8 Mid-Engined Cars For Under £10,000

There’s just something special about mid-engined cars, isn’t there? The strange sensation of hearing the engine roaring away behind your head, the inherent connection with motorsport and some of the most impressive supercars and hypercars of all time, the look on non-car people’s faces when you open up your bonnet only to pull out a couple of shopping bags.

Unfortunately, because it’s long been the preserve of the ultra-exotic, there aren’t many affordable mid-engined cars around. That’s not to say there aren’t any, though. Here are eight mid-engined machines you can comfortably pick up for four-figure sums.

Toyota MR2

This is the obvious answer, right? For three generations and 23 years, Toyota's Midship Runabout 2-Seater was the affordable mid-engined car of choice. The pairing of some fairly run-of-the-mill, reliable mechanical bits with a junior supercar silhouette is something we’re sad more manufacturers didn’t explore.

The good news, though, is that because MR2s were so numerous, there’s plenty to choose from used, and all three generations fall into budget – the wedgy original, the rather snappy second generation, and the underappreciated final iteration. The latter can be found from as little as £1500, and might be the most sensible in terms of reliability (and arguably the sweetest-handling), while the more sought after first two generations both kick off from around £5000 to £6000.

Porsche Boxster

And this is the other obvious answer. Hopefully, everyone’s over calling the Boxster the poor person’s Porsche and can appreciate it for what it is: a sweetly-balanced mid-engined roadster, powered by an evocative flat-six. And let’s not forget that if it hadn’t been for the Boxster’s enormous success, Porsche may well not exist today.

Again, with a ten-grand budget, options are plentiful. Early 2.5-litre cars start at around £2500, and a bit more will get you into a facelifted 2.7-litre or a 3.2-litre S. The second-gen 987 and its more powerful S version both fall into this budget too, and the upper end will get you a very tidy example indeed – maybe even of its coupe version, the Cayman.

Smart Roadster

Mercedes’ attempt to expand the range of its Smart sub-brand beyond the ubiquitous egg-shaped Fortwo microcar resulted in the forgettable Forfour supermini, but also thankfully in this: the Smart Roadster. 80bhp from a 698cc turbocharged three-cylinder doesn’t sound like much, but depending on which version you get, it weighed as little as 790kg, making for incredible handling.

It may have been somewhat hamstrung by the only available gearbox being a jerky semi-auto, but if that’s not a dealbreaker, then as little as £2000 will get you one of these characterful little rogues that’ll cost nothing to run. And if the lack of power’s an issue, you can always stump up a bit more for one of the 101bhp Brabus versions.

Honda Beat

Speaking of tiny cars, you can always rely on Japan’s kei car regulations to deliver downsized versions of everything from off-roaders to sports cars. The Honda Beat is one of the coolest examples of the latter – a diminutive roadster equipped with a feisty 658cc three-cylinder featuring factory ITBs. Kei car rules meant it only made 63bhp, but with a 760kg weight, you’ll still be having a lot of fun.

A Japan-only car, a fair few Beats have made their way to Europe over the years, and when they do come up, they still tend to slip in under the £10k mark. Our advice? Make sure you find one with the zebra-print seats.

MG F/TF

Will the MG F, and its facelifted guise, the TF, go down as all-time great sports cars? Probably not. Are they nevertheless pretty, well-balanced mid-engined roadsters that can be picked up for very little cash these days? Absolutely.

Well-publicised head gasket issues aside, the 1.8-litre K-series engine that powered these cars was a sweet little thing, revving freely thanks to its variable valve control system. Early Fs, with 118bhp, are a pittance these days, starting from around £1000. Even £6000 to £7000 will bag you a late TF, from when production briefly restarted between 2008 and 2011, and power had climbed to 134bhp.

Fiat X1/9

Here’s a bona fide two-seater, mid-engined Italian sports car, styled by one of the country’s greates designers – Marcello Gandini – for under £10,000. Just ignore the fact that even in its gruntiest 1.5-litre form, the Fiat X1/9’s throaty little twin-cam engine was only making 85bhp. With barely 880kg to shift around, it’s further proof that power isn’t everything.

Obviously, this is a 1970s Italian car (although production would be continued by Bertone right through to 1989), so the usual warnings about rust and dodgy electrics apply. Find a nice one, though, and you’ve got an ultra-stylish, great-handling summer runaround for as little as £5000.

Pontiac Fiero

The sole American entry on this list doesn’t come with the best reputation attached, but especially if you live in the States, it’s still one of the cheapest ways into something mid-engined. Pitched initially as a fuel-efficient commuter rather than a sports car, the Pontiac Fiero at first came only with the 2.5-litre ‘Iron Duke’ four-banger with around 85bhp.

By the end of its short production run, though, a lot of the kinks had been ironed out, and top versions were packing a 140bhp 2.8-litre V6. Though it was deemed a failure when new, hindsight and nostalgia have been somewhat kind to the Fiero, with its very ’80s wedgy styling and clever composite bodywork. There are usually plenty for sale in the US, and occasionally, one that’s been imported to the UK will pop up for a few grand too.

Toyota Previa

We never said it had to be a sports car, okay? And by people carrier standards, the unconventional first-gen Previa is about as sports car-ish as it gets: a 2.4-litre four-cylinder mounted pretty much right beneath the driver’s bum, sending power to the rear wheels (or optionally all four).

Some markets even got a 158bhp supercharged version. Best of all? You can carry up to six mates around, surrounded by plenty of natural light, and even fold the rear seats flat into a makeshift bed. It makes us sad that the default seven-seater has steadily moved away from being something interesting like this towards amorphous crossovers, but luckily, the Prev is much cheaper than its modern counterparts. First-gen cars don’t come up for sale that often, but when they do, you can pick them up for a couple of grand.

For a little bit more…

Truthfully, you’ll struggle to find much in the way of mid-engined goodness than these eight if you’re playing with four figures. A few extra grand, though, and your options open up a little bit more. Higher-mileage Series 1 and 2 versions of the Lotus Elise come into play, as does its close relative, the Vauxhall VX220. The range of Porsche Caymans available will expand greatly, too.

A little more cash also opens up routes into rougher examples of classics like the Lancia Montecarlo and Porsche 914, as well as some other midship Kei Cars like the gullwing-doored Autozam AZ-1 and the Beat’s modern-day equivalent, the Honda S660.