Coupes under $50k

  1. Home /
  2. 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

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

Renault Alaskan ute
News

Renault Alaskan puts French into one-tonne ute segment

Renault unveils its new Navara-inspired workhorse; the Renault Alaskan one-tonne ute.

2016 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe review
Reviews

2016 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Coupe review

Benz has gifted the AMG treatment to its new-gen C-Class coupe, but this isn’t just a two-door C63 S sedan – it’s an even tougher, burlier, better performance car.

Audi's electric compressor: Geek Speak
Features

Audi’s electric compressor: Geek Speak

Audi has an electrical formula to rid the motoring world of turbo lag

WIN a Supercar hot lap
News

Win a hot lap in a V8 supercar!

WIN a lap in a v8 supercar, a MOMO shift knob and t-shirt valued at over $2,000!

Ferrari F12 tdf
Reviews

2016 Ferrari F12 tdf review

Ferrari turns the manettino dial to 11 for the F12tdf, an extreme version of the F12 which ekes another 29kW from the 6.3-litre V12. Tdf does indeed stand for Tour de France but no, not the bike race.

Bentley ad pulled following complaint
News

Bentley ad pulled following complaint

Northern Territory v-max video found to breach standards

2014 Volkwsagen Golf GTI long term review
Reviews

2014 Volkswagen Golf GTI long term review

Our new GTI long-termer has already proven itself

2017 Porsche Panamera Nürburgring record
News

2017 Porsche Panamera breaks sedan Nürburgring record

Porsche lays claim to world’s fastest luxury car title after blitzing Nordschleif

Toyota Corolla
News

Toyota Australia recalls 324,000 cars over faulty fuel system

Suspect fuel suction plates are behind a potentially damaging recall on Toyota Corolla, Prius, Prius V and Rukus models

Maserati Levante
News

2017 Maserati Levante SUV will be Maserati’s best-selling model

Maserati announces pricing and specs for the 2017 Levante, as the Italian carmaker eyes off a slice of the lucrative SUV-market pie.

Subaru Forester Ts
Advice

Limited Edition models improve resale value

Some see the Limited Edition tag as little more than a marketing exercise, but when it comes to re-sale value, it may be worth shelling out the extra pennies at purchase time

Citroen C3 Cactus gets GoPro-inspired camera
News

Citroen C3 Cactus gets GoPro-inspired camera

Citroen’s C3 ConnectedCam technology makes it easier to share your driving experience – in more ways than one.

MIT's Moral Machine website lets you choose who lives or dies when an autonomous car is faced with a tough choice
News

Autonomous cars: Programmed to kill?

Researchers set up a website that lets you be the self-driving car faced with a life and death decision

BMW M2
Reviews

2017 BMW M4 Competition Review

Improved software, a greater excitement factor and a negligible increase in price compared to the standard M4 makes BMW’s M4 Competition the one to go for, writes Mike Duff

Ford Mustang
COTY

2017 Wheels Car of the Year: The early contenders

Your form guide to some of the early standouts for the 2017 Wheels Car of the Year award

Volvo V90 T8 Estate coming to Australia
News

Volvo V90 T8 Estate coming to Australia

Commodore V8-matching wagon heading Down Under

Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint
Features

2016 Ford Falcon XR8 Sprint: A Sprint to the finish

Farewelling a legend; Ponch’s emotional petrol bender in Ford’s final fast Falcon

Nissan MY17 GT-R
News

Nissan silent on MY17 GT-R performance

0-100km/h performance claims no longer GT-R marketing focus

Subaru Levorg
News

2017 Subaru Levorg dumps manual gearbox to attract female buyers

Subaru’s rally-bred wagon sticks with a CVT because female owners won’t like the manual experience.

Jaguar F-Pace
Features

Goodwood Festival of Speed: Ten of the Biggest Fails

No one likes making a goose of themselves, so when you make a goose of yourself in front of a crowd and it’s captured on film for posterity it’s far from ideal. Andy Enright takes a look at some of the Goodwood moments that these drivers would best prefer were forgotten.

Dodge Challenger Hellcat available in Australia
News

Dodge Challenger Hellcat available in Australia

“World’s fastest muscle car” now right-hand drive and road-registered in Oz

Ford fans test XR Sprints
News

Ford fans test XR Sprints

Ford faithful performance test the final fast Falcons

Citroen C3 Cactus
News

2017 Citroen C3 city car revealed

French car maker Citroen unveils its new Cactus-inspired, Facebook, You Tube and Instragram-friendly city car: the C3. Fingers crossed it makes it Down Under.

HSV GTS with Mercedes-AMG E63
Classic Wheels

Archive: Top 10 cars of 2013

It was a year when great new metal was bountiful. Here, in no particular order, are the Top 10 cars of 2013 that really moved us