Whats the fastest and best looking and handling car for £20000?

Question

Subaru P2 - lovely but looks more like £40000 not £20000 -im not that rich yet!

What about BMW M3 or BMW Alpina B3 3.3?

TVR? would love but £3000 a year to maintain - no thanks! shame though

Answer 1

Well I have a Jaguar XK8 convertible which is around 8 yrs old now. I bought it about 3 years ago for £18,000 and I love it. It is very fast and looks fantastic!!

Answer 2

Looks are subjective and handling can be too. It really depends on what you like. Also are you talking about new cars or second hand.

If I had £20k to spend i'd be looking at a second hand Porsche Boxster, BMW M5 or M3, Nissan 350Z.

The fastest car you can buy for £20k would be a used TVR Cerberra 4.5. It will do 180mph and accellerates faster than a 911 turbo. It looks and sounds awsome but handling will be a bit tricky and reliabillity not good.

If you want looks and handling then a second hand Lotus elise. £20k will get you a good one and for the money not many cars handle better. Not to that much in the way of top speed although accelleration is good.

If you are after a new car then i'm not sure. Fastest and best handling would probably be something like the Civic Type-R, the new Focus ST, Mini copper s works or the Renault Clio 192. As for looks, well I think that all look a bit naff to be honest.

Answer 3

It would really depend what you are looking for in a car. You really do have the pick of the bunch for this kind of money.

For speed and practicality you really can't beat a M5. It is thirsty with the 5 litre V8 returning about 25mpg if driven sensibly. They corner like they are on rails and the traction control system on this BM would make sure you didn't sling it into a tree at the first sign of rain.

You could also opt for the mother of all the evo generation cars. ie an Impreza or a Lancer. These cars are ballistic and also stick to the road like they are superglued there. But they are not the best looking of machines and the only attention you would get would be that of the unwanted kind. I feel the best of these cars are an Impreza P1 or an Evo 6 Makkenen edition.

However, at this money, it puts you firmly in TVR territory. An uncompromising, good looking, missile of a car. Admittedly these cars do have some reliability issues. So you would need to be very careful when buying one, as there are alot of dogs out there. They are not the easiest cars to drive, so in no way should it be your first performance car. Otherwise it would be very easy to puree yourself in some horrific collision. But as far as looks performance and road-holding go (in the dry!!). You would struggle to beat a nice Cerbera Speed 6.

Simon.

Answer 4

At 20k for a sports car your looking at secound hand. For shear flash factor the porsha boxter is great, go for the 2.7, its a flat 6 with 240bhp it handels like you think porsha should and will do 0-60 in the early 6s mark. A great alternitive is the honda s2000, it may only be 2ltr but i'm sure it must be the best engine in the world!! Nissan 350z is good but abit too bold for some. Something to think about is a TVR Tamora, this has a 3.6 (360bhp) racing stright6 engine and is by far one of the fastest 20k cars you can buy, at plus170mph and under 5s to 60. The looks are not for all but insurance is not as bad as you think, it will be similar to the s2000. Personaly for a daily driver igo for the s2000 but as a weekender its always the TVR. If your after a saloon Evo 8 is your man!!

Answer 5

You really need to be clinically insane to buy a brand new car unless you can just afford anything or don't care what you get as long as it goes and stops.

Its a rare car but if you can find a used Noble M12 it will blow away just about anything else on the road. Looks far better than an Evo for example, looks good anyway in fact, 0-60 in under 4seconds, top speed around 170MPH, and it's still fairly comfortable. It may cost fractionally more than £20k, but not much, and it'll be worth it.

If you can't find one or it seems a little too harsh choice, you could always look at the Nissan 350Z, or Mazda RX-8. They are both really good cars too, and very reasonably priced.

Answer 6

The best thing to get is the Prodrive P2. It was featured on Top gear and beat a Lamborghini Gallardo round the track. These things are mental. Have a loook at some pics on google. It looks like an evil cross between the new Audi nd a Subaru Imprezza. If you want something rare that nobody else has got at the moment then these are the daddies.

P.S They handle like they are on rails too...lol. The tyres spin in just about anygear becuse of the traction control and immense engine power.

Answer 7

Mini Cooper S. My mate's had two of them and they are well quick, and handle superbly. He sold his first one and missed it so much he bought another. Very nice interior as well, hold their value exceptionally well, and are roomier than you'd think. The Works model is faster & lighter too. You can get a new Cooper S for under £20k. Should be on your test drive list.

And incidentally, the Prodrive P2 is a concept car - it's never been produced for market, and Subaru have said if it was produced it would run around £40k so you might as well forget that suggestion.

Answer 8

Depends on what you want...if it is a family car that you are looking for, I just bought a Mazda 6 Sport turbo deisel...handles like a sports car...corners beautifully...has a really responsive deisel engine and is economical to run (40 mpg and low insurance band).. Total - top of the range with leather seats, Air Con, Bose Hi Fi, Cruise control etc etc etc - cost new £21,000 I got it for £16000 - three months old dealer demo model....I love it

Answer 9

it really is few alternatives that would want to face up to the Grand Prix or G6 for that count number. Mazda 3 Chevy Cobalt Subaru impreza Chevy Camero Nissan 350Z - not almost as good as others. i'm not likely to teach Mustang in my list through reliability issues. besides aG6 can beat the Mustang with a good motive force. i in my opinion love Pontiacs. The Grand Prix is a good automobile besides.You particular you don't want to get your own ?

Answer 10

a really nice car to get is the saab sports wagon. my boyfriend has one and they are great. they are built for speed and they handle the road very well. and they are really luxurious inside. great car. going for about £20000 to£22000