Aston Martin Vantage


The updated Aston Martin Vantage arrived locally earlier this year. While it uses the same body and mechanicals as the previous shape car, it gained a massive 30 per cent more power, upped to 489kW and 800Nm which kicks in at just 2750rpm. Mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, the new Vantage hits 100km/h in just 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 325km/h.

Priced from $410,000 plus on-road costs, the new Vantage has been styled to look like the best Astons of the past, including the mega cool One-77 hypercar. The new huge mouth and restyled headlights give it a more purposeful and aggressive look at the front to match its newly-uprated drivetrain. The interior is also new and aside from a big upgrade in in-car tech, its materials are excellent and it’s reasonably practical for a sports coupe.

On the road, the Vantage is surprisingly comfortable and supple for everyday use, though get it onto a track and exploring its different track settings reveals a harder-edged beast that’s very, very fast. It’s also communicative as you’d expect from a sports cars, and the multi-level traction control lets you have fun on a track without spinning. Overall, the new Aston Martin Vantage is a very good sports car and if you’re lucky enough to afford one, we say get your order in now.

Ford Mustang

The S650 generation of the Mustang, the world’s most successful sports car, lobbed into Australia in late 2024. Like the S550 before it – with which it shares a lot of characteristics, like its drivetrains and body – both turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder and naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 petrol engines are on offer. Both offer excellent performance, though the V8 is the obvious pick if you want thunderous noise.

On the road, the new Mustang runs rings around previous generations of the car and is quite capable in the handling department. While you can still feel its weight in corners, optioning the adaptive dampers makes it far less soggy than Mustangs of the past and its tight corner ability is surprising.

Priced from $71,990 plus on-road costs, the new Mustang is also more expensive than ever – but it can now hold a candle to much more expensive rivals in driving ability.

The S650’s interior is a big step forward on the S550 thanks to higher-quality materials throughout, as well as new screens with new infotainment software. There are even cute cues to the past, like the instrument cluster that can be configured to show dials from Mustangs from a long time ago.

The Ford Mustang remains characterful and fun but this time around, it’s also more
talented and a big improvement on Mustangs of the past.

Mini John Cooper Works range

Mini, like many car brands, is undergoing a lot of change with its products, including more electrified product than ever before. For the first time, the new petrol John Cooper Works models have been joined by electric versions promising the legendary go-kart feeling for which the brand is known.

For the first time, five JCW models are on offer: the petrol Cooper hatchback, convertible and Countryman SUV, plus the electric Cooper and Aceman small SUV. Pricing starts at $57,990 for the petrol Cooper models and $63,990 for the electric ones and while the petrol Cooper makes 170kW/380Nm, the electric one makes 190kW/350Nm for a quicker sprint to 100km/h: just 5.9 seconds for the electric Cooper, versus 6.1 seconds for its petrol sibling.

As with all previous Mini models, the new JCW models are full of character, including cute-but-angry styling, as well as an interior with a huge circular central display and ambient lighting in the padded dashboard panels. Add in the typical Mini go-kart feeling, regardless of the propulsion, and the Mini JCW range remains one of the best sports cars you can buy in 2025.

Mercedes-AMG E 53

The new plug-in hybrid Mercedes-AMG E 53 sports sedan has just gone on sale in Australia and its outputs are impressive: a combined 450kW of power and 750Nm of torque, while it sprints to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds. Yet it can also travel up to 100km on electric power alone thanks to its 28.6kWh battery and if you keep it charged, it will reportedly use just 1.7L/100km of fuel.

On the road, the E 53 is impressively well hushed and comfortable – as you’d expect from a Mercedes-Benz E-Class – but change the driving mode to Sport+ and it becomes a properly quick, nicely damped and great-sounding sports sedan. Despite its hybrid tech, it’s a serious performance car at heart.

Adding to that is the E-Class’ luxurious cabin filled with huge screens and many features like AMG sports seats, Nappa leather upholstery and an excellent 4D Burmeister sound system. Priced from $190,900 plus on-road costs, the E 53 is not cheap, but it offers a broad range of talent and seems like a bit of a bargain considering the engineering involved. The only thing that would make it even better would be the wagon variant offered overseas.

Porsche 911

Porsche’s iconic 911 sports coupe has just been updated for 2025 and is now in its ‘992.2’ generation, an upgrade on the ‘991.1’ that arrived six years ago. The almost-full range of 911s has arrived locally, with the Carrera and Carrera S, as well as the manual Carrera T and even the hybrid Carrera GTS now on sale with Turbo and GT3 variants due later in the year.

The pick for keen drivers is, without a doubt, the manual-only Carrera T with its 290kW/450Nm turbocharged flat six engine. However, $27,400 less gets you into the base Carrera at $279,400 and that almost-$30k buys a lot of options. The new hybrid Carrera GTS makes a much stronger 398kW and hits 100km/h in just 3.0 seconds.

Regardless of model chosen, the 911 drives and rides well. It’s more than comfortable enough for the everyday commute, but taut enough for track days as well. Plus, the interior is practical and good quality, and the new infotainment screens are easy to use.

The Porsche 911 remains one of the world’s best sports cars, proudly continuing its 62-year legacy.

Toyota GR Yaris and GR Corolla

Before the release of the GR Yaris, it had been a long time since Toyota had made a turbocharged four-wheel drive sports car. But since its release in 2020, the brand has doubled down on its performance car efforts and there’s now a GR Corolla brother. Both have also just been updated with more performance and capability to make them even better, and a new optional eight-speed automatic transmission is now available as well for those who don’t want to row their own gears.

While they’re both not cheap – the GR Yaris starts at $55,490 +ORC and the GR Corolla $67,990 +ORC – they are both very fast, communicative and engaging to drive and relatively practical. For all-round goodness, regardless of price, not many cars better the GR twins.

Add in their long lists of standard equipment, including a fully-loaded active safety suite, and comfortable cabins, and it’s easy to see how the GR twins have sold well since their releases.

Better news, though is the cars represent Toyota finding its mojo again in making sporty and fun cars.