The best eras for performance cars ranked: which decade came out on top for thrills?
We've taken a cross section of every decade of performance cars and the verdict is in. It might surprise you.
We’ve had a lot of fun travelling backwards and forwards in time over the last five issues and we’ve gained a fresh perspective on each decade in turn, including the current one. As Dickie Meaden observed at the end of the 2020s test: ‘It’s been a good reset, forcing you to think about cars in different ways, and maybe I do appreciate what we have now a bit more…’
> Best cars of the 2000s – the best cars from the best of times
I think we’d all echo that. Against expectations, the 2020s made a surprisingly strong case, despite ever-more-intrusive tech. ‘I think there was a fear that the driver’s car was on its last legs,’ said Sam Jenkins, ‘but the 2020s test has been a real eye-opener, and the cream of the crop are some of the most exciting cars I’ve driven. The 296 proves hybrid assist really can add engagement, and the Hyundai has made me a whole lot more optimistic about an electrified future.’
Yousuf agreed: ‘I think the peaks are as high as they have been on any of the groups – the MX-5, the Civic Type R, the Ferrari. For different reasons I’ve enjoyed them just as much as the earlier eras. Cars like the 296 GTS prove you can have outrageous power figures but still remain driveable. That said, the choice is narrowing…’
That was a point Dickie picked up on: ‘It’s a shame that of the two most affordable cars, the Honda’s about to go [the run-out Ultimate Edition is on sale now] and who knows what the future holds for the Mazda. Good high-performance cars seem to be getting pushed out of the reach of more people. It was notable that our longlist of cars for this group was nowhere near as long as for earlier eras.’
So while there’s still much to enjoy right now – and much that’s encouraging for the future – the 2020s are first to drop out of the running. And next to go are the ’80s, despite us all having the very best time with the ’80s group.
For John Barker it was a drive down memory lane. ‘I have a fondness for the ’80s, having started my testing career in that period. Lighter, smaller cars with remarkable handling on teeny tyres, especially the MR2, which I recall hacking across Derbyshire in back in the day. And that Carrera 3.2… For someone who drove that model as their first 911, today it feels like the essence of 911, the source code…’
‘The ’80s test was one of the most enjoyable group tests I’ve ever been on,’ said James Taylor, ‘but I suspect much of that was the novelty of driving those cars as opposed to each one as an ultimate driving experience, genuinely brilliant though they all were.’ Which leaves the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s still in the running, and now it gets really close.
Plenty of us had the ’90s in our top three; Dickie had them at the very top of his personal ranking. ‘Partly because these cars and that era mean more to me personally. But we had a lot more choice of evo-type cars that were genuinely really good and very different. You could have a Griffith or an Elise or an MX-5, and then there were loads of hot hatches… In every case the balance of mass, size, power and grip feels just right. You need some skill to get the best from them, but make the effort and they’re magic.’
I had the ’90s second, but I had the 2000s as my favourite era. When I had a bit of money to splash on a car a few years ago, my shortlist consisted of three: early Gaydon-era V8 Vantage, R8 V8, or 997 Carrera S. All manual, all from the mid-2000s. All gorgeous, plenty quick enough, just enough tech to keep me out of trouble, modern enough to be reliable, and all bursting with character. If I had the money again, the list would be exactly the same.
Barker had the 2000s top too: ‘All the cars were iconic, individual, special. Not overburdened with tech, not too big and not too heavy. The Goldilocks era for me. I still hanker after an R8 V8 manual, though if I was going to swap the Capri for anything, it’d be a 997 GT3.’
But our winning era by a whisker is the 2010s. Though Dickie had the ’90s first, he had the ’10s a close second: ‘The cars delivered contemporary capability but remained mercifully free of all the unwanted tech that blights today’s cars.’
James put the 2010s first: ‘I though the 2010s might have been when we finally ran out of momentum and the cars wouldn’t be quite so special, but that proved not to be the case. I actually loved driving all of those cars, even more so than the 2000s because they could be driven a bit harder. They’d be brilliant to live with every day and drive long distances, but also have the capacity to thrill on the right road.
Yousuf had the ’10s top too: ‘The character of the cars shone as brightly as previous eras, but they had a level of precision and performance that made them even more exciting. I was blown away by the hatches and had some of my best drives of all the tests in the 650S. One of those and a Fiesta ST200 could be the perfect two-car garage.’
