The topic of sports cars is usually an afterthought for most normal car-buyers. Sports cars aren’t practical, many are quite expensive, and because of that, they just don’t suit family life well. Even those without a spouse and children can often find many reasons to buy a more practical vehicle over a sports car.
Still, they have value to some. For those who enjoy cars and have the money to spend on them, there are still plenty from which to choose and enjoy. But, that also begs the question of which one is actually the best.
The term “sports car” has a pretty broad definition, so the first thing that needs to happen is to cut down what we define as a sports car. In its most basic form, a sports car is a small, nimble vehicle designed primarily for performance. They are usually designed with an emphasis on driving experience. In fact, if you looked up “sports car” on Google, the first thing you would probably see is a Mazda Miata.
The Miata is the posterchild of sports cars. It’s the safe choice and an easy one to pick for the best sports car one can buy. All the ingredients are there: two seats, front-engine rear-wheel-drive layout, small, nimble, fun to drive.
I contend that the answer is not as simple as that. Looking at the definition once again, sports cars don’t just encompass small, nimble, two-seaters. Even if the Miata is the most classic and objective example of what a sports car is, there is most definitely an argument to be made that everything from the Fiat 124 to the Ferrari 488 falls under the sports car umbrella.
We are going to cut that long list down a bit.
Cars like the Aston Martin Vanquish, the Bentley Continental GT, and even the Jaguar F-Type are usually considered grand touring cars. They are designed for performance, and they are fast, but they are also designed to be more comfortable over long distances than an average sports car.
Supercars and hypercars include vehicles like the Lamborghini Huracan, McLaren Senna, Audi R8, Aston Martin Vulcan, and Porsche 911. They are very expensive and take performance to the next level. They are often even more impractical than most normal sports cars and are often too fast to be truly used to their potential during normal driving.
Muscle cars are also often considered a sub-genre of the sports car category. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is the prime example of a muscle car. Other cars like the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and recently deceased Chevrolet SS can also be considered muscle cars, but they are four-door sedans which technically disqualifies them from falling under the sports car category. Some would disagree with this.
Some vehicles either reach across sports car subcategories or evolve from one subcategory to another.
A good example of one that reaches a bit is the Jaguar F-Type. You can get it with a four-cylinder turbo, V6, or V8 engine. The V6 and base V8 options offer exceptional performance, but stepping up to the SVR trim level gives you 575 horsepower, a raucous driving experience, and less refinement than lower trims and rivals. The SVR version of the F-Type may sneak out of the Grand Touring category and into a different category, depending on who you ask.
Some good examples of models that have evolved into other sports car subcategories include the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Chevrolet Corvette. The Mustang and Camaro used to be considered muscle cars. In reality, they were never truly considered muscle cars like the Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Chevelle, or the Oldsmobile GSX, but rather, they started off as “pony cars.” Until recently, they shoved their way into the muscle car category after the first few model years. The Corvette is even considered a muscle car by some people, but it too recently split away from that segment in much more dramatic fashion.
This bring us to the last category of sports cars: true sports cars. These are basically the leftovers from all the other categories. They are often more affordable, less powerful, and less luxurious than other vehicles in other subcategories. They are also not usually as stripped-down and focused as supercars and hypercars.
Obvious vehicles in this category include the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Subaru BRZ, Toyota 86, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman, Nissan 370Z and Alfa Romeo 4C. One could justifiably sneak the Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 into this category, so we will too. Here is where it gets interesting and where the controversy will most certainly start.
Just as the Corvette evolved from an ill-handling muscle car to an American sports car to now, potentially, a supercar, the Mustang and Camaro have both evolved to bring their talents closer to the true sports car genre. Before we go any further, let’s look at why.
The Mustang drastically changed in 2015 when Ford completely redesigned it. It went from a brutish, fast, loud car with a solid rear axle to a more refined, still-affordable, sports car that doesn’t feel like it’s out to kill its occupants. The Mustang is still a heavy car, but its independent suspension allows it to handle much better than previous generations, and its engine output is healthier than ever before. GT models now produce 460 horsepower.
The Camaro shares a similar story, but its evolution was slower and more subtle. It went on a small hiatus from the early 2000’s to 2010 when an all-new design was introduced. It packed a punch and felt like the muscle car it was, but it wasn’t quite as far away from being a true sports car as the Mustang was at the same time. The sixth generation Camaro, introduced in 2016 is when the Camaro truly arrived, offering four, six, and eight cylinder options with numerous different packages for all three. Many reviewers even prefer the handling, nimble feel, and driving experience of the Camaro over the Mustang despite its notoriously horrible sightlines.
So, even though they are powerful and heavy, I would put them in the category of “true sports car” mainly because of the great strides they have both taken over the recent years in handling and performance. After all, 450 horsepower is quite a bit, but even many grand touring cars have more, and supercars and hypercars have much more nowadays. They aren’t nearly as refined as the Grand Tourers, and they are not nearly as quick and harsh as supercars.
And now to the point. The Mustang GT is the best sports car one can buy. Here’s why:
All things considered, the Mustang GT offers the best of just about every measurable category when it comes to a sports car. It offers plenty of performance, both in terms of power and capability. It isn’t so unrefined that it can barely be driven, yet it isn’t nearly as refined as most grand touring cars. It offers one of the best values in the automotive industry: starting at under $37,000 for a base model GT. It isn’t practical – because it’s a sports car – but it does offer more practicality than some others in the segment like the Mazda Miata, Subaru BRZ, or BMW Z4. Fuel economy is decent given the size of the engine and performance it delivers. It is still offered with a six-speed manual transmission and as a convertible.
All these things combine to form an all-around package that are nearly unbeatable in terms of what you get for the money. You may be wondering about the Camaro… It is just edged out because of its slightly higher price tag, slightly less practicality, and weird design. To be fair though, those things may not matter to some people as many agree that the driving experience is superior to that of the Mustang GT. These slight differences may not outweigh what it brings to the table, and the Camaro could be the better choice by a hair depending on the day and person.
It may be that the Mazda MX-5 Miata is technically the best example of a sports car. And many more cars on this list of true sports cars may be better examples of what defines a “true sports car”, but I believe that the Ford Mustang GT is the best sports car that one can buy.
As good as the Miata is, the Mustang offers a wider variety of trims and options, making it just about as tame or as savage as you’d like to get. Its turbocharged four-cylinder engine option gives tuners the ability to tinker, and the big V8 engine that is standard in the GT offers more than enough power to keep the speed lovers happy. All this can be had at a really good price. The base model Mustang starts at under $27,000, while a base GT starts under $37,000. That’s a great bargain!
So, even though the Mustang isn’t the best example of a true sports car, nor is it a grand tourer or supercar, it offers just about everything one would want in a sports car with a little extra in every category. And, the best part is that most people can get one without breaking the bank.
