What is the best sports car with 4 seats for 60k or less??

I second the Nissan GTR.

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+1 for the underrated Mondial. Not quite as earthy as earlier 3x8's but certainly a genuine Ferrari with a superb engine and four seats. It's certainly more sporty than many of the Beemer, Maser & Porsche comfort-wagons described so far.

 

For just over 40K you have the Boss 302 Mustang
For just over 50K you have the Vette

 

That is incorrect for the Metzger engined cars (Turbo, GT2, GT3) which won their class in LeMans in 1998.

I AM a Porschephile, and I would not buy a regular 996 or 997. Screw it, after having a Turbo for the last 6.5 years I wouldn't buy ANY regular 911 after 1973.

 

4 seat and sport car.....

Convertible....

AMG Merc Benz CLK, Ferrari Mondial, Ford Mustang, Porsche 911.

Each have different maintance costs and insurance costs.

Mustang has endless after-market support to customize.

AMG most likely the quickest to 100 mph.

Porsche most likely quickest through a salom.

Ferrari the best to drive.

So define best?

Are you looking for a car to drive your family around? Car for son or daughter? A daily driver?

 

For under 60K?
Well used, maybe. A new one will run you 90-110K

But for new under 60K, don't forget the obvious: Mitsu EVO.

A new, top end EVO X MR is about 40K, has the paddle shifters, four seats, and a lot of handling performance.
If you want to stir it yourself, the EVO X GSR is under 40K, fully loaded.

My EVO VIII is a pretty raw beast. I'm told the X is a more refined car, but with even better cornering.


I've been debating over updating to an X, before they bring out the XI as a diesel hybrid.

I looked at the GTR, but the price and the weight turned me back. The X is heavier than my VIII, but the GTR is significantly heavier than the EVO X. It's got more HP, too, but in the city, light = nimble.

 

if a seat is defined as being confortable enough for an adult regardless whether it is located in front or in back

a car with four seats, in two rows, suitable for 4 adults is considered a sedan

a car considered to be a sports car has two seats, smaller, better handling, better performance ( more powerful ) allowing it to be driven in spirited / enthusiastic manner

there is NO such thing as a 4 seat sports car, if we use the accepted definition, a 4 seat car becomes a sedan, include some performance and it become a sports sedan, of which there are many offerings at all levels of performance by almost all manufacturers

 

Agreed.

The sports car continuum probably starts with extreme things like the Ariel Atom, then Lotus Elise/Exige, then edges into Porsche Boxster/Ferrari 458 Spyder territory, and probably fades out somewhere around the Porsche 911 where the grand tourer concept ("Granturismo", 456 "GT", 599 "GTB" etc.) adds more luxury to the equation.

As soon as you're talking about 4 seats, big boot, etc., you're into "sports coupe" territory, which BMW invented with the 2002 and 3 series.

Good choices in both categories, but different purposes in life. I've had both in the garage, because life without a sports car is less interesting, no matter how good the daily driver is.

 

So a 997 Turbo ISN'T a sportscar? Can't drive it in a spirited manner? 500 hp isn't enough horsepower? $3,000 will get you 60 more hp. Still not enough? 50 years of Porsche sportscar excellence is laughing all the way to the bank over your "accepted definition".

And BTW, a sedan is classed by the number of doors. A 4 seat car with 2 doors is a coupe....unless its a kick-ass sportscar.

 

a 997 is not a "4 seat car", in the same manner that a Ferrari California is not a 4 seat car

a sedan is NOT determined by the number of doors,

 

Is a McLaren F1 considered to be a Sports Car (hint 230+ MPH, 0-60 in 3.4 sec)
It seats 3.

 

actually, it is, the seats are in a single row, which is a configuration discussed in several definitions of what constitues a sports car

 

So what are those things with seat belts behnd my head?.....LOL

They aren't the most comfortable seats in the world, but have taken adults on short drives to lunch/dinner numerous times

And they are FAR roomier than those on the Jaguar XK or Lexus SC.

I concede the exact definition of sedan can be 2 or 4 doors.....

 

So an F150 Lightning pickup with a bench seat, because I can seat 4 accross, is now a sportscar? It seems to meet all your requirements (high performance, can drive spiritedly, handles quite well). Your outdated opinions are losing the battle.

 

phunny how you can make up your own definitions that don't coincide with those in the rest of the world...

the F150 is designed as work vehicle / truck, its' size is too large to qualify for a sports car... 4 across seating...really... I don't recall any F150 with 4 seat belts across the front seats NASCAR has a series to race them... what ever you are on is giving you quite an imagination

 

Since no one has mentioned it, an Evora comes to mind...

 

Get a Raptor...

Seats six easily
Goes like stink in a straight line
Handles very well for a truck
Handles better than anything stock off road
Cheap maintenance wise
Hauls stuff
Looks good
Can tow everything else you have

Or if I were looking for something in that range daily driver wise and not a truck CTS V Wagon six speed...

 

Real funny (spelled correctly) since you Mitt Romney'ed your way through the whole thread.

First it was "Sportscars only have 2 seats, period"

Then you get lit up on the 997 Turbo

Then it was "those really aren't 4 seaters"

News to the worlds insurance companies

Then someone blows you up on the 3 seat McLaren

Then you change your mind to "3 seats accross is another (made up) defnition"


I'm going to bow out of this silly exchange since it veered way off topic.

I'll stick with the recommendations of 996 Turbo and DB7 Volante as true 4 seat sportscars the OP should consider.

 

good plan...return to your fantasy land and enjoy the rest of the day

 

Bring it in! Bring it in!

You guys are all over the place out there.

Best sportscar under $60K with four seats.



456 M GT Hands down.

Real Ferrari front engined V-12 with a six speed. 6' 200 lb. guys can ride in back for hour stints, and enjoy their luxurius surroundings with no problem, despite what an earlier poster said about amputees.

 

like the car well, great ride, the 12 cylinder engine makes the right noises, it's all good...
for a sedan :=)

 

Not too sure of the 456 for DD duties.

Porsche 911 variants are the likely best 4 seat performers for under 60k.
However the rear seats are hardly rear seats. Great DD.

GTR cannot be had for under 60k. Like 911, rear seats are rubbish.
Supercar performance.

M3 is the best overall car that fits the sportiness, decent rear seats, good performance, and DD use.

If you want more straight line power, acceleration and luxury Merc C63 AMG. This is a true American Muscle car, but made by Germany. You will not stop smiling after stomping on the throttle. Exhilarating. The M3 has more precise handling and a superb gearbox and will likely post better laptimes with the same driver. The C63 is rarer, tons more torque 443 vs mid 200's and will EAT the M3 at a real world stoplight or freeway onramp, if that is your thing.

Dark horse champion here would be the 2012 BMW 1 series M. Definitely, the funnest Go-kart out there with 4 seats. However good luck finding one.

 

Easy. Ferrari 308GT4. Raw sportscar feeling. Carbs. Fun, fun, fun. Get one while the prices are so low.

 

All-around best 4 seater = E60 M5

It's my DD, and suits everything I need from driving to work, lugging golf clubs around, 2 baby car seats in the back, and nothing like the sound of a V10 (5 seater)

 

a real sports car is a 2-seater only, convertible with fold down windshield and side curtains instead of roll up windows, although if you put the side curtains it may lose its sport car status.

Every thing else is just hoping to be a sports car but will be much faster, better handling and more reliable than the sports car.

I would say the Mondial is closest to the original posters answer.

And yeah as the decades progressed, the real definition of "sports car" has been modified heavily to the point that the real question is "what is sporty nowdays?"