Best used sports cars, £25k coupes...

... and owning a left-hand drive car in the UK

By Cam Tait / Wednesday, 28 January 2026 / Loading comments

One of the great things about going abroad is seeing cars that were never sold in your home country. Europe tends to be full of saloon versions of cars we only received as hatchbacks, while the automotive landscape in North America is almost unrecognisable to our own. But nowhere does it better than Asia, and having just returned from a winter getaway in Thailand, I’ve seen just how good they have it over there. MPVs with interiors kitted out like private jets are everywhere, while executive saloons like the Honda Accord (which we no longer get here) seem far more popular than the equivalent SUV. And although they’re all unnecessarily big and bring Bangkok to a standstill, you’ll more than likely be cocooned in a Japanese luxo barge, completely isolated from the bustling streets around you.

Now back on home soil, it’s straight back into the podcast booth for a new episode of The Gassing Station. This week, we’re kicking things off with our rundown of the best used sports cars to buy in 2026, which has caused quite a stir. Mainly because an MG F Trophy takes our pick for those on a budget of £5,000 or less. Admittedly a contrarian pick, but it’s still a mid-engined sports car with 160hp on tap and styling by Gerry McGovern, all for just £3,999 in the case of this 2001 car. I won’t give the whole list away here, but the little F isn’t the only car to have split the comment section.

Hopefully, our picks for this week’s buying challenge will be less contentious. PHer n3il123 is on the lookout for a coupe that must be petrol, automatic, have ‘decent go’ and cost no more than £25,000. Sam’s shortlist included this Mercedes-AMG C 43 and this Audi RS5, but the car he’s putting forward to n3il123 is this lovely 2016 BMW M2. I went down a similar path with this F82 M4 Competition, which I balanced out with this marvellous Mercedes CL 500 with a Designo leather interior. But my final pick is this Jaguar XKR Speed Pack that’s currently up for auction, so you’ll need to be quick to get your hands on it. Head into the topic here to submit your own, which may come in handy if n3il123 sees this after the Jaguar sells...

Looping it back to cars from abroad, have you ever owned a left-hand drive car in a country that drives on the left? That’s a question rjfp1962 is asking on the forums, who proclaims they’ll never drive a left-hooker here in Britain. Turns out there’s a fair few who’d happily buy a left-hand drive car for occasional use, and some who’d be fine with using it as a daily. Have a read through the topic here, just as long as you’ve already listened to Sam and I ramble on for an hour first.

Listen here