Most car enthusiasts love fast and powerful cars, but on the right road, it can be just as much fun to drive an underpowered model — and I’m not just saying that to justify owning slow cars. One could argue that pure speed and lap times don’t determine if a car is fun to drive or not.
A hypercar on a narrow, twisty mountain road that doesn’t allow for it to be driven anywhere near its potential is guaranteed to be a less fun experience than tackling the same stretch of tarmac in an MX-5 Miata that can be driven on the limit.
In fact, with less power comes great skill and knowledge. Since flooring the throttle in a slow car won’t rocket you down the straights, you need to learn momentum-driving techniques to get the most out of it.
As an added bonus, cars with weaker engines tend to be cheaper to insure and use less fuel than their fire-breathing high-performance counterparts. Now, let’s look at some cars that aren’t powerful, but still tons of fun to drive.
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Thanks to Mazda’s Jinba Ittai ethos, meaning horse and rider as one, the Miata has earned a reputation for being one of the most fun and approachable sports cars ever. The Miata certainly isn’t a car you’ll bring to the drag strip, but on a twisty road, you won’t be able to wipe the smile off your face.
Early Miatas only had a 115-horsepower 1.6-liter engine. This later grew to a 1.8-liter and even a 2.0-liter unit. While the larger engines do pack more power, its 180 hp is still only on par with a regular sedan.
Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ
The Subaru BRZ and its practically identical Toyota sibling, the GT86, are way more fun than the affordable price tags and low power figures will have you believe.
With just 205 horsepower, the driver will have to work the 2.0-liter boxer engine and transmission hard in order to go fast. This is a proper momentum machine, and while it’s an easy and forgiving car to drive, it requires a lot of skill to set quick lap times.
EG/EK Honda Civic
The Honda Civic was a bit played out for a while. A generation of kids growing up with the first couple of Fast & Furious movies and Need for Speed Underground video games would fit massive bodykits and loud exhausts, which eventually turned the humble Civic into something of a pariah.
However, the old Civics are now cool again, and the styling trend has moved towards rare OEM parts and proper JDM stuff rather than fiberglass bumpers and replica rims. The old Civics with D and B series engines are tons of fun, but not exactly fast in stock form. There are plenty of aftermarket parts that can make them a bit more fun, though.
Mini Cooper
Any Mini Cooper, new or old, is pure fun to drive. They’re not always a pleasure to own due to reliability issues, but the driving dynamics have been on point since day one.
The classic Mini won several rallies and even duked it out with more powerful sports cars on the track. Newer ones pack much more power, but I still wouldn’t call them powerful. My pick of the litter would be the supercharged R53 Cooper S version from the early to mid 2000s. In stock form, the supercharged 1.6-liter delivers 163–168 hp, but fit a smaller supercharger pulley and some other upgrades, and it’ll pump out 200 hp and scream down the twisties.
Fiat 500
Like the Mini Cooper, the Fiat 500 is a retro-styled hot-hatch that harkens back to the good old days of affordable people’s cars. The modern retro Fiat 500 arrived in 2007 and has received some updates over the years.
The base models are truly slow, but still fun to drive in the city. On a twisty road, you can drive them on the limit without breaking the law. The various Abarth versions have a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine that produces from 135 to 180 horsepower. It’s enough power to get you into trouble, but not so much that it’s difficult to handle.
Toyota MR2 Spyder
You don’t need a big budget to buy a mid-engined sports car. Toyota’s MR2 Spyder is very underrated at the moment. It’s not a practical car by any definition, and if you’re looking for something that can do grocery runs and take the kids to soccer practice, the MR2 Spyder isn’t it. However, if you want a mid-engined sports car with plenty of character, look no further.
Its Corolla-sourced 1.8-liter engine pushes out 140 horses on a good day, but it’s not about straight-line speed; the MR2 Spyder is like a Lotus Elise for the budget-conscious.
Ford Fiesta
The most powerful Fiesta ST had almost 200 horsepower, which made it a lot of fun to drive. However, there’s no need to buy the ST to have a blast. The 1.0 Ecoboost Fiesta can be just as hilarious, and the three-cylinder engine sounds raw and raspy at full throttle — especially with an aftermarket exhaust.
Ford really got the Fiesta’s chassis right, and the car darts around the corners, making you feel like a professional rally driver as you heel and toe your way around a twisty mountain road.
Mazda 2
You can redline the little Mazda2 in every gear without any risk of getting in trouble with the long arm of the law. Okay, that’s a small exaggeration, but if you find a narrow road with lots of corners, you can have fun for days without ever breaking the speed limit.
The best part about the Mazda2 is its taut and agile chassis, making the car just as much fun as the legendary Miata.
Honda Fit / Jazz
There’s nothing truly special about the Honda Fit, or Jazz, if you’re European, but it’s a hoot to drive. It doesn’t have much power; even the 1.5-liter version only has 130 horsepower. Nor is it very sporty, but it still puts a smile on our faces.
The Fit behaves very much like Honda’s iconic Civics from the 1990s. It’s rewarding to drive fast if you get everything right and manage to keep the momentum going. Miss a gearshift or brake too early, and you’ll be left in the dust.
Morgan 3-Wheeler
Morgan came to the conclusion that making a car with three wheels would be a great idea, and somehow they succeeded where others have failed multiple times. The Morgan 3-Wheeler has a V-twin motorcycle engine mounted at the front, and its 82 horsepower drives the single rear wheel.
While you’ll struggle to find a more impractical car than the Morgan 3-Wheeler, it is tons of fun to drive. Being lightweight comes with certain benefits, such as quicker acceleration, and zero to 60 mph is dealt with in just 6 seconds.
Caterham Seven 160
The Caterham Seven 160 looks sporty, and, well, that’s because it is sporty, but it doesn’t have a lot of power. The engine is a three-cylinder Suzuki unit that produces a rather underwhelming 80 hp.
Zero to 60 mph is still done in a rapid 6.5 seconds, which is faster than some spectacular sports cars from the 1980s. However, when compared to some of its more powerful siblings, the Seven 160 is downright slow. I wouldn’t mind driving one, though. Its low weight and tiny engine mean it carefully sips fuel while being a riot in the corners.
Peugeot 106 Rallye
Unfortunately, the Peugeot 106 Rallye was never available in the States. This was one of the performance versions of the Peugeot 106 supermini. It proved that a great chassis with a small engine can beat a big engine in a poor chassis.
The 106 Rallye was a stripped-down, lightweight version fitted with a 1.6-liter 8-valve engine that produced 103 hp. It was never meant to be a straight-line rocket, but it’s one of the best-handling FWD cars of its time, and I used to own one back in the day.
Suzuki Swift Sport
The Suzuki Swift Sport is one of the most underrated hot hatches, and we’re surprised it hasn’t garnered more fans. The first two generations use naturally aspirated 1.6-liter engines with roughly 130 hp.
For the latest version, Suzuki went with a turbocharged 1.4-liter that produces around 140 hp. None of them are powerful, but they’re tons of fun on the right road. Unfortunately, the Suzuki Swift Sport isn’t available in the States, and you can’t import one yet due to the 25-year rule.
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