Top Gear's top five: our favourite junior sports cars

£20,995, 158bhp, 148lb ft, 0-62mph 7.3secs, vmax 133mph, 40.9mpg, CO2 161g/km

The new MX-5 is everything we'd hoped for. Simple, rear-drive and over 100kg lighter than the old one, it's the best the MX-5 has been perhaps ever. 

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£24,995, 200bhp, 151lb ft, 0-62mph 7.6secs, vmax 130mph, 36.2mpg, CO2 181g/km

Modest but revvy power, rear-wheel-drive and a decent manual ‘box make for one of the most complete fun-per-£ cars of the modern age.

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£24,995, 200bhp, 151lb ft, 0-62mph 7.6secs, vmax 130mph, 36.2mpg, CO2 181g/km

The Toyota twin of the BRZ, except imported in higher numbers. This a modern version of an Escort Mexico, except Japanese and reliable.

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£34,540, 322bhp, 332lb ft, 0-62mph 5.0secs, vmax 155mph, 34.9mpg, CO2 189g/km

Incredible value, incredible performance, slightly anonymous looks. Quite possibly the very best car BMW makes at the moment.

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£29,915, 227bhp, 273lb ft, 0-62mph 6.0secs, vmax 155mph, 47.9mpg, CO2 137g/km

The new TT not only looks sharper, it drives sharper too. You can have it with quattro, but the front drive one is basically a Golf GTi. Nowt wrong with that.

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