Thirteen of the Most Fun New Cars You Can Buy for Less Than $40,000

If you're looking for an affordable car that's enjoyable to drive, these are the 13 we recommend.

With a punchy little turbo four-cylinder and a hilariously loud exhaust, the Fiat 500 Abarth is perhaps the world's angriest hot hatch. To drive, it's a total riot, and a bargain with a base price under $20,000.

Even though there's a new Wrangler on its way, the old model is still a solid buy. Why? Well, in Rubicon form, it's one of the most capable factory off roaders on the market, and the aftermarket can turn it into a beast.

Offering just 180 horsepower, the Civic Sport isn't exactly a hot hatchback, but no one told Honda's chassis engineers. It handles beautifully, but without making any sacrifices to comfort. It's exactly what the Civic should be, and it makes a great base for the upcoming Si and Type R.

The Ford Fiesta ST is tiny, but so is its base price. And for the money, you won't find any other new car on the market that's as fun to drive. Sure, the Fiat 500 Abarth makes a louder noise, but the Fiesta ST is the king of small, inexpensive fun.

The Volkswagen has been the king of hot hatches for years, and we can't see that changing anytime soon. It's more refined than ever before, but it's still a blast to drive. We recommend springing for the GTI Sport and leaving it at that. But if you want even more power and all-wheel drive, the 292-horsepower Golf R is a great buy, as well.

What list of fun cars would be complete without the Miata? It's definitely a cliche at this point, but for good reason. The Miata is light, simple, affordable, and an absolute blast to drive.

We were happy to see the FR-S survive the death of Scion. Despite never getting a turbocharged version, its outstanding handling and affordable price made the FR-S a performance bargain. Plus, the Toyota badge on the hood adds another five horsepower if you choose the manual transmission. And you should definitely choose the manual transmission.

When BMW gave the 228i a few extra horsepower, the little coupe also got a new name—230i. And if you equip it with the Track Handling Package, we expect the 230i to be just as much fun as its predecessor. The M2 is still faster, but for the money, you'll have a hard time beating the regular 2-Series.

You can equip other, less-expensive Mustangs to still be a blast, but the one you really want is the Mustang GT. Equipped with the Performance Pack, it's not good for a Mustang. It's downright good.

In comparison to a lot of other cars you can get for $35,000, the WRX STI doesn't have a lot of power. But take one down a winding back road, and you won't care at all. The less-powerful WRX is also a fantastic performance bargain, but the STI is still the one to get if you have the budget.

Ford took the hot hatch to the next level when it introduced the Focus RS. With 350 horsepower and torque-vectoring all-wheel dive, it's one seriously fast car. And while drift mode has gotten a ton of attention, let's not forget how incredibly capable the Focus RS is on the track.

It's hard to describe exactly how good the new Camaro SS is. Not only does it have the same motor as the Corvette, it was also the clear winner in our last head-to-head comparison of it and the Ford Mustang GT. As we said in our first drive, it's "very, very good. Very good. Damn good."

The Dodge Challenger isn't nearly as athletic as the new Camaro or Mustang, but it offers some pretty wild paint colors. Oh, and you can also get a ridiculous amount of power for surprisingly little money. 485 horsepower, to be specific. And if you need more space, you can always go with the four-door version, the Charger Scat Pack.