Cheap speed: The new cars with the most power per dollar – 2022 edition

As prices of new cars rise – and the car industry moves towards electrification and high-profit SUVs – it can seem like the days of quick and powerful cars accessible to most buyers are slipping away.

The cheapest Toyota 86 now costs close to $50,000 drive-away, a Volkswagen Golf GTI starts from about $60,000 drive-away, and Australia’s home-grown $60,000 V8 sports sedans have vanished completely.

But if getting the most power for every dollar is your only priority, which 10 cars should be at the top of the list?

Two years ago, we ran the first instalment in Drive’s ‘Cheap Speed’ rankings, with a similar power-per-dollar premise.

But in that time, much has changed. The previous winner, the Toyota Camry V6, has been axed, as has the second-placed Chrysler 300 SRT, and a number of inflation and specification-related price rises have pushed some key favourites out of the top 10 – while bringing others into the fold.

They include a mix of focused performance cars – and some oddball entries, from family hatchbacks to budget utes.

Note: All prices correct as of publishing in November 2022. The highest-ranking version of a particular vehicle is the only variant used unless there is a difference in engines (e.g. Hyundai i30 2.0-litre and i30 N Line 1.6-litre turbo are both allowed, but only one transmission, trim grade and body style of each). Optional extras are allowed.

Rounding out the Top 10 is the entry-level Toyota Kluger family SUV, the GX V6, which pairs a 218kW/350Nm 3.5-litre non-turbo petrol V6 engine with a $47,650 plus on-road costs base price for a price-to-power ratio of $218.58/kW.

However, it is set to be hit with price rises in the coming months – a $1400 increase due to inflationary pressures on January 1, and a larger increase expected as part of a 2023 upgrade, which will add new technology and swap the V6 for a 2.4-litre turbo four-cylinder.

In ninth is – likely to the surprise of many performance-car fans – the Polestar 2 electric car, in Long Range Dual Motor guise with the $1600 Performance Software Upgrade.

In standard form, the Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor wouldn’t make this list, with its 300kW quoted power output and $73,400 plus on-road costs entry price equating to $244.67 per kilowatt.

But for an extra $1600 owners can add and download the Performance Software Upgrade, which increases the power output to 350kW, for a price-to-power ratio of $214.29/kW. 

The Polestar 2’s total price of $75,000 plus on-road costs makes it the most expensive car on this list – but it is the most powerful, quickest-accelerating (0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds), and the only one with all-wheel drive.

In eighth is the cheapest Mazda CX-3 city SUV money can buy, the Neo Sport with a six-speed manual transmission.

The 110kW/195Nm 2.0-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine is the least powerful on this list – but it is also the cheapest vehicle in the Top 10, priced from $23,390 plus on-road costs, giving it a price-to-power ratio of $212.64/kW.

The entry-level, front-wheel-drive Ford Escape medium SUV was a surprise star of the 2020 Cheap Speed list, with its 186kW/387Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine combining with a $35,990 plus on-road costs list price for $196.67/kW.

Thanks to the axing of (or price rises applied to) higher-placed finishers, the Escape could have risen from 10th place in 2020, to second place today. 

However, it too has faced price rises over the last two years, totalling $1500 (to $37,490 plus on-road costs) – but it still manages to move ahead to seventh place on this list, with a price-to-power ratio of $204.86/kW.

The Toyota Camry SX V6 that won the 2020 Cheap Speed rankings may have been axed shortly after publishing, but a Camry remains on the 2022 list – albeit the entry-level, four-cylinder petrol Ascent.

After a performance boost in early 2021, the cheapest Toyota Camry available is powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine developing 152kW and 243Nm – and is priced from $30,990 plus on-road costs, converting to a price-to-power ratio of $203.88/kW.

A more powerful Camry Hybrid is available, but its 160kW power output (just 8kW) isn’t high enough to offset its $2500 price premium.

It is worth noting Toyota has advised dealers and customers of a $1500 price rise for most Camry models on January 1, which will push the petrol Ascent from sixth to eighth on this list.

The first of two Hyundai i30s on this list, the N Line manual hatchback combines a 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with a $30,220 plus on-road costs list price, for a price-to-power ratio of $201.47/kW.

In Drive’s 2020 Cheap Speed rankings, the same i30 N Line manual hatch – which makes the cut as the cheapest i30 N Line available across hatch and sedan bodies, and manual and auto transmissions – placed ninth.

But despite an $800 price increase in the meantime, the axing of five models (Kia Cerato manual, Toyota Corolla manual, Ford Mustang R-Spec, Toyota Camry V6 and Chrysler 300) – but addition of one, the Toyota HiLux – has seen it surge to fifth.

For Hyundai N fans, the hero i30 N is 16th on this list in manual hatch form, combining its 206kW/392Nm 2.0-litre turbo engine with a $46,200 plus on-road costs base price for $224.27/kW.

Despite $1700 of price rises over the last two years, the Kia Stinger 330S has managed to move up from seventh to third on the leaderboard, as cars ahead of it have dropped out of the running.

It combines a 274kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 with a list price of $55,030 plus on-road costs for a price-to-power ratio of $200.84/kW. In the 2020 rankings, the Stinger 330S carried a price-to-power ratio of $194.63/kW.

On the lowest step of the podium is the cheapest new Toyota HiLux money can buy: an entry-level Workmate single-cab chassis with a 2.7-litre petrol engine, five-speed manual transmission and rear-wheel drive.

Priced from $24,225 plus on-road costs, it’s powered by a 2.7-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine developing 122kW and 245Nm – which equates to a price-to-power ratio of $198.57 per kilowatt.

But like the Toyota Kluger and Camry above, the HiLux is also slated to receive a price rise on January 1, totalling $1150 – which would push it to fifth or sixth on the leaderboard.

While it might be the least performance-oriented variant in the Hyundai i30 range, the cheapest model available – the entry-level manual hatchback – offers the most power per dollar.

Prices start from $23,720 plus on-road costs for a 120kW/203Nm 2.0-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine and six-speed manual transmission – equating to $197.67 for every kilowatt under the bonnet.

Rising from third place in 2020 to win this year’s list is the Ford Mustang GT, which in its cheapest manual coupe form will charge buyers $192.60 for every kilowatt.

Prices are listed from $65,290 plus on-road costs – $1100 more than two years ago – for a 339kW/556Nm 5.0-litre V8 and six-speed manual transmission. Opting for the 10-speed automatic would increase the price-to-power ratio to $201.45 per kilowatt.

However, it is worth noting order books for the current-generation Ford Mustang have closed, ahead of the new model’s arrival in 12 months’ time – so the list price quoted above will be accessible only to those already in the queue.

Cars which just missed out on the Top 10 list include the Kia Carnival S V6 ($219.81), entry-level Subaru WRX manual sedan ($222.72), Ford Mustang 2.3L High Performance four-cylinder (from $222.84), and Tesla Model 3 Long Range ($223.29).

The two highest-ranked cars priced above $100,000 before on-road costs (but including Luxury Car Tax) are electric, the Tesla Model Y Performance ($286.39) and BMW i4 M50 ($324.75) – followed by the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Trail Boss V8 pick-up ($341.82).

Flip the leaderboard to find the new cars with the least power per dollar, and the Top 5 list is as follows: Rolls-Royce Phantom EWB ($2541.43), standard Rolls-Royce Phantom ($2179.53), Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge ($1795.69), Rolls-Royce Ghost EWB ($1772.38), and Lamborghini Aventador LP780-4 Ultimae Roadster ($1729.36).

On the reverse leaderboard, the ‘highest’ placed model from a mainstream car manufacturer is the Volkswagen Crafter Kampervan All-Terrain TDI410 High Roof 4Motion, at $1165.31 per kilowatt.