The best sports cars - driven, rated and ranked

There isn't a single area in which this fourth-generation Mazda MX-5 fails to surpass its predecessor. It's shorter, lighter, more spacious and better laid out. It's sharper looking but still disarming and not at all ostentatious. It's also faster, more frugal and even more vibrant and engaging to drive.

In 2018, Mazda facelifted its iconic roadster, with the headline change being a 23bhp power hike for its feisty 2.0-litre engine. A steering column that also now adjusts for reach was also introduced, addressing one of the MX-5's only ergonomic drawbacks.

More minor tweaks have been executed since, the latest being for the 2023 model year. As part of it, Mazda UK changed the standard soft-top car’s model name convention from MX-5 Convertible to MX-5 Roadster; renamed its derivative trim levels (in place of SE-L, Sport and GT, now Prime, Exclusive and Homura); and added a Zircon Sand paint option.

Mechanically, no changes were made, so the 1.5-litre MX-5 still develops 130bhp, while the 2.0-litre model makes 181bhp but also gets a front strut brace, a limited-slip differential and uprated Bilstein dampers as standard. 

Whichever you choose, rear-driven chassis poise and lots of driver involvement is guaranteed. That’s because the MX-5 is still every inch the same zesty and inimitable car that it always has been. Its character hasn't really changed at all in three decades, and nothing on this list offers a better pounds-per-smile rating.

When BMW's M division decided to wrap modern BMW M4 sports coupé mechanicals in a shorter, slightly lighter shell and then to retune what resulted to suit even keener enthusiast tastes, it hit on a winning recipe for the current BMW M2.

The sense of technical inferiority that hung around previous iterations of this car was banished, and while the car grew (and grew heavier) as a result, it gained a sense of integrity, maturity and completeness as a modern M car that earns it a very high ranking in this chart.

The M2 now uses a slightly detuned version of the same turbocharged straight-six that powers the M4 and has a healthy 453bhp to call on.

Driven exclusively by its rear wheels and available with a six-speed manual gearbox if you want one, this car is a simpler, purer driver's car than bigger M cars, and it retains just enough compactness to appeal in a way that the company's bigger saloons and estates can't.

It's fast, balanced, involving and communicative yet also versatile, capable and very instantly driver-configurable, as characterises modern M cars so uniquely.

Pricing that allows you to escape from the showroom having spent less than £70,000 seals the appeal for a car that has a right-sized compromise of just enough power and space at just the right price - and no shortage of vivid driver reward.

Yes, there are two Porsches towards the top of this chart – and quite rightly so. The German firm really knows what it's doing when it comes to screwing together a sensational sports car.

While the more affordable four-cylinder, sub-£50,000 derivatives of the 718 continue to present themselves to buyers with less to spend (and are ranked in our best affordable sports car top 10), the higher-end models have absolutely progressed among the bigger fish of the sports car class.

Not that they struggle in such treacherous water. Porsche's latest naturally aspirated six-cylinder boxer engine is an utter joy, offering as much outright performance as any road-going sports car really needs but also wonderful smoothness and response and an 8000rpm operating range.

Unusually long-feeling gearing makes the six-speed manual versions slightly less appealing to drive in some ways than the seven-speed paddle-shift automatics, but for pure driver interaction, the three-pedal versions are hard to beat.

The 718's beautifully poised handling, incredibly linear handling response and effortless body control at speed are now widely celebrated. This is the kind of sports car that can seem word-perfect in how it takes apart a cross-country road tough enough to expose a lesser machine.

If you like a sports car with more power than its chassis can easily deploy or whose dynamic quirks and flaws present something of a challenge to be 'driven around', you might even think a GTS 4.0 too good. Only kidding: it's flippin' brilliant.

Compared with some cars in this list, there's also perhaps a slight lack of desirability about this car. But its usability is first-rate - and its powertrain can be considered every bit as stellar as its ride and handling. Quite simply, it's one of the most complete driver's cars there has ever been.

The last hurrah for ICE power at Lotus, the Emira certainly has a lot resting on its shoulders.

And the good news is that the Norfolk newcomer gets so much right, from its junior exotic looks through to a chassis that maintains the decades-long tradition of Hethel handling greatness.

There are some novelties for a Lotus, too, such as an interior that delivers previously unheard of levels of luxury and quality, plus all the latest gadgets and gizmos. It's decently practical too, proving easier to get into and out of than the old Evora and packing handy storage. This is an everyday-usable sports car.

However, this extra usability and refinement comes at a cost, with the Emira weighing in at a very un-Lotus 1440kg, which is heavier even than a Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0.

That means the supercharged Toyota 3.5-litre V6 doesn't feel quite as strong as you would expect, its efforts aided and abetted by the slightly slack six-speed manual gearbox. That said, this is still a quick car, with the 0-62mph sprint taking 4.3sec.

More importantly, it drives like a Lotus where it matters: in the corners. The extra mass means it doesn't feel quite as lithe as the old Elise, but the Emira is beautifully balanced and damped, helping it breathe with the surface where others attempt to pummel it into submission.

The steering is quick and feelsome, and as a result the Emira dives through bends with quick-witted agility, its ability to shrug off unsettling bumps further boosting your confidence.

General Motors' decision to switch the Corvette from a front-mounted engine to a mid-mounted one for its eighth generation (known as the C8) was deemed a big gamble by some enthusiasts. It was entirely worth it. 

The C8 Corvette has all of the metal-for-the-money and bang-for-your-buck appeal as any of its forebears possessed, its supercar-looks-for-sports-car-cash shtick earning it the Dream Car accolade in the 2022 Autocar Awards.

Yet there's more to its appeal than simple showroom sparkle and prices that run to £81,700 for the coupé and £87,110 for the convertible (911 Carrera cash).

Bristling with small-block-V8 combustive charm, the Corvette's engine has excellent throttle response and a wonderful mid-range power delivery, liking to rev to beyond 6500rpm and sounding superb doing it.

For outright performance, it feels broadly in line with the old C7. It's perhaps not quite fully 'supercar fast', then, but for this money, you're unlikely to quibble with any run-to-60mph figure that starts with a three.

The Corvette also handles with plenty of stability and precision, feeling instantly more benign and easier to drive quickly than any of its front-engined forebears.

Yes, its cabin has plenty of ergonomic quirks and it still lags behind the best for perceived quality, but we can't help but feel grateful that a car like the Corvette exists at all, and in right-hand-drive form to boot.

The sensible thing to do would be to buy an Audi TT or BMW 2 Series coupé, wouldn't it? Well, this is the sports car market, where sensible plays second fiddle. And, even in 2024, the Ford Mustang with a 440bhp V8 engine can still be yours for less than £50k.

The seventh-generation ‘Stang arrived this year, and given we named it our Best Dream Car at the annual Autocar Awards, we believe it's better than ever. 

That said, the Mustang ownership experience has a few drawbacks in the UK. The car’s sheer size means you have to think twice about where you're going to park it in town and what kinds of country lanes you might seek out with it. 

With its dipsomaniac 5.0-litre V8, meanwhile, you will need to factor in a greater number of visits to the pumps than your peers in their German sports cars.

Ford used to offer UK customers a four-cylinder engine in the car to soften the blow on this front but has since removed that option.

The Mustang is a throwback of a sports car, needless to say, yet few direct rivals have such obvious likability. Its powertrain brings with it an appeal that engines with fewer cylinders simply don't muster, and its rear-drive chassis balance is pretty peachy too.

Nearly a decade after its debut, the Jaguar F-Type is beginning its farewell tour. Jaguar has announced its flagship sports car will die, with no direct replacement in the pipeline.

In fact, the sales fortunes of the British brand's much-hyped successor to the legendary E-Type will tell you much about the development of the modern sports car market.

When it was launched in 2013, we imagined the buying public would value it as a sort of prettier and more dependable modern TVR, favouring the biggest-hitting V8 engines and viewing it as a cheaper and more powerful front-engined rival to the 911.

So after its 2020 facelift, the F-Type straddles even more market territory than it used to, despite the decision to axe the V6, which was becoming increasingly difficult to clean up to meet emissions regulations.

At the top of the range, the new R version remains a bleeding-heart, 567bhp upper-level-911 and cut-price Aston Martin Vantage rival; at the lower end, it costs less than £60,000 and makes do with just under 300bhp; and in the middle, the V8-engined, rear-wheel-drive, £70,000 P450 version might even be the pick of the range.

As a nod to the 75th anniversary of Jaguar sports cars, which stretches back to the XK120, the V8 machines will all be badged 75 for the last year of production and feature bespoke trim and equipment treatments.

The standard Alpine A110 already appears in our list of affordable sports cars, but the recently launched R model is an altogether more serious proposition (not least because it costs a whisker under £90,000) and so earns its place among the sports car elite.

In terms of power, it's no more potent than its less costly siblings; but with a laser-like focus on delivering hardcore driving thrills and a more than dash of track-ready kudos, the French flyweight is a desirable option for those the simple want to get behind the wheel for the hell of it.

The addition of carbonfibre bodwork and figure-hugging one-piece seats helps slash 34kg from the already waif-like A110, while the suspension gets 20-way manually adjustable dampers and helper springs.

In its default setting, the A110 R sits 10mm lower and is 10% stiffer than the previous flagship A110 S, while sticky Michelin Pilot Cup Sport 2 tyres give an extra clue to the enhanced performance potential.

On the road, the A110 R feels stiffer but remains comfortable, while there's an increase in noise, due to a slightly ruder exhaust. Yet the upshot is even sharper and more connected steering, increased grip and, crucially, cast-iron body control at the limit. 

So why doesn't it finish higher in our rankings? Well, with no increase in power, the turbocharged 1.8-litre four-cylinder Renault engine lacks the hard-hitting punch to truly test such a grippy and poised chassis.