Top 5 Underrated Sports Cars

Welcome to Best Car Guy. In this blog, we have listed the Top 5 Underrated Sports Cars. There are many cars out that are always talked about and admired by lots of people such as the Ford Mustang, BMW 3 Series, Toyota Camry, Honda civic, but then their cars that just don't get the love they truly deserve. So, Today we're gonna talk about 5 underrated and underappreciated cars that really don't deserve to be overlooked.

Mazda 6

Mazda 6 is the first car on the list of underrated sports cars. I’m sure this is a car everyone can agree is very underrated, heck Mazda, in general, has always kind of fell in the shadowy parts of the automotive industry. It’s not until recently where they’ve been getting some recognition, well mainly with their SUVs like the CX-5 and CX-9. The Mazda 6 on the other hand constantly gets overlooked, and honestly, it doesn't deserve to be. The exterior design in my opinion outshines its competitors the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, at least in my opinion. It looks more athletic, more expensive, and definitely stands out more when out on the road. You’ll see an Accord or Camry nearly one very corner, but a Mazda 6, not so much. The interior definitely stands out, in fact, it may be one the best things Mazda has improved on over the years nearly on all their vehicles, especially the 6. Soft-touch materials laid out nicely, the seats are comfortable and if you opt-in for the signature trim, you get near German territory luxury inside. As far as performance goes there are two options available, either 2.5L naturally aspirated engine that produces 187HP and 186lb-ft, and a 2.5L Turbo engine that bumps the power to 227HP and Torque to 310lb. Performance on the 6 is not overly exciting if you ask me, especially for a car that looks as sporty and aggressive as it does but it sure does make up for it practicality wise. With the naturally aspirated engine, the 6 gets 25 PMG city and 35 HIGHWAY, making it an excellent daily driver. Room inside is also more than enough for a party 5 and trunk space has 14.7 cubic feet of cargo space. Safety features are something Mazda has been very generous with as well. A Mazda 6 standard comes with blind-spot monitoring, lane keep assist, emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, and adaptive headlights. All in all the Mazda 6 is an excellent car, it’s by far the best-looking one in its class in my opinion of course, and feature-wise you get a lot for your money. Mazda has definitely come a long way over the years with its innovation but sadly not many have noticed. But you see, Mazda’s recent joint venture with Toyota might give them the marketing clout they need to be more competitive in this competitive car industry. Here is the list-

Porsche 718 Boxster

The second underrated sports car on the list is the Porsche 718 Boxster. And I guess I can group in the Cayman in there as well. Essentially one is a convertible and the other is not, but that doesn’t change the fact that they aren’t selling well, like at all. You see for a starting price of around 60Kmost people rather just go for a Mercedes AMG, BMW M, and higher trim corvette models, but why is that? I mean the 718 Cayman arguably looks better, the exterior has an exotic look to it, the interior is unmatched and despite the 4 cylinder turbo engine, it performs very well, especially around a track. Yes, a turbocharged 4 cylinder engine, definitely one of the reasons the 718 Cayman and Boxster are not as desired as much as they once were. A 4 cylinder engine, on a 60K+ car, yeah. The beautiful straight 6 that screams at high RPMs is what car enthusiasts really want. Here’s what a 4 cylinder Cayman sounds like. And is what the previous generation Cayman with the 6 cylinder sounds like. Here’s the thing guys, this the direction the automotive industry is leading to sadly, engine downsizing and turbocharging, it’s something we will have to accept sooner or later. That said the 4 cylinder turbo engine performs very well, in fact, it performs better than the previous naturally-aspirated inline 6. It produces 300HP and 350 lb-ft, 0-60 happens in a respectable 4.9 seconds. While 4.9 seconds may not sound like much, remember these cars aren’t built to be a straight line competitor but more so track warriors. A perfect weight distribution, Porsche's countless years of trial and error suspension tuning, and their lightning-quick PDK transmission. Of course, it comes standard with a manual if you rather have a more engaging experience. When it comes to the 718 Boxster the convertible offers one of the best convertible experiences, I Know Because I’ve experienced it myself. It takes less than 10 secs to either open or close the roof and you can do that at cruising speeds which is very beneficial. Honestly, if you can get past the fact that these two cars sound like Subarus, only seat two and are not 911s, then they are pretty cool cars.

Audi TT

The Third car on the list of underrated sports cars is the Audi TT. This is a rather odd feature as I think this is a car that was once pretty freaking cool looks-wise, and I guess over time people got bored with it. I mean it’s been around for like 20 years, and let’s be honest, not many car models can last that long with the exception of a few, especially those that keep their design mostly untouched. Small sports cars like the TT live a tough life in the modern era as the industry shifts to bigger more family-friendly vehicles. Sure the TT Coupe technically seat 4, but let’s be serious ain't nobody sitting back there, it’s better left for luggage and groceries. Styling-wise while some people may not like it, I actually don’t think it looks that bad. Part of it kind of resembles styling cues of the more expensive Audi R8. Well there you go, if you really like the design of the R8 but don’t have R8 money well then you can get the next closest thing, the TT. Not many cars exist like the TT and based on their tanking sales, the last couple of years, they might not be around for much longer, brand new that is. Let’s go over some highlights as to why you may want to buy one. The interior for one is very unique, not just a copy and paste afterthought. The first thing you notice is that there is no infotainment display on the dash, and no it’s not tucked away like other Audi vehicles. The TT offers a virtual cockpit which pretty much does everything a traditional gauge cluster would plus everything an infotainment display would do right in front of you. performance stats, navigation, driving modes, you name it. Not only does the virtual cockpit give you access to all these features easily with the rotary dial on the center console, but it also frees up clutter on the dash and gives the overall interior a cleaner look. The circular vents are pretty cool as well as Audi added the climate control and heated seat functions to a dial screen which again frees up clutter around the dash. Handling is also an upside for this car as it was really intended to be very fast. Power-wise the Audi TT comes equipped with a 2L turbo engine that produces 228HP and 258lb-ft. And if that is not enough, stepping up to the TTS model gets you more power 292HP and 280lb-ft. I can sort of see why the TT is not very popular nowadays. It offers less room than a BMW z4, it’s a two-door sports car and the asking price is not really enticing. It has an MSRP of 45K starting, which opens the doors for other competitors. Now that is tough. 20 years, 3 generations, I really do think this is a car that once it’s gone, will be talked about.

Nissan 370z

The Fourth car on underrated sports cars is the Nissan 370z. Out of all the cars that I decided to feature on this list, this one is probably the one that pains me the most to talk about. Growing up I was a massive 350z fan, actually almost bought one before but sadly I didn’t qualify for a 10k loan. And then the 370z came out years later and honestly that car blew me away. The car looked so sporty, the wide-body gave it a perfect stance and I don't know it just looked like the perfect choice for a car guy. Many praised it at the time as one of the best sports to buy when it first came out, especially for the price. Today, not so much. Hardly anyone talks about it anymore, you rarely see them on the road and they are pretty much almost forgotten. Maybe it’s because not much has changed since 2009, the same exterior design, with a fairly outdated interior with the same damn cubby in the middle, and of course, it’s only a two-seater! But see there are things that should be appreciated in the modern era from such a car. RWD, a naturally aspirated V6 engine and a traditional manual. There aren't extra drive settings, nor steering, and suspension settings, giving the 370z one of the most back to basic raw driving experiences that not many cars offer anymore. The interior is as basic as it gets, no unnecessary distraction allowing you to focus on the driving experience. The engine it comes equipped with is a 3.7LV6 that produces 332HP and 271lb-ft which was crazy good when it first came out and even today is still pretty solid. And it’s an engine that will be very desirable in the future once all cars go either turbocharged or EVs. I feel like this entire car is a perfect example of you don’t know what you have until you lose it. I’m sure if Nissan discontinued the 370zyou’d have many people begging Nissan to bring it back, and at that point the car will get the true attention it deserves. You still have a chance now before Nissan either decides to discontinue it or release a replacement that features a turbo 4 cylinder.

Jaguar F type

The final car on the list of underrated sports cars is the Jaguar F type. There are a few cars that exist out there that are as visually stunning as the F type, not only for its price range but in general. It truly is a good looking car, the aggressive front end with air intakes and side vents. The rear of the car is also like no other! Sadly this car suffers to sell well, and it up against some pretty fierce competitors. It’s lower F type trims go up against the Toyota Supra and the C8 Corvette and the higher trims like the SVR reach the territory of the Mercedes AMG GT coupe, Mustang GT500 and Porsche 911’s. Performance-wise you get quite a few choices. Engines ranging from a measly 2L turbocharged 4 cylinder that produces 296HP and 295lb-ft to a 5L supercharged V8 that produces whoppin575HP and 516lb-ft. honestly, if it were me I’d skip out on the 4 cylinder unless fuel efficiency is your goal. Part of the F type charm is how it sounds! This applies to both the 6 cylinder engine and the V8. It has to be one of the loudest production cars ever released onto the roads, just listen. It sounds amazing! I think part of the reason he F type doesn’t sell is partly because of the competition I mentioned before and maybe because of Jaguar’s poor history of reliability. Almost everyone I know associates those cars with being a money pit. I know that was somewhat the case with older Jaguars, but with modern ones, I don’t really know where their reliability stands. But if you buy one new or lease one then it really shouldn’t be that much of an issue anyway and if you buy one used then opt-in for both a pre-purchase inspection and an extended warranty. I don’t know there's just something about this car that I absolutely love, and I really wouldn't mind owning one in the future. It sounds great, looks super attractive, the interior looks equally stunning and since there aren’t many out on the road, It’s sure to captivate lots of attention.