Getting started - Sports car guide

The sporty and sports car category ranges from models that have merely sporty styling or appearance packages to performance-focused coupes, sedans, hatchbacks, and roadsters that can accelerate briskly tackle corners with agility and sure-footed competence. Often, the high-performance quotient comes at the price of a hard, noisy ride and limited passenger or cargo space. Compromises are common, but these cars exist to entertain the driver.

Key things to consider

With a wide range of body styles, performance, and price, it can be tough to choose a sporty car. Because many sports cars are not driven every day or very far, fuel economy is not a primary factor for many shoppers, though there are models that provide relatively good mileage. For an everyday car, you'll probably want to consider a sedan or coupe: a sedan for its four doors, or a coupe for sportier styling and performance-oriented model selection. But for an uncompromised sports car, the type many owners reserve for sunny Saturdays, a small roadster, such as a Mazda Miata, BMW Z4, or Porsche Boxster, epitomizes the genre. Many would include coupes with a tiny rear seat, such as the Audi TT and Porsche 911 in that category, as well.

For any sporty car you consider, it's important to check out the view. Coupe designs tend to severely restrict the view to the rear, and other styling considerations could compromise the view to the sides or even straight ahead. The Chevrolet Camaro is a notorious example. If you plan to drive briskly on twisty roads, the ability to see other traffic or obstacles clearly is important.

What you'll spend

Prices start around $20,000 for cars such as the Mini Cooper and Scion tC, and they reach past $90,000 or more for cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and Porsche 911 Carrera S. But many if not most of the sports and sporty cars we recommend are priced in the $30s.

See also:

GPS

Car batteries

Tires

Car seats