S2000, WRX STi and M3: Three Mid-Level Enthusiast Cars

As you gain experience in the performance driving world, you will discover what your style is. Do you like more performance oriented cars or show cars? Do you like hanging out with enthusiasts and going on weekend drives or competing on the track? For a good portion of car enthusiasts, as they gain experience they just want to go faster. That’s why for this week’s post, I have compiled a list of three cars that enthusiasts could upgrade to as they get more experience. These cars will all be better performers but they will also be more expensive than the cars on my entry level list.

1. Honda S2000

Photo by Drew Dickes
Horsepower: 247
Weight: 2864 lbs
Fuel economy: 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway
Average price: $25,000

The S2000 was produced by Honda from 1999 to 2009. This car was Honda’s attempt at competing with other two door convertibles of the day such as the Mazda Miata and BMW Z4. The S2000 has proven itself to be an amazing performance car for the money. It came equipped with a six speed manual transmission and offered incredible handling thanks to its variable gear steering system or VGS for short. The power plant under the hood of the S2000 is a 4 cylinder engine that produced 247 horsepower. The special feature of this engine was its variable valve timing system known as VTEC. This allowed the car to rev to 9000 rpm which makes the S2000 a blast to drive! These cars are appreciating so if you want one it would be wise to find one now. A very clean example of one of these cars will cost around $25,000 today.

2. Subaru WRX STI

STI pictured center. Photo by Drew Dickes

Horsepower: 300
Weight: 3298 lbs
Fuel economy: 16 mpg city/22mpg highway
Average price: $15,000

The STI, which stands for Subaru Technica International, was the flagship of Subaru’s performance cars. Built to be supreme rally cars. The STI variants of the wrx were outfitted with a turbocharger and given a host of suspension and steering upgrades. The STI cars produced about 300 horsepower because of the added turbocharger. While the first generation WRX cars can be had for very cheap, The late second generation cars (nicknamed the blobeye and hawkeye) and third generation cars command a higher price. Very clean examples of these cars can be had from $18,000 to $25,000. For the price you get a very unique-looking and very fast car with a host of upgrade options.

    

3. BMW e46 M3

Photo by Drew Dickes

Horsepower: 333

Weight: 3415 lbs

Fuel economy: 19 mpg city/27 mpg highway

Average price: $20,000

E46 was the chassis code given to the third generation of the M3. This generation saw a gain of almost 100 more horsepower from the previous design. These cars offer very elegant styling and performance that will knock your socks off. Like the S2000, BMW equipped the M3 with its own variable valve timing system known as Vanos that allowed the car to rev to 8000 rpm. This is the most powerful car of the bunch with its in line six cylinder engine pumping out 333 horsepower. It is also equipped with a very precise steering rack and a limited slip differential which aids the driver when driving tight and technical roads. This generation of M3 is the best M3 for the money right now but they are also appreciating. Very clean examples for these cars will cost upwards of $20,000 today. These cars provide a legendary race heritage, amazing performance and gorgeous styling which make the price all worth it.

Hopefully this article showed you what types of cars are available for a more mid level price range. 

~Enjoy the Road~