Old-school thrilling cars – from just £1000

Slide of The smell of petrol. The noise of a sonorous engine. The sweet satisfaction of the perfect manual gear change. Very soon, cars like this won’t be made any more. In a world that’s going electric, the smart money will be hoovering up the last of the great analogue cars. The sort of cars you’ll want to buy now and keep for that automotive rainy day. These are our favourite affordable driver’s cars, from hot hatches to bargain supercars: Slide of Ferrari F430 The F430 is one of the most evocative supercars of recent years and is the last of the manual mid-engined Ferraris, giving it instant collector status. Only 10% of F430s were sold with a proper manual gearbox and used examples start at £70,000, rather more than the ‘electro-hydraulic’ F1 version. Slide of Mazda MX-5 The MX-5 might lack the power and performance of some roadsters, but few come close to matching it for raw driving appeal. The MX-5 will go down in history as one of the greatest sportscars ever. First-gen models are starting to appreciate in value but bargains can be had on the Mk2, with prices starting at around £4,999. Slide of Lotus Elise The Lotus Elise was an instant classic the moment it came out. In a world of cosseted luxury the Elise stuck to the guiding principle for which Lotus was renowned: lightness. Cars don’t get any more analogue and as a result the Elise is highly sought after. Prices start from £13,000 – and they’re only going to go one way. Slide of Caterham Every Caterham model ticks the analogue box in a big way. The word simple doesn’t do it justice. There really is nothing more than a couple of seats, a manual gearbox and engines of varying degrees of power up front. Prices are fairly reasonable at £12,000 for a used model to give you ten-tenths motoring at its finest. Slide of Suzuki Swift Sport Flat out, everywhere. That’s the basic premise with a small, nimble, low-powered car like the Suzuki Swift Sport. You can drive one of these on the edge, leaning on its great chassis, and stay relatively close to the limits of you, the law and the car. Prices start from a very modest £1,000 in the classifieds. Slide of Subaru Impreza WRX STi Buoyed by Subaru’s WRC success, the first and second generation Impreza WRX STis were big hits among fans with turbo charged engines, four-wheel drive and rally-esque styling cues. Noisy, fast, and a lot of fun, prices for the hardcore STi versions start at £7,000 in the classifieds.  Slide of Mini Cooper S BMW did a great job reinventing the Mini, capturing the image and driving appeal of the original. The Cooper S, with its supercharged 1.6-litre engine, was a real hoot to drive, with lovely pops and bangs on the overrun, great steering and sublime handling from its wheel-at-each-corner chassis. Prices start at around £1,300 but shop carefully as they don’t have the greatest reputation for reliability. Slide of Porsche 911 GT3 Any 911 is worth seeking out. Despite becoming more digital in recent years they are still hugely involving. Prices have been rocketing for older models while special 911s like the 964 RS are outrageously expensive. We’d be looking at a 996 or 997 from around £22,000, but for those who could quadruple their investment to £80,000 a 997 GT3 is within reach. The 997 GT3 was the last of the manuals and is hugely desirable as a result. Slide of Honda S2000 The MK1 Honda S2000 had a reputation as a bit of a trouble maker. With no traction control, it was liable to catch out the unwary when the high-spinning VTEC engine kicked in. But with classic roadster proportions, one of the slickest gear changes in the business and its digital rev counter, it’s now starting to go up in value. You’ll need to spend at least £7,000 and that will get you a 2002 car with around 90,000 miles on the clock. Slide of Audi R8 Audi’s first bona fide supercar had all the ingredients for success. A choice of a V8 or V10 engine, an open-gate six-speed manual as standard and an interior that made the R8 really easy to live with. Even now all these years on, it’s a car that gets a lot of attention. These days, you can pick up a first-gen R8 for around £27,000 though try to avoid the modified ones - every journey will be an event. Slide of Toyota MR2 Unlike the Mazda MX-5, which had its engine over the front wheels, Toyota went for the more exotic approach of putting the engine behind your head. As a result, the MR2 is a sublime car to drive. Low-powered it may be, but it’s still utterly engaging and a testing car to drive on a slippery road. Prices for decent ones that haven't been messed with and have reasonable mileages start at just over £1,800. Slide of BMW M3 Every M3 is an intoxicating car to drive but an E46 or an E90 with a manual gearbox makes a strong case for itself as a car to buy now and keep for the future. Right now, pri