If you’re a car enthusiast like me, chances are you’re starting to feel tired of the never-ending stream of SUVs and crossovers. You might even be tired of cars being so expensive but not providing much value for your money.
What if there were a sports sedan, or several of them, that had a lot to offer, and that could be yours for $30,000, or maybe less? Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? That’s exactly why we set out to discover what sedan awesomeness is available for that kind of money!
Our Methods
We chose these sports sedans based on their performance as well as their driving experience. We use both official info from the automaker (where available) and details from journalists from reputable automotive media, such as Motor1. Car market valuation website Classic.com is our source for all the prices.
Let’s take a look at some great sports sedans that are worth every penny of that $30,000 (or less).
Kia Stinger GT
This is one car that Kia took a gamble on, and while it didn’t really pay off in terms of sales, it was the final push that made everyone take Kia a lot more seriously. Just 15 years ago, the idea of a Kia sports sedan with a turbo V6 sounded silly, but boy, did it work.
Like a true sports sedan, the Stinger GT was RWD, though you could also have it with AWD. Kia claimed the turbocharged 3.3-liter V6 under the hood made 368 hp, and it could do 60 mph in less than five seconds. Doug DeMuro owned a Stinger GT for quite a while, and even he was thoroughly impressed with the car’s capability on backroads. Good news: Classic.com shows that Stinger GTs with slightly high mileage have now dipped below $30,000.
Dodge Charger SRT8 (Sixth Generation)
Let’s say you aren’t really bothered about the best performance when tackling corners; you just want a big, powerful sedan that drinks copious amounts of fuel and is rather good at doing burnouts. That’s where the sixth-generation Dodge Charger SRT8 comes in.
Before the days of the Hellcat and its stupid amount of horsepower, the flagship Charger made do with “only” 425 horsepower courtesy of the 6.1-liter HEMI V8 under the hood. It was pretty fast, and while it was far from sophisticated, as David Booth of Driving.ca reported, it was a lot of fun. Due to it being one of the last cars of its kind, Charger SRT8s have held their value pretty well.
Anthony Alaniz of Motor1 reports that the HEMI V8 is coming back this summer, so why not celebrate with one of these for around $26,000, according to Classic.com.
Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG (W204)
This is one of the finest and most beloved examples of the Mercedes C63 AMG, and with good reason. The W204 generation C63 was the only one to use AMG’s massive 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8. This is pretty crazy when you think about it.
Stuttgart’s engineers somehow managed to cram a 6.2-liter V8 into what is considered a compact luxury sedan. It made well over 400 hp and a wonderful, angry noise. While Mercedes tries to convince us that a plug-in hybrid four-cylinder is a worthy replacement for a big old V8 (and, as Brian Silvestro of Motor1 reports, it’s failing miserably), go pick up a well-maintaned C63 for just a smidge under $30,000, according to Classic, and enjoy the pure drama.
BMW 335i (F30)
Let’s say you wanted something more manageable and calmer than the fire-breathing F80 M3. BMW had just the right thing for you back in the early 2010s, the F30 335i. This is one of the finest examples of the 3 Series breed outside of the M3, and there are a few good reasons for that.
It’s docile and calm when you need it to be, but then, when you need something more, it might just surprise you. It also looks fantastic, and the interior is a perfect balance between modern and, well, not annoying. I have actually driven an F30 335i, and I can personally tell you that you can’t go wrong with one. Especially not for around $20,000, per Classic.com’s valuation.
Cadillac CTS-V (First Generation)
This is one sports sedan that we can always come back to, as it offers so much for surprisingly little money. You might know the story by now, but Cadillac wanted to take on the Germans head-on, and that included a performance version of the CTS.
While it closely resembled the regular CTS on the outside, this was a special car. Under the hood in most first-gen CTS-Vs was a 5.7-liter V8, which is, according to Autoevolution, pulled right from the C5 Corvette Z06. A big, naturally-aspirated V8 for, according to Classic, just under $20,000? What more could you want? These engines are essentially plucked from the Corvette, and Cadillac made the whole thing even sweeter by offering the CTS-V exclusively with a manual transmission.
Audi S4 (B8)
Audi did the B7 S4 a huge favor by giving it essentially the same naturally-aspirated V8 as the RS4. For the next generation, however, the two models would go in completely different directions. The RS4 had V8 power, but the S4 got something totally different.
The V8 was replaced with a 3.0-liter V6, and even though it was still branded TFSI, it was actually supercharged, not turbocharged. According to Car and Driver, it had 333 hp on tap; the B8 S4 created a lot of supercharger whine and made for a lot of smiles per mile. Plus, it’s one of Audi’s only performance cars in North America that offers a manual transmission. Classic.com places the B8 S4 market at around $20,000, and that’s a pretty good deal.
Lexus IS F
The Germans are not the only ones who can make a proper sports sedan. Lexus decided to join in on the fun in the late 2000s with the IS F. To this day, this is one of the most underrated sports sedans of the era, and it’s time we gave it some love. There are so many reasons why the IS F is worth the price.
Powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine, the IS F is well-known for its roaring exhaust note and that rev limiter. It’s hooked up to one of the first ever production eight-speed automatic transmissions. 422 hp was pretty average sports sedan stuff for the time, but one thing that makes the IS F stand out, besides its fantastic design, is its reliability. Whereas the Germans have pretty much constant problems, the ownership experience with an IS F is smooth sailing if the previous owner properly maintained it. All of that, for just under $30,000, according to Classic.
Ford Taurus SHO
We’ve already told you why the Taurus SHO is a fantastic option for going fast for very cheap, and it’s time we talked about it again. With the final generation Taurus, Ford decided to give the SHO model one last go.
This time, there was no input from Yamaha when it came to the powertrain; it was just Ford’s own 3.5-liter turbo EcoBoost V6 with 365 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque. It’s surprisingly tunable; the Taurus SHO itself is a total sleeper, and through some listings shown by Classic.com, we can determine that a solid Taurus SHO can set you back as little as $15,000. If you get lucky and find an SHO-equipped decommissioned police vehicle, we’re talking four figures.
Pontiac G8
One of General Motors’ many (failed) attempts to introduce the Holden Commodore platform to the North American market. The Pontiac G8 was based on the VE Holden Commodore, with some slightly tweaked styling and, of course, the steering wheel moved to the left side.
Like the Commodore, the G8 was available with a big V8 engine. The GXP is the finest example of the breed, but those have gotten silly expensive. A G8 GT should do the job just fine. As we can see on Classic, it’s much easier to find a GT for around $30,000, and that still has a 6.0-liter V8. Look around, and you might just find one with a six-speed manual transmission, too.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
It’s honestly surprising that you can still buy a Mitsubishi Evo today that’s pretty much unmodified. When the Evo X first launched well over 15 years ago, as David of Thatdudeinblue on YouTube reported, a lot of Mitsubishi enthusiasts were upset that the automaker abandoned the 4G63 turbo four engine.
However, the 4B11 proved itself almost immediately. It was still highly tunable, and the Evo X itself is a fine-looking car with plenty of straight-line speed and AWD powersliding tomfoolery. According to Classic.com, the Evo X market is currently stable at just under $30,000. For what is essentially a go-fast Lancer, that might seem like a lot, but that money might just get you a lower-mileage example with no modifications and even a manual transmission!
Volvo S60 R
Who doesn’t love a fast Volvo? The S60 R is one of the Swedes’ only real attempts to tackle the performance sedan market, and while it could never really dethrone the M3, it was a brilliant sports sedan in its own way. More importantly, while $20,000 would probably not be enough for a salvage title E46 M3 these days, Classic.com estimates that $20,000 will get you an almost pristine S60 R.
The turbocharged five-cylinder engine was bumped to 300 hp in the manual cars, there was the Sky Hook system that Jeremy Clarkson talked about on Top Gear, and all wheel drive (AWD) for good measure. Plus, who doesn’t love spaceball shifters, interiors that are literally the same color as the place they’re named after, and five-cylinder noises?
Maserati Quattroporte (Fifth Generation)
Famously, this is one of those cars that makes you look rich when you’re actually not. The fifth-generation Maserati Quattroporte brought the long-running sedan into the twenty-first century.
The good included a V8 engine derived from Ferrari, but initially, the bad included the hideous and unresponsive DuoSelect semi-automatic transmission, which Doug DeMuro demonstrated in his review. Later in the Quattroporte’s life, a ZF automatic transmission sorted out at least 60% of the car’s issues. As long as you can put up with the maintenance, the fifth-generation Quattroporte is a lot of audiodrama and a lot of smiles for $20,000 or thereabout, according to Classic.com.
$30,000 is More Than Enough For A Good Sports Sedan
We’ve heard it so many times: if you want a fast car, there are some compromises you need to make. Interior space, daily usability, price, all that stuff. However, as we’ve proven, that doesn’t have to be the case at all.
These are just a handful of great sports sedans that you can get for around $30,000, and oftentimes less. Just make sure the previous owners maintained them properly, and you’ll have a daily driver with a lot of extra horsepower for when you just feel like tearing up a mountain road.