Best Value Performance Cars

Bang For Your Bucks 2016: $50-100K

We up the ante and price range to find Australia’s best $50,000-$100,000 performance car

22 Oct 2016 7:00 AM

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We continue to be astounded by the rate of automotive progress and nowhere is the rapid advancement more evident than Bang For Your Bucks.

In 2015, two of our $50K-$100K contenders managed to scrape under the 13-second quarter mile bracket; 12 months later we have six cars in the 12s and our slowest contender is tripping the beam at 13.4sec.

We’re breaking new ground here, as when Bang For Your Bucks first bounded into existence back in 1994, it wasn’t envisaged cars this fast would ever face the BFYB formula.Remember, this was back when all and sundry were invited, including the likes of the Honda NSX and Porsche 911 Turbo. Three of this year’s premium crop would hose that force-fed Porker to 100km/h and two others would be snapping at its heels.

Ingolstadt’s second offering is the new TT S. The base model impressed last year, firmly shaking off its ‘hairdresser’s car’ tag, and extra grunt and a sharper chassis are unlikely to hurt it around Winton. But, at $99,900, it’s hard up against the $100K price ceiling. Joining it in the pricing stratosphere is BMW’s new $89,990 M2, the first proper M-car to appear at BFYB since the 1M, built to a similar recipe but now even cheaper and even faster.

In order to maximise its chances BMW has sent along the six-speed manual, Oz-only Pure edition. Expensive cars rarely have enough Bang to compensate for their Buck, can Munich’s new turbocharged baby be an exception?

Our next contender also uses a turbocharged straight-six to send power to the rear wheels through an automatic gearbox, but that’s where the similarities end between the M135i and Ford’s Falcon XR6 Sprint. At $54,990, if the Barra-powered Bluey can run the numbers it’s supposedly capable of, it should be in with a shout, but based on our experience thus far, that’s a big if.

So, to the V8s. The XR8 Sprint was a late inclusion. Being no faster, but more expensive than its six-cylinder sibling, it was only ever going to finish behind it, but when we fell agonisingly short of securing a Focus RS (it was almost a matter of hours), it managed to secure a guernsey.

Its closest rival, both on price and performance, is Holden’s SS-V Redline. It’s a critical success and should fare well with the judges, but whether it can post strong enough numbers compared to its more powerful opposition to secure Bang glory is another matter entirely. One thing in its favour is its price tag; at $54,490, it’s the bargain of the group.

Last, but very far from least, is Chrysler’s 300 Core. The updated American brute finally has the eight-speed auto it’s always deserved, as well as some extra grunt (now 350W/637Nm) from its 6.4-litre Hemi V8. It’s a dead-set weapon in a straight-line with one of the best engine notes you’ll ever hear and it’s a lot better in the corners that you might imagine. It can also atomise its tyres at will – and all for $65,000.