Coupes under $50k
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- Best coupes under $50k
Whether you’re just starting to drive or heading into a mid-life crisis, coupes appeal to all of us. Luckily, these days you don’t need to spend big money to enjoy the thrills of the swept-back driving experience.
While you are able to buy a Subaru BRZ or Toyota 86 for less than $40,000, choices start to expand once you’re shopping under the $50,000 so let’s start there.

Toyota 86
It is getting a little long in the tooth, but the Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ combo still offers sports car thrills for an affordable price. Available in manual or automatic with a choice of specification levels, the Toyota 86 has stood the test of time despite external pressure to fill it with extra power.

Mazda MX-5
With the nameplate just celebrating its 30th birthday, there’s small wonder why so many flock to the Mazda MX-5 for an engaging top-down drive. Even if you’re more of a hard-top fan, Mazda now offers the RF version which includes a folding metal roof.

Hyundai i30 Fastback N
A relatively new player to the coupe game, Hyundai’s i30 N was transformed into a four-door coupe following the success of the hatchback. Sleeker styling marries with everything that made Hyundai’s first true hot hatch great

Driven! Holden’s new VF Commodore
Does it matter how good the new VF Commodore is to drive?

Review: Audi S8
The people have spoken. Audi Australia has bowed to demand and given the S8 a ticket to Australia in the first quarter of 2014.

Review: HSV Range
The company that claims to make Holden vehicles special has lived up to its promise with the introduction of its latest Gen-F line-up.

Review: Mercedes-Benz E400
Will anyone lament the loss of the V8 from the engine menu in Mercedes-Benz’s standard E-Class line-up for Australia when a tasty V6 has been added? Probably not.

Review: Holden Malibu
Holden keeps its foot firmly on the gas with the launch of its all-new Malibu mid-size sedan, which arrives hard on the heels of the VF Commodore.

Audi’s mini limo
Wheels went to the international launch of Audi’s A3 Sedan in Hungary this week and met the first entrant of what is in many ways is a new type of segment – the luxury compact sedan.

Review: Audi SQ5
Be warned, we are on a slippery slope of sound manipulation.

Review: Maserati Quattroporte S
Lift the bonnet of the new Quattroporte S for a glimpse of Maserati’s future.

Review: BMW M6 Gran Coupe
Brings the speed, but not the pharmacology

Review: Renault Captur
Last year was all about zombies, but that’s all undead now. This year’s all about the … um, sub-compact SUV? Baby crossovers? Light-car cross-dressers? Whatever.

Review: Mercedes-Benz E63 S AMG
Walking around the one and only Mercedes-Benz E63 S AMG in the country is something like the calm before the storm. But not just any storm, more a category five hurricane on wheels.

Review: Kia Rondo
The Australian male is world-renowned for his stoicism. He goes over the trenches for his mates. He tells fibs to the same mate’s wife because a beer commercial told him to. That mate repays the favour by saving the first mate from a shark attack by punching the bastard thing in the nose.

Review: Nissan Pulsar SSS
Car companies love tapping into nostalgia. Invoking memories of a bygone hero is a shortcut to consumers’ wallets that potentially saves millions in advertising.

Review: Fiat 500 1.2 Pop
“It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!” singer/songwriter Dolly Parton once remarked. And then there’s this – Fiat’s ‘repositioned’ but otherwise unchanged 500. Now from $14,000 driveaway, it’s the least expensive way to look classy on four wheels.

Quick spin: Fiat Punto Pop
It’s cheap, it’s small and it’s Italian – everyone meet the ‘new’ Fiat Punto.

ESP mandatory by 2011
All cars and four-wheel drives sold in Australia from 2011 will be required by law to have ESP.

Parallel parking cracks the front page in the United States
It’s funny what makes news in the US …

STI – a work of art?
Subaru has launched an STI gallery in Tokyo to honour its 20 year history.

Toyota tops Power Quality Study
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before …

Midlife makeover for Citroen C3
… And it’s going bald!

Traditional cabs on the way out in New York City
New York aint Hollywood … Pete McKay sends a postcard from the steamy Big Apple.

Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster
The stunning street-legal version of the race-only Zonda R has gone topless.

Viper escapes extinction
Iconic Dodge gets a reprieve from the chopping block, says our roving reporter from the United States …

HOT STUFF: The great driving range
The magical place where punters can drive in the cars dreams are made of.