Sports cars are barely a thing in the modern vehicle marketplace. We’re lucky to have them at all, in a sea of sameness. New sports cars (and, for that matter, muscle cars and even family sedans) are dwindling in number, but there are still strong contenders out there, some of which can even be picked up for under $30k.
In fact, pricing has remained relatively flat, as the average person in America seems only interested in SUVs, crossovers, and pickups. Even better news is that there are some entries that have improved over the last few years or so. Don’t look for price cuts, necessarily, but you’ll see a lot fewer big increases than you do in the full-size pickup market.
$30k probably sounds like a lot of coin, but it’s below the average price for a new car today—by as much as $17k, depending on who you ask. Unless you’re interested in a pure exotic, less than thirty grand will buy you a number of affordable sports cars, even some with well under 100,000 miles. It’s a great way to get your thrills in a high-performance vehicle that isn’t going to be in the shop every third week.
And, if you were hoping to find something like a Dodge Challenger or a Chevrolet Camaro here, not to worry. We’ve got a whole separate list of the best affordable muscle cars to help you out with that search.
The Best Sports Cars Under $30,000 to Buy in 2024
- 2005–2013 Chevrolet Corvette
- 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
- 2012–2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302
- 2017 Honda Civic Type R
- 2020 Hyundai Veloster N
- 2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata
- 2024 MINI Cooper S
- 2005–2012 Porsche Cayman S
- 2023 Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR 86
- 2022 Subaru WRX
- 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI
2005–2013 Chevrolet Corvette
Best for: American sports car fanatics
Oh, boy, the C6. No other sports car telegraphs more about its owner. Drive this car and your friends are immediately going to assume that you’ve given up Japanese selvedge jeans and Red Wing boots for jorts and spiffy leather New Balance sneakers (with white socks, natch).
But make no mistake: There’s no other sports car on the planet that offers as much performance potential as the rear-wheel-drive (RWD) C6 Corvette. These were world-beating cars offered at a third of the price of the cars that they regularly embarrassed at the Nürburgring. In a test back in June 2012, a Corvette Z06 on street tires posted a 20,832-meter Nordschleife lap time of 7:22:68. And that's the Z06 remember, not the supercharged Z01. That time was good enough to beat contemporary laps from a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, an Audi R8 V10, a Nissan GT-R, a Maserati MC-12, a Pagani Zonda F Clubsport, a Ferrari Enzo, and a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4. That speaks for itself.
You’ll never have Top Gear fans singing your praises if you drive a Corvette, but you’ll be secure in the knowledge that you can beat the pants off of any of them at will... in a Chevy.
2020 Fiat 124 Spider
Best for: Style icons
Fiat is essentially done in the United States (again), so if you’re on the lookout for a 124 Spider, it’s going to have to be on the used market. It’s a shame, because in a lot of ways, the Fiat 124 Spider was a better car than the Miata.
Start with the styling. The Fiat 124 Spider could be said to be a much better-looking car than the MX-5 Miata. Yes, styling is subjective, but the Fiat 124 Spider really looks the part of a classic late 1960s/early 1970s Italian roadster.
Early in the 124 Spider’s run, it had the advantage thanks to the TurboAir turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the Abarth model, but since then, the Miata has closed the gap and surpassed the former's performance levels, despite the Mazda’s lack of a turbo. Considering that the two models share so much in terms of mechanicals and components, it’s amazing how different these cars feel. If it’s a track day you’re after, you could do a lot worse than the MX-5 Miata. If it’s simply enjoying twisty roads in one of the most pleasant sports cars on the market, choose the Fiat 124 Spider in Abarth trim. The better news, now that they’re out of production, is that you can buy one fully loaded and still stay under our price cap.
2012–2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302
Best for: V8 enthusiasts
We'll start by telling you that you can buy a Ford Mustang GT a lot more easily-and for a lot less money-than you can buy a Boss 302. But we're writing a story about the best sports cars under $30K, and the Boss 302 is the closest pony car to a true sports car that Ford ever turned out.
The Boss 302 is almost a skunkworks car from Ford. It got a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 with CNC-ported heads, a forged crank, revised cams, and a unique air intake straight from the 302R. The result was 444 hp, with a just a tad fewer lb-ft of torque than the standard GT, meaning that this was a car for speed, not for ripping donuts in the parking lot. The 2012 Mustang GT got a 5.0-liter V8 making 412 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. (The EcoBoost wouldn’t hit the Mustang lineup till 2015.)
Handling got a major boost over the GT, too, with higher-rate coil springs, stiffer bushings, a larger-diameter rear stabilizer bar, and a body squashed 11 mm lower on the front springs. There's a Laguna Seca upgrade with even more aggressive suspension tuning, Recaro bucket seats up front, and the rear seat tossed in the dumpster, but you'll never find one in this price range. Satisfy yourself with the entry-level Boss 302. It's a whole different animal than the conventional Ford Mustang GT.
2017 Honda Civic Type R
Best for: Extroverts
The Honda Civic Type R kicked off a new generation for 2023. Finding more recent examples of the previous generation as used cars for under $30,000 is going to take some time, but it’s doable. Our nationwide CarGurus search turned up one with just 30,000 miles in Bloomington, Illinois. Most are in the $32,000 to $35,000 range, but keep your eyes peeled and one will come up.
This is the car that left the automotive world with its mouth hanging open on April 3, 2017, when it recorded a 7:43:80 lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife-a time that was seven full seconds faster than its predecessor could manage and that set an all-new record for a front-wheel-drive (FWD) production car. It went on to shatter front-drive records at tracks all over the world.
These cars are outrageously powerful for what they are, hammering the front wheels with 306 hp out of an engine no larger than those found in many motorcycles. With a top speed of 169 miles per hour, it’s also the flat-out fastest Civic Type R ever produced, tying the 2024 model for factory specs. On top of that, it’s significantly more comfortable than the car it replaced, with a much more modern interior. And if you want something slightly more subtle, a Civic Si is also a great choice.
2020 Hyundai Veloster N
Best for: Iconoclasts
When Hyundai was still making the Veloster, you often saw it compared to the Kia Soul. But don’t let that mislead you: The Veloster N is quite a different ball of wax, and it’s one of the best used sports cars you can get. The 275-hp Veloster N hatchback is the absolute best hot-hatch-style vehicle in this segment, by a country mile.
The specs are incontrovertible: 275 horsepower. Six-speed manual with rev-matching. The rortiest exhaust in any production vehicle this side of Porsche. Zero to 60 in 4.3 seconds. The Veloster N from the current model year includes all of the content that used to be in the Performance Package as standard equipment, but if you’re looking on the used market, you’ll want to find one with that package in place. It includes the electronic limited slip differential that’s incredibly effective in putting power to the pavement as you dig out of corners.
2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Best for: Pure sports car enthusiasts
Still the reigning champion of two-seater sports cars, the Mazda Miata sells at a rate of 10,000 a year like clockwork. It’s an improved car over the third-generation “NC” body style (although those are starting to be more appreciated on the used market for what they were, too...)
The naturally aspirated four-cylinder Skyactiv-G engine delivers 181 horsepower, and because it turns in excellent fuel economy at 35 mpg, you can convince yourself that it’s somewhat economical. Even in its most base form, you get active safety features like lane-departure warning and Smart City Brake Support, along with performance identical to what you’d get out of the fancier Grand Touring Trim.
The one to look for is the Club trim—which you now have to build to order. That includes nice-to-have luxury-car features like a nine-speaker Bose audio system with AudioPilot, driver and passenger headrest speakers, and a subwoofer. More importantly, on the manual transmission (and why would you be looking at anything else?), the Club trim features a standard Torsen limited-slip differential. The only issue is that it’s $1,550 over our $30,000 price cap.
2024 MINI Cooper S
Best for: Chaps
The BMW MINI Cooper is still one of the more entertaining sporty vehicles available to American car shoppers, and you can almost convince people that it’s useful. The cargo area is at least more spacious than the Audi TT’s, and the rear seats are actually usable for adult-sized humans if they don’t have to spend too long back there.
The driving experience is terrific. The MINI Cooper may not be the best at anything. It’s not the quickest. It’s not the fastest through the autocross course. But you can entertain yourself all day long and still enjoy a car that’s pleasant in city traffic and a snap to parallel park.
The John Cooper Works is going to be over our price cap, but the Cooper S still starts below $30k and offers a 55-horsepower advantage while only dropping 1 mile per gallon from the entry-level car. 60 comes in 6.4 seconds, which is nowhere near the Veloster N’s stats, but it’s still a lot of fun to play with. (We’d love to point you to an equally fun and affordable rival from Mercedes-Benz, but that automaker went in a rather different direction and hasn’t made the smart roadster since 2005.)
2005–2012 Porsche Cayman S
Best for: Porsche 911 fans with less to spend
The Porsche Cayman and the Porsche Boxster are basically the same car, but the Cayman has a fixed hardtop roof to the Boxster’s open-top roadster configuration. Porsche 911 people are going to look down their noses at you, but don’t hang around with them. Either the Cayman or the Boxster in S trim is probably the best car most of us are ever going to drive.
The 987 Cayman S was equipped with a 3.4-liter flat-six boxer engine with a bristling 295 hp, mated to either a six-speed manual gearbox or the Tiptronic automatic transmission. After 2008, the Tiptronic gave way to the seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) dual-clutch automatic. Do not make the mistake of dismissing the PDK. If going fast is your only mission, you’re not good enough to go through the gears as perfectly as the PDK can. Its acceleration in Launch mode is life-changing.
There’s a debate to be had about whether to purchase the coupe or the roadster body style. If you’re an open-air person, the Boxster is going to do it for you, but the Cayman is the more dramatically awesome of these two luxury sports cars.
2023 Subaru BRZ/Toyota GR86
Best for: People with luggage
You get two for one here. The Subaru BRZ and the Toyota GR86 (which has now been renamed three times and changed brands twice since it started life as the Scion FR-S) are virtually identical cars, sharing the same chassis, the same 228-232-hp Subaru "boxer" engine, the same six-speed manual transmission, and everything else. Both cars offer a “back seat” that’s great for luggage, small pets, or people you hate, and both are known for providing enough cargo space to fit a spare set of wheels and tires for track days.
The power boost is fantastic. The one knock against the first-generation car was a lack of power. Bringing a 10 percent increase to the party is all it takes to make the engine feel perfectly suited to the chassis. And that chassis is improved, with better handling, turn-in, and braking performance, too.
Prices for these two two-doors have now essentially reached parity. And, as of the 2024 model year, they’ve passed the $30,000 mark (barely). The fact remains, though, that the new-car pricing of the 2023 BRZ ($28,595) and the 2023 GR86 ($28,400) marks the high point for those model years. As they age into the used car market, prices will decline (unless they become future classics, but that’s still well in the future).
Both cars have Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Bluetooth connectivity as standard equipment, and now push-button start and dual-zone climate control are standard on all trims, so there’s no real advantage to one over the other there.
Whatever you do, buy yourself a set of steel wheels and winter tires if you live where it snows. These cars are a hoot in bad weather.
2022 Subaru WRX
Best for: All-weather drivers
The WRX was all-new for 2022. It’s still hilarious fun to drive, but it’s also more grown-up than it used to be. And it’s more pleasant when you’re not wringing the daylights out of it. The only issue here is that after retaining a sub-$30k MSRP for the 2022 model year, the WRX finally crested that mark in 2023. You can still get the current generation for under 30 grand, you just have to look at 2022 models.
The early internet feedback on the new design had plenty of haters, and we’ll admit to not liking it in the photos, either. In person, though, it’s a great-looking sports sedan, and you can choose colors that either accentuate or minimize the effect of the black cladding.
Power is only up a tick, to 271 horsepower from the turbocharged boxer four-cylinder, and you do need to keep the revs up to get the most out of it. Standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) is a key point, especially if you’re only going to buy ONE sports car and you have to live in the parts of the country where it snows half the winter.
2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI
Best for: Hot hatch throwbacks
The Volkswagen GTI is a bit of a stretch as a "sports car." It's not a coupe or a roadster, and with 245 horsepower and over 3,100 pounds, it's not exactly a performance car. But it is the car that invented an entire segment, and it's outlived the very nameplate it was based on. VW doesn't even sell the base model anymore. If you want a Golf, you have to buy either a GTI or a Golf R.
Like the Subaru WRX, the Volkswagen Golf GTI finally passed the $30,000 mark for 2023. But it's still one of a handful of new cars offered with a six-speed manual transmission, and it still includes the best seats in any compact sporty car, upholstered in plaid that's a nod to the seats in the original GTI that arrived in 1976. We're just sticking to the 2022 model to meet our own pricing requirements for this list.
Beyond that, it's a useful automobile, with a hatch that's big enough to fit a small bureau and four doors that can almost convince you that for practicality purposes, this is a "family car."