Five great Brits for the price of a Qashqai - used car buying guide

The drama with a Cerbera starts from the moment you set eyes on this elongated, low-slung sports car, which remains one of the best-looking around.

If this is your first Cerbera encounter, the intrigue continues as you figure out how to get in. There’s a little door release button under the mirror. And once inside, you’ll be taken by its distinctive design, low-slung seating position and letterbox view forwards.

The 4.2-litre V8 kicks out 360bhp and, aided by a kerb weight of just 1100kg, will rocket the car from zero to 60mph in just 4.2sec and on to 180mph.

We turned up a 20-year-old example that had covered just 25,000 miles and was on sale for less than £17,000.

3. Bentley Arnage 4.4 (1999–2010)

Slipping into the Arnage is like entering your favourite luxury suite at the Savoy. Milled aluminium, hand-crafted wood veneers and toe-curling lambswool carpets will have you relaxed and isolated from the outside world faster than you can say caviar and Chivas Regal.

It’s not all pipe and slippers, though. The Arnage, remember, is still a Bentley and it has a stonking 4.4-litre V8 ready to surge you and your pampered guests to 60mph in 6.2sec. It’ll have a go at the twisty stiff as well en route to the weekend country residence.

Grab the Coutts card and get yourself a pre-millennium model with 69,000 miles covered for the price of a Harrods shopping trip: £15,000.

4. Jaguar XFR (2007–2015)

Should there be a remake of the 1980s TV show Minder, Terry McCann would be driving an XFR and exercising more than 500bhp under his right foot to get out of those tight situations. The XFR is a truly cracking car and the stereotypically plucky Brit.

It came from nowhere, on a limited budget, and proceeded to conquer the super-saloon sector, slugging both the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG right between the eyes to take class honours.

It handles sharply without ever having an overly firm ride. It looks great and its interior is eye-catching, with its rising gear selector and rotating air vents. A 2010 car with less than 70k miles can be found on forecourts from £17,250.

5. Range Rover Sport 4.2 (2005–2013)