7 Sub-$25K Sedans That Drive Like Sports Cars

So, you need four doors. It happens. After all, most new vehicles have four doors and seating for five, some more spacious than others. That doesn’t mean, however, that you need to give up your aspirations of getting the kids to school or rocking the company carpool without something fun in your garage. Even if you lack the budget to buy, say, a brand-new BMW M3 or any other modern super-sedan.

Frankly, even if your budget is less than one-third the amount you’d need to get into a 2026 BMW M3 or a 2025 Audi RS 5 Sportback, you can still get into a fun-to-drive, performance sedan with sports car credentials. You just need to know where to look. Some of these sub-$25,000 treasures might even surprise you.

2024 Mazda3 2.5 S

Mazda Says You Can Still Zoom Zoom Under Warranty

Mazda

Yeah, yeah. We know. The Mazda3 shares a segment with workaday favorites like the Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla. But the compact Mazda sedan outshines many of its segment mates in one oh-so-important category: fun. For starters, the 2024 model with a 2.0-liter engine and power going to the front wheels is available with an enthusiastic six-speed manual transmission. Now that’s sporting for a compact, do-it-all family car. If you don’t care about a manual, all-wheel drive is available for the smaller four-cylinder with an automatic transmission.

Mazda

Better yet, Kelley Blue Book puts the average fair purchase value of a 2024 Mazda3 in the base-model 2.5 S spec at around $23,051. That’s a fun-to-drive four-door sedan with a (possibly) intact warranty for under $25,000. Don’t believe the hype? The little Mazda sedan took the second spot among iSeeCars’ picks for the very best in the segment.

2024 Mazda3 2.5 S Average Pricing And Specs

2021 Acura TLX 2.0

Sharp Styling And Sharper Chassis Tuning With Seating For 5

Acura

Who says you can’t have a blast with 2.0 liters of displacement? The 2021 Acura TLX 2.0 certainly proves that it’s possible. Especially when you take the Acura’s brilliantly tuned chassis into account. The TLX is athletic and an eager sports-oriented sedan, even with the base 272-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four. Things get even better with a look inside the TLX’s cabin. Porous wood trim and aluminum adorn the interior, seamlessly blending the TLX’s sportiness with the sort of luxury you’d expect in the segment.

Acura

If that weren’t enough, the average fair purchase price for a 2021 Acura TLX 2.0 is about $23,101. That makes the turbocharged sports sedan something of a bargain in the segment. Of course, that price will depend on factors like location, condition, and mileage. Of course, if you can find one, the fun factor rises that much more with the addition of Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system, or SH-AWD.

2021 Acura TLX 2.0 Pricing And Specs

2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport

If Looks Could Kill, The Alfa Romeo Giulia Should Be Locked Up

Stellantis

Granted, you can’t get the swivel-eyed, 505-horsepower Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio for less than $25,000. Not in one piece with a clean title, that is. What you can get, however, is a 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport. Instead of the Ferrari-derived twin-turbocharged V6, the Alfa Romeo Giulia in Ti Sport spec packs a melodic, 280-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder. That might sound underwhelming compared to the fire-spitting Quadrifoglio, but it’s more than enough to motivate the four-cylinder Giulia.

Stellantis

If fun behind the wheel is a priority, the 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia is eager to please. The Giulia’s front end is compliant, with near non-existent body roll in the corners. Toggling through the Giulia’s drive modes can further dial in steering feel. In short, the Giulia is simply one of the finest and easiest-to-flog luxury driver’s sedans out there for under $25,000.

2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Average Pricing And Specs

2015 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack

A Supercharger-Less Hellion With Mopar Muscle To Spare

Stellantis

“Not everyone can get a Hellcat,” said then-Dodge Executive and now Jeep CEO Bob Broderdorf to Car and Driver Magazine in 2015. “But we want to make sure that that performance element is there. And I think Scat Pack does that,” he concluded. Now, over a decade later, the first-year Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack represents a unique, and also unhinged, performance sedan bargain.

Dodge

Where else to start than under the hood? Rather than the SRT Hellcat’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8, the R/T Scat Pack variant of the 2015 Dodge Charger packs a naturally aspirated 485-horsepower 6.4-liter V8. If you can manage to overcome the traction limitations, the early-iteration four-door Scat Pack will hit 60 mph in about 4.1 seconds. That’s not all. Even with the unending yacht jokes, the Charger Scat Pack’s fixed-rate Bilsteins and large, 14.2-inch steel rotors allow the big sedan to handle in a manner that prompts some head-scratching. In a good way.

2015 Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack Average Pricing And Specs

2011 BMW M3 Sedan

The Fourth-Gen, Four-Door M3 With A Snarling V8

CarBuzz

The BMW M3. For the better part of four decades, the M3 has been a staple among luxury sports sedans. The staple, really. Typically, the formula includes a sharp, corner-conquering chassis, everyday usability, and a buzzsaw inline six up front. But for the fourth-generation E90 model, the muscular hood concealed a feature all its own: a naturally aspirated 414-horsepower 4.0-liter V8.

BMW

It might not be as pretty as other generations, like the E46 or F80, but it makes up for its looks with rarity and its spectacular V8. The eagerly-revving S65 V8 mates up to either a six-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Pair that with the sort of composure you’d expect from an M car, and the E90 is quite the fun family sedan. So, how could something so sharp and special also be affordable? The news is good: a 2011 BMW M3 Sedan has a fair purchase price of around $21,163. Although finding one with low miles for that price might prove tricky.

2011 BMW M3 Sedan Average Pricing And Specs

2010 Lexus IS F

V8 Up Front, Smoking Tires Out Back, Smiles In The Middle

Lexus

From 2008 to 2014, Lexus answered a question no one asked. Something along the lines of “Do you think the engineers at Toyota and Lexus will make a tire-eviscerating V8 sports sedan?” Well, they did so with fighting the BMW M3 in mind, and the result was the Lexus IS F. We’re glad they did, because that means a used IS F luxury sports sedan with a fiery V8, a limited-slip differential, and M3-challenging road manners is within reach.

Lexus

According to KBB, a 2010 Lexus IS F has an average fair purchase price of $23,061, on par with an E90 BMW M3 of the day. The IS F barely outmuscles its BMW rival, too. While the M3 produced 414 horsepower, the IS F mustered 416 ponies. However, the Lexus produces gobs more torque than the Bimmer with 371 pound-feet courtesy of the larger, 5.0-liter V8.

2010 Lexus IS F Average Pricing And Specs

2009 Cadillac CTS-V

The Aging Fighter In A Three-Piece Suit Will Still Knock You Out

Cadillac

Nearly 20 years before the first completely unhinged Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing started eating its own tires, Cadillac rolled out the CTS-V. Much of the recipe remains the same. Start with Cadillac styling, four doors, and a handsome, understated interior. Add a volcanic V8. Boom. Back in 2009, the CTS-V entered its second generation, adding some missing refinement to elevate the hellacious Caddy to BMW M car crowds.

Cadillac

Here’s the spectacular news for you and me: you can still get one without selling a kidney. Though you might need a new one after the thrusty V8 Cadillac luxury sports sedan rearranges your organs. The KBB fair purchase price for a 2009 Cadillac CTS-V is around $24,331, although lower-mileage examples might push that number a bit.

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Average Pricing And Specs

Sources: Kelley Blue Book, CarBuzz, Car and Driver