2004 Mazdaspeed Miata

The Miata->ke1185, of course, won't make this list in its base format, as there are too many vehicles that outplay it for the money. However, the Mazdaspeed model is a different situation. With its 1.8-liter turbocharged engine, this Miata pushes 178 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque. This gets the normally very average-accelerating Miata to 60 mph in between 6.2 and 6.9 seconds, depending on how heat-soaked the Chiclet it has for an intercooler gets. Yeah, that's no screamer, but it is at least pretty quick and when you combine that with its outstanding suspension, you get a nice overall sports car for just a little over $9,000.

The issue is turning into a supply and demand skew for the Mazdaspeed Miata. There were only 4,000 total Mazdaspeed Miatas built between 2004 and 2005, so the typical downward slope of the price curve is flattening out, as it approaches 10-years old.

In addition to its power and handling, this is one of the best-looking Miatas to ever leave the factory. The ground effects, spoiler, and rims on the already-sharp second-gen Miata body complete the package.

On the downside, the Miata has very little “Cool Factor,” as it has a reputation of being a “chick's car.” Many people have no idea what a Mazdaspeed model is, so they typically just lump it in with every other Miata. Once they go for a ride in it, their opinions typically do a complete 180.

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Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T/GSX and Eagle Talon TSi/TSi AWD

Ah, the golden years for the Eclipse->ke251 and the lesser-known Talon. This little gem was the brainchild of Chrysler->ke21 and Mitsubishi->ke58 trying to grab hold of the blooming import car tuning world and running with it. The Eclipse was well known across the nation, while its sibling, the Eagle Talon, was lost in a slew of re-badged Dodges known as the Eagle lineup of turds.

These two models debuted in 1990 and really took the world by storm. The first generation models boasted a turbocharged 4-banger that popped off 195 horsepower (190 in front-wheel drive and 185 with a slush-box transmission). When the second generation came around, the turbocharged engines were pumped up to 210 horsepower in a manual transmission model and 205 ponies in an automatic. First-gen AWD models have been timed as low as 6.4 seconds to 60 mph, while FWD models see a time closer to 7.4 seconds. Second-gen models, though slightly more powerful, actually saw a slower time to 60 mph in AWD, as raced to 60 mph in 7 seconds. The FWD models were pretty close to the AWD models, hitting the same 60 mph in only 7.1 seconds.

As for style, you don't get much better for the era than the Eclipse. The first generation was relatively stylish, with its pop-up headlights the first few years, then moving to a fixed headlight later. The second generation was one of the most gorgeous cars on the road at the time. Sure, it was a little fatter and slower than the first-gen, but damn it looked cool.

The Eclipse/Talon was a functional car too, as it had a relatively roomy trunk, decent passenger capacity, and it didn't loosen your guts on a bumpy road. Its downside was the fact that it was never known as a super handling car. It was serviceable, but was ultimately left in the dust when it came to competing against the Miata, Corvette, 3000GT, and others in the curves.

The Eclipse/Talon takes a front seat in pricing, as you can snag them up under $6,000 all day. Plus, the aftermarket world is abundant in second-gen performance parts.

Ratings

Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4/Dodge Stealth R/T

Looking at Mitsubishi now, it is amazing to think that they had two sports cars that were near the top during the 1990s. The 3000GT VR-4 and Dodge Stealth R/T were literally identical, sans the emblems and minor styling details, and they were simply awesome! These models boasted a 3.0-liter turbocharged engine that pumped out 300 to 320 horsepower, depending on the model year. This allowed them to sprint to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and could hit a top speed of 159 mph.

The only models that you can get into under our $10K ceiling are the very early years – 1991 to 1994 – but they are still very stylish and sporty looking cars. The 300GT and Stealth are more like sports touring cars, so they are slightly larger and heavier than your typical sports car. They handled slightly better than their little brothers, the Eclipse and Talon, but they still were not the corner monsters that the Miata was.

The 3000GT and Dodge Stealth are flat out cool, if you have the VR-4 or R/T model. The remaining models are just overweight, under performing touring cars. This makes the high-end models that much more desirable, driving the price sky high, even after they have been out of production for coming up on 15 years. You can slide into a early model year for just under $10K in the Mitsubishi model, but the Stealth R/T you can get into for a little less money and get the same performance.

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C4 Corvette

The classic `Vette simply cannot be left off of this list. We’re going to skip the 1984 version of the Corvette->ke1280, as its engine was still grappling with emission standards and only pumped out 205 horsepower. In 1985, mild revisions to the fuel and management systems saw a bump up to 230 horsepower and in 1987, it was again bumped to 240 horsepower from its 5.7-liter V-8. This brought the Corvette to a respectable 6-second sprint to 60 mph. In 1992, the LS1 engine arrived to replace the L98 and the Corvette pumped out 300 ponies and sprinted to 60 mph in only 5 seconds.

The C4 `Vette was a supremely beautiful vehicle that translates well in today’s supercar world its its wedge-like design and aggressive body lines. The V4 `Vette also featured awesome suspension for the era and the optional Z51 suspension package made it all the better.

As for coolness, the Corvette always has been and always will be cool, especially the C4 model. To boot, the aftermarket parts supply is abundant and capable of cheaply getting the Corvette to 300 horsepower. One issue is that the majority of the C4 class of `Vettes are now considered classic cars, so the price is quickly increasing. When you could one slide into these for a quick $3K, you are now looking at least $7K for mid-1980s models, but you can sneak into the 300-horsepower mid-1990s models for less than $10K.

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Nissan 300ZX Twin-Turbo

This is by far the greatest of the Z cars ever made, including today's models. This nearly exotic machine boasted a 3.0-liter V-6 engine with a pair of blowers attached to it. It pumped out 300 ponies and hit 60 mph in the mid-5-second range.

Its style is flat-out awesome and there is little to argue about there. It remains a modern-looking car by today's standards and will remain that way for many years. The issue with these cars is the supply, as not many owners are looking to sell these collectable cars, but you can get into one in the $5,000 to $7,000 range, though the majority are asking well over $10,000 – more than double its actual value.

The coolness factor really makes this car, as it is one of the most recognizable cars from the 1990s and has the speed to back it all up.

Not only was this car extremely powerful, but it also handled like a dream, despite being pretty heavy for its wheelbase. This is mostly thanks its High Capacity Active Suspension (HiCAS) system. This system allowed for rear steering at certain speeds and other parameters to make it a great handler.

A downfall to this car is its rear seat. Sure, this is a 2+2 coupe, but the rear seats are only built for those lacking lower appendages. Many 300ZX enthusiasts simply remove the rear seats to save some weight, given they are practically useless as-is.

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Porsche 928 S

Sure, there are more ideal Porsche->ke1 cars, such as the 911->ke282, but none give you the bang for your buck like the 928->ke928 S. The performance numbers vary greatly between model years, but you can sneak into the 1986 and 1987 model years for just about $9,000. These 5.0-liter V-8 powered hatchbacks produce 316 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. This lets it scream to 60 mph in just 5.7 seconds and have a top speed of an incredible 170 mph.

On the outside, the 928 was unlike the typical Porsche, boasting a long nose and rounded rump, but you can tell that its design cues were taken from the car it was supposed to replace – the 911. With this, you also get the pedigree of the Porsche lineup, but you also get the huge repair bills.

The price for a later-model 928 S remains a little high – between $8K and $9.5K – but it is a lot of car for the money. An unfortunate thing is that the 928 does not translate well into today's sports car world, as its proportions are way off. As far as giddy-up without needing boost, the 928 S is almost unbeatable.

The 928 S has received pretty rave reviews about its balance between comfort and sport when it comes to handling. It does receive some black marks thanks to numb steering, but its passive rear-wheel steering definitely makes up for that.

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Porsche Boxster/Boxster S

Much like the Miata, the Boxster->ke570 and Boxster S have a stigma of being a “chick's car,” though not nearly as much as the Miata. You can get yourself into a mid- to late-1990s Boxster and Boxster S for just shy of $10K, though the S model is a little more scarce. With the Boxster, you get a 201-horsepower 2.5-liter flat-6 that gets you to 60 mph in about 6.6 seconds. The Boxster S comes with a 3.2-liter flat-6 that sprints to 60 in only 5.8 seconds.

This generation for the Boxster was a very boring one, as the bodies looked like they were just squashed down 911s. Newer models show much more character and that really affects the cool factor of the Boxster in a negative way.

In the handling department, the Boxster is up there with the Miata. It goes where you point it and the steering feed back is incredible. Yeah, it's not the fastest car on the list, but it's certainly in the competition.

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1991 – 1995 Toyota MR2 Turbocharged

No, we refuse to add the monstrosity that was the MR2->ke357 Spyder – what a waste of a good idea. We are talking about the second-gen MR2 with a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder good for 200 horsepower. These 200 monies are good enough to get the MR2 Turbo to 60 mph in the mid-6s.

The MR2 was always well-known as an impressive handler, thanks to Lotus helping Toyota develop the perfect suspension system. The 1991 through 1995 MR2 Turbo is no exception to this rule. It hugged corners like no other in its era and flew out of the corners just as easily.

The style of the MR2 would still look good on today's cars, so its design has definitely held up to the test of time. It's unfortunate that Toyota didn't simply modify this body style to fit the last generation MR2, instead of making it a spyder.

For cool factor, there is little that exceeds the MR2 Turbo. It was the first real Japanese powerhouse that came in under $60,000. The NSX was the only other Japanese car in its class, but it was roughly $62,000 when new.

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Overall Standings

The overall rankings are basically outlining just the best bang for the buck and may not exactly fit what you are looking for. In the following sections we will go through various scenarios to get you a winner for each scenario.

Best Tuner

Okay, not everyone is happy with what their car has from the factory, so we need to account for those looking to tune their car themselves. All of these cars have plenty of room to increase their power, but one stands out above the rest, thanks to an abundance of aftermarket parts and the overall potential of the engine. This car is, believe it or not, our last place finisher in the overall standings. The Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon have the potential to increase there horsepower significantly, thanks to the huge number of parts suppliers out there. Also, the performance parts for the Eclipse/Talon are fairly inexpensive.

Best Straight Speed

If all you want to do is go fast in a straight line and nothing else concerns you, there is only one choice. This choice is the Porsche 928 S. With its 170 mph top speed and room to grow, nothing else on this list can hang with it in a straight line.

Just Look at Me, Please

If all you want is someone to stare at you and say “Damn, that car's sick,” There is one car that stands above all of the others. This is the C4 Corvette. It is already a stylish car, but with the correct body kit, nice wheels, good paint, and a mean exhaust system, it definitely gets stares. So if your goal is just a little attention, go with the C4 `Vette.

Close, But No Cigar

There was a number of vehicles that were really close to making this list, but we had to leave them off for various reasons. We''ll go over some of the borderline ones here.

Mazda RX-7

We debated long and hard on the RX-7, but it ultimately came up a little short. In its base format, the RX-7 is actually pretty slow and when you look into its Turbo trim level, you exceed our $10K mark in all cases.

Late-1980s Ford Probe GT

The Probe GT was actually quite the performer in the late-1980s, but it came up shy, as it was never a good handler and its 0 to 60 time was a little too slow (low-7-seconds.)

Acura Integra GS-R

A little slow at 7 seconds to 60 mph and definitely not known as a handling machine. It features very heavy under-steer, thanks to its FWD setup.

Honda S2000

To fit it into this price range, you have to either buy a wrecked one or one that has 160,000 miles of thrashing.

Conclusion

This is our collection of the top spots cars that you can snag up for under $10K, but what you find a good deal may completely differ from ours. Let us know what we missed in the comments section below.