I Tested Every Budget of Sports Car

[00:00] I'm going to test the best sports car

[00:01] you can buy at every budget starting

[00:02] from 10 all the way up to $100,000. Of

[00:05] course, starting with the first tier,

[00:07] 10,000 bucks. You have a few decent

[00:09] options at this level, but we all know

[00:10] there's only one right answer, a Mazda

[00:13] Miata. Now, we'll be judging each car on

[00:15] three parameters. Its looks, the driving

[00:17] experience, and what it says about you.

[00:19] As far as the aesthetic, Miatas just

[00:20] look fun. They look like a good time.

[00:22] It's not the sharpest, most aggressive

[00:23] looking car, but for what it is, it's a

[00:25] pretty clean, minimal design. I mean,

[00:27] just look at that smile. It looks happy

[00:28] to be here. And given that they weigh

[00:29] like 2,000 lb and often come with a

[00:31] manual transmission, they also drive

[00:33] really fun.

[00:36] It feels like you're driving a go-kart

[00:37] on public roads, this thing is tiny. It

[00:40] doesn't have all that much power, but

[00:41] because of how light and small it is,

[00:43] it's still such a good time. As far as

[00:44] what it says about you, anyone who

[00:45] drives a fairly stock or tastefully

[00:47] modded Miata is a good time. They're a

[00:49] fun person to be around. The only caveat

[00:51] is the exhaust elite slammed subsect of

[00:53] Miata owners. Fellas, it's 11:00 p.m. on

[00:56] a school night. What are we doing? What

[00:58] would you rate your car?

[00:59] >> 10 out of 10.

[01:00] >> Do you think others would agree?

[01:01] >> Probably.

[01:02] >> All right. Well, ask the next owner.

[01:04] >> At $20,000, your options really start to

[01:07] open up. And in this range, you can

[01:08] squeeze into one of the most iconic cars

[01:10] ever produced, the BMW E46M3. I've

[01:14] personally owned one of these, so I

[01:15] might be a little biased, but looks

[01:17] wise, it's kind of perfect. These cars

[01:19] have aged incredibly well. It's a

[01:20] timeless design that's a perfect mix of

[01:23] boxiness, aggression, and yet somehow

[01:25] it's still kind of elegant. Now,

[01:28] driving-wise,

[01:30] wow, it's brutally raw. There's no

[01:32] unnecessary assists of any kind. You can

[01:34] really feel the road in this car, and

[01:36] combined with a 50/50 weight

[01:37] distribution, you just feel planted. As

[01:40] much as I love this car, I also kind of

[01:42] absolutely hate it. I've owned four BMWs

[01:44] of this era, and they require a lot of

[01:46] maintenance. My M3 has, in fact, left me

[01:49] stranded on the side of the road. But,

[01:51] you get a few good weeks without

[01:52] anything breaking, and it kind of

[01:54] becomes worth it. When I see someone in

[01:55] an E46 M3, I think of an individual with

[01:58] taste, someone who knows a little bit of

[02:00] ball. You're not in it to impress

[02:01] anyone. Realistically, most people on

[02:03] the road will just see this as an old

[02:04] BMW. And with how much maintenance these

[02:06] require, I think you have to be a bit of

[02:08] an enthusiast to own one. What would you

[02:11] rate this car?

[02:12] >> Like a seven.

[02:13] >> What would you rate your car?

[02:14] >> 11.

[02:15] >> Do you think others would agree with

[02:16] that?

[02:16] >> I think they would.

[02:18] 30 grand can get you into some modern

[02:20] BMWs, older Corvettes, but my pick would

[02:23] be the best Porsche Cayman you can find.

[02:25] Pristine first generation manual

[02:27] Cayman's straight at this price point

[02:28] all day. But if you're willing to risk

[02:30] it on a sketchy Carfax or a higher

[02:32] mileage one, you can squeeze into a

[02:34] second gen 981 like this one here. And

[02:36] man, I love how these look. It's a

[02:38] classic silhouette, very premium, sporty

[02:41] styling. Even the first gen 987 ones,

[02:43] they look great inside. It's a modern

[02:45] car. It has all the features you'd

[02:46] expect, but it's not new enough to where

[02:47] you have a bunch of screens everywhere.

[02:49] And with it being a Porsche, it does

[02:50] feel very premium. Now, the driving

[02:52] experience might not blow your mind, but

[02:54] it's kind of exactly what you'd expect

[02:56] out of a car like this. It's mid-enine.

[02:58] The handling is fantastic, and the

[03:00] transmission is super quick. It's not

[03:01] fast in a straight line, but you combine

[03:04] everything together and it's a very

[03:06] well- balanced car. It doesn't really

[03:07] fall short anywhere.

[03:09] >> Yo, it's actually like so slow.

[03:11] >> Well, I guess other than in a straight

[03:13] line. However, the Cayman does carry

[03:15] some stigma with some calling it the

[03:17] poor man's poor. And to that, I would

[03:19] say worry about your own bag, bro. But

[03:21] also, yeah, some people might buy this

[03:23] because it's the cheapest way to flex a

[03:24] Porsche, but I wouldn't let them ruin it

[03:26] for you. Porsche Cayman completely

[03:28] underrated.

[03:30] What would you rate this car?

[03:32] >> Nice. Uh, I would give it a solid seven.

[03:35] >> And what would you rate your car?

[03:38] >> 6.5. Not enough power, but handles well.

[03:42] Can I say something without everyone

[03:44] getting mad? This one is a little

[03:45] controversial, but I'm standing 10 toes

[03:47] down. This is one of my favorite cars on

[03:49] this entire list, especially for the

[03:52] price. 40 grand BMW i8. I mean, looks

[03:55] wise, this is one of the coolest, most

[03:57] spaceship looking cars ever made. The

[03:59] butterfly doors, absolutely insane

[04:01] futuristic styling. It's one of the most

[04:03] unique looking cars on the road, even

[04:05] now, 12 years since BMW first released

[04:07] it. Now, the driving experience is, of

[04:09] course, part of why this car gets so

[04:11] much hate. It's got a 1 and 1/2 L

[04:13] 3-cylinder engine in the back and an

[04:15] electric motor in the front. That tiny

[04:17] of an engine on something that looks

[04:18] like a supercar and originally retailed

[04:20] for 150 grand, I can see why people are

[04:23] upset. And it's not the most

[04:24] exhilarating car to drive, but I owned

[04:26] one for a while and it's a very

[04:28] comfortable drive. It's not as slow as

[04:29] you'd expect from all the hate that

[04:30] these get. The electric motor puts in

[04:32] some work. I took mine on a couple road

[04:33] trips. It's a plug-in hybrid, so it's

[04:35] great on gas. I probably wouldn't pay

[04:37] 150 grand for one, but now that they've

[04:38] come down into the 40s, they make for a

[04:41] really cool daily drivable sports car.

[04:43] Now, for what this car says about you,

[04:44] that's the second reason why these get

[04:46] so much hate. This is the cheapest way

[04:47] to get into something that looks like a

[04:49] supercar, so naturally it attracts lar.

[04:52] This is known as the fake flexing car.

[04:54] People associate the eight with

[04:55] Soundcloud rappers, influencers looking

[04:57] to appear more wealthy than they really

[04:59] are. But if you can get past that

[05:00] stigma, you get yourself an incredible

[05:02] car, especially for the price. What

[05:05] would you rate this car?

[05:07] >> I'm not a big Porsche fan, so I'm gonna

[05:08] go like with six.

[05:09] >> What would you rate your car?

[05:10] >> I think my car is pretty unique. It's

[05:12] i8, so I'll give it a seven and a half.

[05:16] >> Now, in order to squeeze into some of

[05:18] the cars on this list, you're going to

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[06:32] At 50,000, you should probably just go

[06:34] buy some lowcost index funds. But if

[06:36] you're going to blow on a car, you can

[06:37] get a really nice C7 Stingray, a 718

[06:40] Cayman, or you can buy what is often

[06:42] referred to as the pinnacle of driver

[06:44] focused sports cars of BMW M2

[06:47] Competition. This car looks well

[06:49] balanced. It's really not the flashiest

[06:51] car, but it's very proportionate,

[06:52] aesthetically pleasing, and kind of

[06:54] aggressive. BMW didn't really take a lot

[06:56] of design risks here. Pretty much anyone

[06:58] can get behind this. It just looks good,

[07:00] especially in this color. However, most

[07:01] people aren't buying these for the

[07:03] looks. The BMW M2 is the smallest MC car

[07:05] in size, but it still has a good amount

[07:07] of power, which is a recipe for a pretty

[07:09] impressive driving experience. This

[07:11] thing handles well. There's like no body

[07:12] roll. The brakes are excellent. It's

[07:14] shifty. This is a driver's car. And when

[07:16] it comes to optics, this is kind of on

[07:18] the opposite end of the spectrum from

[07:20] the BMW i8. The i8 is known to be a bit

[07:23] of a flexer car, while this is the most

[07:25] if you know, you know, type of car out

[07:27] of the M lineup. You make 100 grand on

[07:28] TikTok, you're buying a G80 M3 M4. This

[07:31] is a car you'll find true BMW

[07:33] enthusiasts driving, and I think it gets

[07:35] a lot of respect anywhere it goes.

[07:37] >> What would you rate this car?

[07:39] >> Um, is isn't that your old car?

[07:41] >> I I had that got repossessed, bro.

[07:43] >> Oh, okay. Uh, probably like a five out

[07:45] of 10. What would you rate your car?

[07:46] >> Uh, seven out of 10.

[07:47] >> Do you think others would agree?

[07:49] >> No.

[07:52] >> Fellas, I'm not even going to ask you to

[07:53] hear me out. I'm just going to apologize

[07:55] in advance. I did choose the Tik Tocker

[07:58] Miami car for the 60K mark. I just can't

[08:00] believe that you can pick one of these

[08:01] up for 60,000. The Chevrolet Corvette C8

[08:04] is so much car for the money. At this

[08:06] point, there's a ton of these on the

[08:07] road. People have kind of gotten used to

[08:08] them, but I still do a double take

[08:10] anytime I see one. Chevy just absolutely

[08:12] cooked with this design. Yeah, you can

[08:14] say it's kind of flashy. Oh, it's a

[08:16] wannabe supercar. End of the day, it

[08:18] looks incredible. Both the exterior and

[08:21] interior is so well done. This wasn't my

[08:23] first time driving one of these, and I'm

[08:25] impressed. From all the hate these get,

[08:26] I didn't expect it to drive as well as

[08:28] it does. Shift smooth, almost too

[08:30] smooth. Like, you can barely feel it. I

[08:32] almost wish it kind of tossed you around

[08:33] a little bit. But I love this interior.

[08:35] It's very driver focused, and it

[08:37] actually kind of feels premium. You get

[08:38] this really cool Spongebob square

[08:40] steering wheel. And at least from what

[08:41] I've heard, these are also pretty

[08:43] reliable with some referring to them as

[08:45] the reliable version of a Ferrari. But

[08:47] unfortunately, people may assume that

[08:49] you're either having a midlife crisis or

[08:51] smoking crypto forex or both. Kind of a

[08:54] similar perception to the i8 when it

[08:56] comes to this car. But if you can get

[08:57] over that, wow, this thing is great. And

[09:00] a used one is like one of the best deals

[09:01] on the car market right now. And

[09:03] honestly, no one actually cares. All the

[09:04] hate these get kind of stays online. In

[09:06] the real world, most people love it.

[09:08] This thing is really cool.

[09:10] What would you rate this car?

[09:12] >> On fun to drive, I'd rent that I'd rate

[09:14] that a 10. On overall car, I'd say an

[09:16] eight.

[09:16] >> And what would you rate your car?

[09:17] >> I would surprisingly rate it a 10. Um, I

[09:19] wasn't a big Corvette fan before, but

[09:21] after getting into this, it's a whole

[09:22] another animal.

[09:22] >> Do you think others would agree?

[09:23] >> I think once they got in it and drove it

[09:25] and put a smile on their face, they

[09:27] definitely would.

[09:29] >> At $70,000, you have an overwhelming

[09:31] amount of options, so it might make

[09:33] sense to go with something that you're

[09:35] not likely to regret. And this is kind

[09:36] of the sports car. If you ask someone on

[09:38] the street to draw a sports car, they'd

[09:40] probably draw a Porsche 911. The

[09:42] absolute classiest of cars. And looks

[09:44] wise, I mean, there's nothing to

[09:46] critique. This is kind of the gold

[09:48] standard of sports car design. It is

[09:50] more elegant rather than flashy or

[09:52] aggressive. It's definitely timeless.

[09:54] The steering feels incredibly precise,

[09:56] just straight point and truth. There's a

[09:57] reason why the 911 gets so much hype.

[09:59] This thing is an absolute joy to drive.

[10:02] Now, as far as what it says about you, I

[10:03] mean, everyone respects the 911. No one

[10:05] sees one on the road and thinks gh a

[10:07] 911. The only place you can go wrong

[10:09] here is if you make it your entire

[10:11] identity and become a bit of a Porsche

[10:13] snob. What would you rate this car?

[10:16] >> Believe it or not, is that the normal C8

[10:18] or is that the Z06?

[10:19] >> It's the normal.

[10:20] >> I would give it uh an eight.

[10:22] >> And what would you rate your car?

[10:24] >> Uh 9.5.

[10:27] >> $80,000. That's a down payment on a

[10:29] house. You can get the forbidden

[10:30] vehicle, a J82 M4, or you can get the

[10:34] best sounding car in the world, really,

[10:36] the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT. Looks wise, I

[10:40] personally love the long hood design.

[10:42] It's very exotic, very unique. I guess

[10:43] it's not for everyone. Some people say

[10:45] they don't like it, but I mean, just

[10:46] look at this thing. It's the perfect

[10:48] juxtaposition of brutal aggression and

[10:51] classy Mercedes elegance. It has a twin

[10:53] turbo V8, which again just sounds

[10:56] incredible.

[10:58] It just sounds like a lion growl. It's

[11:01] actually really fast. It does not feel

[11:03] as heavy as you think. Before getting

[11:05] in, I kind of assumed that this would

[11:07] drive like a muscle car, but the

[11:08] handling is very sporty, very precise.

[11:11] The price range for these does start in

[11:13] like the high50s, which is an absolute

[11:15] bargain, but you do have some specs and

[11:17] examples that climb up to 80.

[11:19] Stereotypes, it might be a bit of a

[11:21] Unmobile and older gentleman car, which

[11:23] also kind of gives it a James Bond vibe.

[11:25] I won't lie, I felt very cool, very

[11:27] mysterious driving this thing around.

[11:30] What would you rate this car?

[11:32] >> Uh, base 911 like six.

[11:34] >> What would you rate your car?

[11:35] >> Uh, like 8 1/2, nine.

[11:38] >> At $90,000, you can get into something

[11:41] very special. I don't know if it's even

[11:43] fair because this is technically a

[11:44] supercar, not a sports car. But for 90

[11:46] grand, you can buy a piece of history, a

[11:48] PLP Lamborghini Gallardo. An absolutely

[11:51] epic car. You get the iconic Lamborghini

[11:53] wedge silhouette with a massive front

[11:55] headlight. It's super wide and low to

[11:57] the ground. The design has really held

[11:58] up. 20 years since it's been released.

[12:00] You take a look at this car. It still

[12:02] looks incredible. I bought a crashed one

[12:04] and after repairs, I was into it in the

[12:05] low60s, but the one I'm inside today

[12:07] would actually be worth a lot more than

[12:09] 90. This is a very special Gallardo as

[12:11] it comes with a

[12:14] Now, driving an automatic Aardo because

[12:16] it's a single clutch V10. I've never

[12:18] driven anything like it. It's so harsh

[12:20] and mechanical. It genuinely feels

[12:22] dangerous. Such a unique, exciting

[12:24] analog experience. And this manual

[12:26] version is all of that amplified.

[12:34] >> Yo.

[12:34] >> Now, you'd think with this being the

[12:36] cheapest way to get into a Lambo that it

[12:38] would attract a lot of laring and

[12:39] flexing, but from my experience and

[12:41] ownership, the Gallardo is a true

[12:43] enthusiast car. Because of its almost

[12:45] classic status at this point, it gets a

[12:47] lot of respect. You don't see many of

[12:48] these on the road. I'd argue that this

[12:49] has less of that streamer Instagram

[12:52] Lambo stigma that say a Huracan may

[12:54] have. What would you rate this car?

[12:57] >> Uh, I'm going to give that a seven.

[13:00] >> And what would you rate your car?

[13:01] >> I'd give it a nine.

[13:02] >> Do you think others would agree?

[13:03] >> I don't think so. It's a little bit old,

[13:05] but they should agree because it's got

[13:10] >> And for $100,000, you can purchase what

[13:12] many of the top automotive scientists

[13:15] agree is the best driving sports car

[13:17] ever made. They've solved it. We've

[13:19] reached AGI when it comes to vehicles.

[13:21] I'm of course referring to the 981

[13:23] Porsche Cayman GT4. It's pretty

[13:25] aggressive with the low front end and

[13:27] the wing in the back, but it still looks

[13:28] kind of fun. It's truly the most

[13:30] wellbalanced driving experience you

[13:32] could have. It just hugs the road, feels

[13:34] nimble, the handling is incredible.

[13:37] >> What would you rate this car?

[13:38] >> Um, that's probably a eight.

[13:41] >> What if I told you it's a

[13:43] >> maybe an 8.5?