The variety of actually excellent efficiency vehicles priced at or round $65,000 may shock you
The $65,000 milestone may appear to be an arbitrary value cap for a listing of fantastic efficiency vehicles, however look fastidiously and also you’ll uncover that it’s a candy spot for a few of at this time’s most compelling efficiency choices. Look upmarket from right here and also you’ll rapidly be procuring in six figures and not using a significant acquire in efficiency. And under this value benchmark are some stable entry-level vehicles, however they provide far much less efficiency. Right here, then, are Edmunds’ 5 greatest efficiency vehicles for about $65,000. All pricing consists of vacation spot.
Audi RS 3
In the event you’re sufficiently old to recollect motorsports within the Eighties then you realize why the RS 3’s five-cylinder engine is particular. It was a five-cylinder that powered Audi’s best motorsport effort ever, the Sport Quattro, which received the model 4 World Rally Championship titles. The RS 3 relives that glory with a turbocharged 401-horsepower 2.5-liter five-cylinder linked to a seven-speed dual-clutch computerized transmission that routes energy to all 4 wheels. It snorts and pops its approach to a 0-60 mph time underneath 4 seconds whereas sustaining livable day by day consolation, wonderful tech, and room for 6-footers within the again seat. It’s a small sedan with an enormous perspective, particularly at this value.
Beginning producer’s recommended retail value: $63,395
BMW M2
With 473 horsepower from a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine, a tidy coupe physique fashion, and your selection of a six-speed guide or eight-speed computerized transmission, the 2025 M2 checks all of the small-car hot-rod packing containers. In Edmunds’ testing, an automatic-equipped 2024 M2 — which had 20 fewer horsepower — hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and cleared the quarter mile in 11.6 seconds. The M2 can be a driver’s automobile with textbook rear-wheel-drive dealing with. an electronically managed limited-slip differential, and purposeful flared fenders stretched over efficiency rubber. Maybe better of all, the M2 matches its greater sibling, the M4, in most efficiency metrics utilizing a smaller, lighter and less expensive bundle.
Beginning MSRP: $66,075
Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing
Lots of people solely know Cadillac for its lineup of SUVs headlined by the Escalade. For them, the CT4-V Blackwing should appear to be a restaurant’s hidden off-menu possibility. This small sedan packs a 472-horsepower turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 that drives the rear wheels by a six-speed guide or ten-speed computerized transmission. Normal adaptive dampers yield real compliance for day by day use and managed, assured dealing with. On the Edmunds take a look at monitor, a manual-equipped CT4-V Blackwing sprinted to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and hit the quarter mile in 12.8 seconds. It’d quit a couple of tenths to the M2, nevertheless it makes up for it by being one of the crucial partaking and galvanizing driver’s vehicles offered at this time.
Beginning MSRP: $62,890
Ford Mustang Darkish Horse
If you wish to expertise the Mustang at its peak of inner combustion, the Darkish Horse could also be your final alternative. Few issues will make you are feeling extra patriotic than the 500-horsepower glory track of the Darkish Horse’s V8. And because the solely V8-powered automobile on this record, the Darkish Horse gives a uniquely American tackle efficiency driving. Its 5.0-liter mill powers the rear wheel by a six-speed guide or 10-speed computerized transmission. It hits 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, makes an unimaginable 1.12 g on the skidpad, and has braking efficiency rivaling some supercars. It’s dear for a Mustang, nevertheless it performs effectively sufficient to justify the associated fee.
Beginning MSRP: $60,530
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
The Ioniq 5 N does barely exceed our $65,000 value goal. But it surely’s such a standout as a efficiency automobile — not simply as a efficiency EV — that we’d be doing the record a disservice to not embrace it. With 641 peak horsepower, all-wheel drive and SUV-like practicality, the 5 N is really distinctive. Even higher, there’s extra to it than simply outrageous acceleration like so many electrical vehicles. Certain, it’ll rip from zero to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds and go the quarter mile in simply 11.2 seconds, nevertheless it additionally has sufficient grip and stopping efficiency for monitor use. Hyundai even made the hassle so as to add a particular mode that emulates the sound and really feel of a gas-powered automobile, giving efficiency fans a well-known level of reference.
Beginning MSRP: $67,475
EDMUNDS SAYS
If a price ticket of about $65,000 is in your price range for a efficiency automobile, you should definitely think about these choices. There’s big selection right here each by way of the purity of expertise and on a regular basis practicality. Nearly any purchaser can discover a automobile on this record to swimsuit his or her wants.
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This story was offered to The Related Press by the automotive web site Edmunds.
Josh Jacquot is a contributor at Edmunds.