Top 10 Performance Bargains Of Right Now

10. Vauxhall Insignia VXR Supersport

It’s a bit of a dad’s car, granted, but here’s the thang, y’all: you can’t go faster for less. The SS version gets no speed limiter and a nearly £4k price cut, so what we have here is 170mph for £29,995. That’s an awful lot of pace for the money, and with all-wheel drive you could cause some serious BMW M3 embarrassment at track days. More tempting now, yeah?

9. RenaultSport Clio 200

Be quick, because this Clio dies soon. Not only is it blinding to drive, but in pure power terms, it’s cracking value-for-money. You get 197bhp of 2.0-litre power and pay just £17,135 for the basic lightest version, which is what you want. Makes a VW Polo GTi or Seat Ibizia Cupra look bloody pricey, given they’re a couple of grand more and only make 178bhp...

8. Subaru WRX STI

Imprezas aren’t what they once were – this WRX doesn’t even wear the classic name, but it's a steal, so stay tuned. Scooby just dropped the price by £6000 to £27k, which gives you no excuse not to blow £1599 on the power pack, which boosts this rally wannabe to 315bhp. Give it blue paint, gold rims and a big wing and we’d bite their arm off.

7. Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4

How can a £250k hypercar be a bargain? Well, at that price it sits in well-optioned Ferrari 458 territory, but does it get Ferrari power? Nope. Not 562bhp, like the Fezza. Not even 662. This is a 691bhp motor vehicle, which hits 60mph in 2.5sec. That’s Veyron-matching go, for a quarter of a mill. Keep your carbon fetish, Ferrari, the Lambo is the smart choice for the lottery win.

6. Mazda 3 MPS

Everyone forgets about the pretty ugly, pretty anonymous Mazda 3. But they shouldn’t because it packs 258bhp, is one of the most tuneable cars out there, comes loaded with kit, and costs £24k. That’s fairly good value, but add-on the upgraded turbos and chips this thing thrives on and you can bolt at least 100bhp onto that for a few quid. And what a sleeper!

5. Seat Leon Cupra R

Simple maths here. The Leon CR has 265bhp – Golf R power, dontcha know it. But does it cost Golf R dosh? £30k? Course it doesn’t. It’s £26k and you get diamond-quilted bucket seats. That’s worth twenty-five grand on its own...

4. Nissan GT-R

The only car here that can match the Aventador up to 100mph, give or take, and it costs a third as much. It’ll also hold four people and is a Nurburgring lap record holder. Sod the badge, it’s a great car at any price, yet alone £74k.

3. Ford Focus ST

If you can live without leather and toys, you can have a Focus ST for about £22k. That’s the same as a 189bhp Hyundai Veloster Turbo, and a grand less than a 201bhp Citroen DS3R. So, the spec is a bit Spartan inside, but you can have black paint and pretend you’re in The Sweeney. Oh, and you get 247bhp. Winning!

2. Ford Mustang GT500

There had to be a muscle car in here somewhere. In the USA, the 2012 GT500 is a £35,000 equivalent car, but you get Ferrari Enzo power and pace. This is a 650bhp car, good for the double-tonne, and as much retro cool as you can fit on four wheels. Lucky yanks.

1. BMW M135i

The car that inspired this whole countdown, and the car that Alex fell in love with earlier this week. No, it’s not the fastest here, or the cheapest, and for the same £29,995 you could have that Vauxhall SS at number 10, which is better looking. But would you? Or would you have the premium-badged 316bhp hatch with the perfect driving position, M Division chassis, RS3-challenging poke for £10k less than the Audi, and that straight-six yowl? This thing has shaken the hot hatch market right up, and almost makes us forgive BMW for the 5GT and X6M. Yeah, it’s a munter, but thankfully, the best place to be is inside one.