Most Fun-to-Drive Cars with Under 160 Horsepower

Weekly, your correspondent is tasked with the testing of some of the hottest and most important new vehicles on the market.

Sometimes, these vehicles are big-power, big-dollar rides with features and performance that will eventually trickle down to affordable levels, within reach of the masses.

Other times, they’re not. A reader email arrived a few weeks back from John Ng, who commented on a story I wrote about a hot-rod, $100,000 Mercedes C63 AMG.

Lovely car, he figured — but Mr. Ng asked if I could identify some fun cars that most people “could actually afford.”

Does motoring fun require a boatload of horsepower and great big wads of torque? Absolutely not.

And below, for Mr. Ng (and anyone else with similar interests) is a list of my favourite affordable machines that deliver big fun factor with 160 horsepower or less, and pricing much closer to this side of affordability.

Nissan Micra ($10,000)

You can pick up a brand-new, base-model Nissan Micra for $10,000. Among other things, this gets you a 1.6-litre, 109-horsepower, The Mazda MX-5

four-cylinder engine, and five-speed manual gearbox.

Value-pricing aside, this is the most fun you can have for $10,000 in a new car, all day long. Micra is sportier than you think (it even has its own race-car series) and the feedback from brakes, steering and clutch are all above average as cheap and cheerful cars go.

The real treat is the engine: the little four-cylinder loves to work, sounds and feels eager doing it, and makes a good noise. Plus, Micra is small and light — so it’s quicker than you think, and easy on fuel to boot.

Most little engines in little economy cars feel like they have a hangover, and sound like an old Shop-Vac choking on a plastic bag. Micra’s 1.6 is the opposite: a snarly little beast with a decent voice, that’s happy to work.

Subaru Impreza 2.0i Sport 5-Door ($26,300)

The Sport 5-door version of the new Subaru Impreza runs a two-litre flat-four with 152 horsepower, which drives all four wheels through a five-speed manual.

Subaru’s AWD system pulls maximum grip from all surfaces, and a sharp power steering system ensures precise and accurate responses to even small driver inputs.

Impreza is a great drive on real-life roads, with even rougher roads doing little to degrade its comfort factor. Traction galore from about the only affordable AWD compact on the road makes it a total champ in the snow, too. Impreza is far from a hot-rod where acceleration is concerned — but the powerplant is smooth, with thrust and sound effects ramping up nicely as the tachometer climbs to redline.

The real joy is the pleasing handling and a carefully-tuned chassis —especially when deep snow passes beneath. Slips, slides, squirms and other fun sensations dialed out of most compact cars are on full display here, and sporty drivers will love the ability to steer the Impreza with its throttle and brakes.

Here’s a machine that gets more fun to drive the worse the conditions get. Every-day ready rally-car anyone? Notably, from virtually the first inch of movement in deep snow, Impreza powers all four wheels, so there’s no waiting for all-wheel traction to engage. Leaving the two-wheel drive guys behind at slippery intersections never gets old.

Fiat 500 Abarth ($28,000) Fiat’s little rocket-hatch is powered by a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder with 160 horsepower. Look for a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic and front-wheel drive.

This one’s got a short wheelbase, taut springs, strong brakes, sharp steering, and torque galore — making it quick, responsive and eager. The little turbocharger hits hard after a whiff of lag and the light weight and compact size mean the big torque output goes a long way toward strong acceleration.

The exhaust note is notable — it’s deep, raspy, burbly, unique, semi-exotic and sounds like almost nothing else on the road. Translation? The Fiat 500 Abarth sounds as unique as it looks, and is a total hoot to drive.

Mazda MX-5 ($32,000)

This feisty little roadster gets a two-litre SkyActiv four-cylinder engine, fantastic balance, a finely-honed chassis, rear-wheel drive and one of the best manual gear shifters in the world.

Output? Just 155 horsepower. But with the engine mounted far back under the hood, MX-5 hits that ideal 50:50 weight distribution loved by driving enthusiasts, and with lightweight design and engineering, the modest output goes a long way toward motoring enjoyment.

This one’s built on a sportscar-from-the-get-go chassis, with no compromises made to accommodate a back seat or huge cargo area. It’s a light, lean and purpose-built sports car engineered to make the driver feel like a superstar.