The Hunch

A curated look at recruitment agencies

The Hunch — Off Topic

The three fastest cars under $50,000

The Hunch is not only about recruitment. It's about calling things as they actually are, and the same test applies here: forget the badge, forget the marketing, what does the thing actually do? Three new cars, all landing under fifty thousand Australian dollars, ranked on the only measure that ends the argument at the pub — how quickly they get to 100km/h.

Prices are indicative list prices and move with model year, options and on-road costs. Check with the dealer before you get excited.

1

MG4 XPower

From roughly $47,000

Orange compact electric hot hatch on a wet city street at dusk
0–100km/h
3.8 seconds
Power
320kW / 600Nm
Drivetrain
Dual-motor electric, all-wheel drive

“Nothing else under fifty grand gets to 100km/h this fast. Nothing close.”

This is the one that breaks the price list. Two motors, all-wheel drive, 320kW in a hatchback that costs less than a mid-spec family SUV — 3.8 seconds to 100km/h is supercar money from a decade ago, sold with a seven-year warranty.

It is not the most polished thing on the road. The ride is firm, the interior is honest rather than luxurious, and the chassis is working hard to keep up with the motors. But the brief here was fastest, and on the only number that settles that argument, the XPower wins outright.

2

Hyundai i30 N (hatch, manual or DCT)

From roughly $48,000

Blue performance hot hatch with red brake calipers on a racetrack
0–100km/h
5.4 seconds (DCT)
Power
206kW / 392Nm
Drivetrain
2.0L turbo petrol, front-wheel drive

“Slower on paper, better on a road you actually enjoy driving.”

The i30 N is the driver's pick. It was developed at the Nürburgring, it has an electronic limited-slip diff, adaptive dampers, launch control and a rev-matching manual if you want one — and it will do repeated hard laps without wilting.

It gives away a second and a half to the MG on the drag strip and takes it back everywhere else: steering feel, brake stamina, the noise, the sense that someone tuned this car rather than just specced it.

3

Toyota GR86 GTS

From roughly $46,000

White rear-wheel-drive sports coupe on a coastal mountain road
0–100km/h
6.3 seconds (manual)
Power
174kW / 250Nm
Drivetrain
2.4L naturally aspirated, rear-wheel drive

“The slowest of the three and the one most people would keep longest.”

On raw numbers the GR86 has no business on a fastest-cars list. It is here because speed and pace are different things, and over a real road with corners in it, a light rear-drive coupe with a low centre of gravity is not far behind cars with a hundred more kilowatts.

It is also the only one of the three with no turbo, no motors and no software between your right foot and the outcome. That counts for something. If the question were 'best', not 'fastest', this would be sitting first.

Disagree? Good.

This is a hunch, not a lab result. If you reckon there's something quicker for the money, or you've owned one of these three and the reality didn't match the brochure, write in and say so. Same rules as the agencies: your experience, your words.