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

2018 BMW M4 CS: first drive
M Division finds its sweet spot

2017 Holden Astra RS: 4th place $0-$50K
The Astra RS is fast, but not fast enough

Two legends went rallying in McLaren 570 GTs
Pair of Youtubers take McLaren 570 GT supercars onto a dirt road. Epicness ensues

Retro: 1958 Aston Martin DB4 – Stiff upper brit
Beautiful yet brawny Aston was the unlikely holder of a production car record

Why the Australian Orbital two-stroke engine never took off
In the early ’90s, Carey test drove a Ford Festiva with an Australian developed two-stroke engine and it worked quite well but never took off. Carey found the answer years later from a Porsche engineer

BMW and Mercedes sedans fighting sales trends
New-generation German four-doors buck sales trend… and cripple rivals

2017 Toyota 86: 5th place $0-$50K
The Drift king, Toyota 86 is not quite BFYB royalty

The 10 most annoying features of modern cars
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2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 replaces SS as NASCAR racer
The death of the Commodore has resulted in GM tagging in the ZL1 to be its new left-turner

Lotus on track for full year of profit
British brand now ‘self-sufficient and sustainable’ regarding before-tax profits

Performance Car Podcast: Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint Part 2
XR8 Sprint owner Norm joins the MOTOR crew to talk Falcon

Why you should never ride with your feet on the dash
A graphic warning for those who mistake airbags for ottomans

Audi Q8 spied with virtually no disguise
Ingolstadt’s sporty SUV flagship gets papped naked

McLaren 650S nabbed doing 182km/h in Northern Territory
Supercar owner finds himself on the wrong side of the law after high-speed blast

Targa Florio coming to Australia
Classic Italian rally will take place outside of Sicily for first time ever

Alfa Romeo Giulia QV vs Mercedes-AMG C63 S vs BMW M3 Competition comparison
Can Italy’s latest super sedan challenge the German establishment?

Peter Robinson’s top ten Ferraris
Robbo has steered almost every production Ferrari since the Dino 246, so to mark 70 years of the Prancing Horse, he lays out his top 10

Camaro replaces Commodore as Chevrolet NASCAR racer
Rebadged Holden Commodore replaced in the world’s most popular motorsport series

HSV GTSR W1 auction passes in
The ultimate Holden sedan, GTSR W1 get’s passed in

2017 Skoda Octavia RS: 6th place $0-$50K
If you want a car for the real world, the Skoda RS230 is a damn fine choice

Toyota Landcruiser or Prado Hybrid outed in patent filing?
Recent patent application suggests Toyota may be planning an electrified body-on-frame offroader

New Z4, 8 Series, and X7 details leaked in apparent BMW document
Co-developed Toyota Supra also listed. But is it legit?

BMW’s CS badge past and future
We explore the timeline of BMW’s driver-focused but elegant ‘Coupe Sport’ cars and what the CS badge might bring next

MOTOR Magazine September 2017 issue preview
A quick look at the pages of this month’s issue of Australia’s best fast car magazine