MG - MGF

When Rover eventually revived the small MG soft-top in 1995, fans of small, affordable sportsters gave the MGF the thumbs-up. Rear-wheel drive and a mid-mounted engine gives excellent handling balance, the engines love revs, and styling is spot-on.
MGF looks more muscular than arch-rival MX-5 and goes a bit faster, too. But it's not such a flawlessly conceived overall package. Roadholding is grippy, but where MX-5 feels precision-made, MGF makes do with a body that feels less than solid when cornered hard or when it hits big bumps. Ride can suffer as a result. And both steering and gear-change could be crisper to exploit the 1.8i engines' unarguable sporting potential.
It's a snug two-seater and rather claustrophobic with the hood up. Cabin layout and interior finish are mediocre (the MGTF improves in this area).
But it's an MG, a lot of fun, and doesn't cost too much to run!