version of the AE86.

You are an influencer, without inverted commas. If I was in the UK, I would want to own a Marina, Capri, etc. or some other from my childhood due to your influence.

The Ford Mustang was called a small sporty car on launch, then the term pony car was applied to it and other similar vehicles. From ‘69 to ‘71 the Mustang had some very large engine options which technically made it a muscle car for those three model years. I’d say there are nine or ten sports cars on this list the rest are coupes or two door sedans.

I like that Opel-retro-Firenza the best!

You can buy the Alpine outside Europe and Australia. Alpine sells it officially in Morocco.

i love mazda but i had a gen 4 mx-5 as a loaner car when i had my CX-3 2.0 AWD in for a service and it felt like i was driving any regular mazda, nothing special at all anymore. Got a Mazda 3 -24 AWD with the e-skyactiv-x engine now, its quite quick and great handling :)

Tesla model 3 more fun than an mx5?🤔

Miata is always the answer (but I am biased, owning the little 1500cc ND). I could never imagine the Tesla Model 3 offering as much involvement as the MX-5.

Another great vid, thanks. I will never understand leasing I just don't get it! I bought a Audi S5 convertible 3 years ago with 68k on the clock & it cost me £13000. Its fun, practical, reliable & fairly quick. I've still got it & don't have to give it back to some money vampire. Plus if I ever (unlikely) come to sell it, there's still money in it. All the best.....

The original Z car was more of a reaction to the Triumph GT6 than the MGB so I understand; both cars having a straight six engine. I've seen it written that the first Datsun Z car was like a larger, Japanese version of the GT6. Look at the bonnet bulge & rear quarterlight of the car at 10:10. It's very GT6. I owned a late 1973 year model Mk3 in emerald green in the late 1990s, so see the similarities in the Datsun (Nissan).

Love my 2018 S5 Prestige coupe'!

No way, this Opel you show in the end is a concept : that's a resto mod of an actual Manta of the 70's, sir !

Good to see you back in 2024! 🙂

I’ve got invited to the GT 86 launch in 2012. That would be the car I would have out of all the list and also I’ve had my fair share of the original AE 86s

Tesla more fun than MX5 - with respect, you said fun isn't about acceleration & that's about all the Tesla 3 has going for it in the "sporty" department so you contradicted yourself. Yes it out performs the MX5 but certainly not through the twisties which leads me to believe if you think the reverse you can't drive either, or any car, near it's limits & just like the thrill of the acceleration blurring your judgement on fun.

I love that your kids love you like that. ❤

The A5 Coupe is one of my attainable dream cars, but I'd like to have mine with a 3.0 V6 TDI.

as a fellow model 3 owner, I didn’t set out to buy a sports car or a luxury car but I got both when picking the most efficient and longest range from the company with the most experience (shh Nissan leaf). Just imagine when all the other companies have had some more time making EVs. Woo-eee as you said the next decade is going to be fun 😃

i went to the toyota website. all of their cars, apart from the yaris, when speced out similarly, are around 50k euros. corolla, camry, prius, hilux, even the van. how does that make any sense?

Excellent 👍 great episode perfect length Don't you hate the term influencer lol

Want to run on most fun used sports cars? I loved the look and feel of the Saturn, with the old racing head rests from the early 60s and general Batmobile feel :-)

Why would someone lease a car? I don't get that.

Props for challenging the narrative that ND Miata is the best sports car. But it's weird you included it as pretty much number 1 then. Also, if you've only driven the 1.5l, then you should reserve judgement until you drive a proper 2.0 one.

The father of a friend once said: a sports car is the one you’re pushing when you run out of fuel… Anyway, I prefer the Alpine. Because French 🚗💨🇫🇷

Since 2017, although still being on the same platform, the base MSRP of a Mustang increased by around 50% in Canada. "S650" is a new platform in name only. I've aspired to buy a new one this whole time, but the MSRP increases always outpaced my salary increases, and removing the manual option from the base model means anyone wanting a manual transmission has to go up to the V8 GT trim. The used market is utterly depressing too, even going as far back as 2005.

Caterham 7 👍🏼 It's all about having fun, not outright performance.

Wow, never knew new cars could look so identical. Glad I have an old car

Miata is always the answer....

Another reason to favor the BRZ over the 86, is that the engine is made by Subaru, meaning any maintenance should ideally be done at a Subaru dealership. I'm sure Toyota knows what they're doing by now, but still lol.

NICE ! - New Format Video - Toyota MR2 Mk.3 "Failed MX5 Wannabe" ? - A Bit Harsh - Its 2nd Gen was a Great Looking, Successful "Ferrari 308 GTS (P.i. Magnum) wannabe" - And Toyota Should Have Stayed on That Line !!

I fully agree on your analysis bro, good job I have an fj cruiser, and love it, as a second car, I d get the 86 even at the added cost. both vehicles go to the same garage, and I love Toyota now, we re engaged forever.... it s my fj that convinced me for the big move, I love my T rex on frame. I never thought I d love a car more than my 93 black civic si coupe on steroids, I was right, the fj is a 4 x 4, so I still long for the 86, as I m sure it will beat it. both need serious stylistic and performance investment to meet my vision, but, once achieved, I ll envy no 4 x 4 or sports car on this planet. I have seen examples of both with personal touches that makes you forget about exotics and then, it s truly YOURS, people know it s you, pimp my rep bro! ha, ha, it s really just for me, I love art and to design according to my taste. so now you know... good show bro

how would this list change if you add used cars on lease?

You are really a KZfaqR. 🙏, a short video onky with the Fiat 124 spider.

If you count operating and owning costs into the "value" calculation, Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ would be the best value sports car, if you want something made past 2010 at least. The Japanese have other cheap options that were truly magnificent, back in the 90's too. But the modern GT86/BRZ is just insane as a concept for those who want maybe their first sporty car, or just have a tighter budget. It straight up has the drivability of a 100k+ sports car. The damn thing even has an LSD, which is insane for the price point! It only lacks under the hood, with 200hp. But the car has nice spikes in power at lower RPM, as well as through 5000RPM to the 7400RPM redline. So due to its' light weight, it feels rather quick when pulling from the traffic lights, as well as when you blast through curvy roads at high RPM. The throttle response is lightning fast, instantly reacting to your pedal movements. It's going to feel slow though, if you are used to 300+hp cars. But the thing with the 200hp figure. The naturally aspirated Subaru boxer engine. It's very cheap to operate, and very reliable. And the car consumes only around 6 liters of gas for 100km, which is surprisingly economical. The engine and transmission, all of it has been designed for much higher power than the car makes. And these are the biggest costs of owning a sportscar. Not the price you pay to the car dealership. It's the moment when your transmission, clutch, diff, turbos, or engine blows. It's when you go to the gas station twice a week to get a full tank. It's when your insurance company wants twice as much. When the spare parts for even the simplest things, cost thousands of euros, and only overpriced specialist shops can work on your vehicle.

my favorite sports cars not counting the Miata are a c4 Corvette Porsche 911 Carrera turbo Honda S2000 Chevrolet Camaro and its former Pontiac twin Firebird the later because my mom had a 1978 firebird esprit redbird before I was born and when I was a baby she drove a 1982 Ford Mustang GT coupe 5.0

MG XPower SV’s would be my Sport car

Nice moment at the start when you mentioned your daughters. As for being an 'influencer.' I look forward to your new cosmetics range. Clearly sadly hair care products are off the table though. ;-).

The Camaro will return as a bloated family crossover, it just sounds like something GM would do.

Corvette C8s start at around $180,000 in Aus & can be upto a quarter million.

What would I choose? A used Miata, a used LS and a few beers.

Please can someone explain 'it will cost £xx000 to lease'. I don't have a car myself as a bicycle gets me around just fine, hence I have no idea what this 'xxx to lease' means. The figures involved sound like you are paying for it, not leasing it. I am confused.

Fun fact, Subaru BRZ in Serbian means Subaru Fast. Brz means fast lol

Harsh re MR2. Failed as a new car but… secondhand in today’s market… Perhaps on coilovers with a sports exhaust, and set up for fast road use… Visceral!

Oh yes influencer of course. From South Africa

Your video shows two different model generations of the Corvette

Cayman for sure but not the 4 banger! I just bought a 987.1 2.7 manual and have plenty left for fuel and upgrades to enjoy the small size, light weight amazing hydraulic steering. It's what a true sports car should be and is plenty fast enough to land me in jail only using the first 3 gears.

That new Manta looks good. It might shake the "Mulleted, thin moustache and cowboy boot wearing, provincial restaurant working, nearly 30 bloke with a hairdresser girlfriend" reputation ;)

very few sports cars are actually used in any sport and yes, the golf cart is a sports car because it is used in a sport and I´ll die on that hill.

What about the residual on the lease and the value at that point - maybe different if you include the potential profit or loss?

Included the FWD Audi A5 coupe, but not its direct competitor, the BMW 4-series coupe. Which, being RWD, handles much more like a sports car than the understeery Audi. Unless you like understeer of course. And more understeer. And even more understeer.

The new 86 looks suspiciously similar to the new Nissan Z. Both looking better than that Supra, for sure

You influence us to care about cars and car related stuff so possibly.

50,000 pounds and you can use what is left however you want, well you buy a 20 year old Baxter cheap, make a few fixes target less than 10,000 pounds, spend the rest on track time and maybe a few other upgrades.

Honda S660 Or just build a maximum mini If only if GR made the copen rear wheel drive, but they kept it front