5 Fun And Cheap Ford Cars For Under $25K

Take a look at the current Ford lineup and you'll notice two themes. One, the Detroit automaker sells a wide variety of trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. Two, aside from the Mustang, Ford no longer sells cars. This is a bummer for fans of the traditional car, especially fun cars. Regarding the Mustang GT, a 2025 model starts at $46,560. Everyone has a different definition of cheap, but considering you can get into a new Nissan Versa for well below $20,000, it's hard to say Ford's pony car is cheap.

Which brings us to the point of today's discussion, fun and cheap Ford cars. The price point is $25,000 or less, as that is just about half the current average new car price. As for fun, we're leaning into the enthusiast definition. In general, that means cars with high performance, dynamic handling, and an engaging experience behind the wheel, but preferably a combination of all three factors.

Although you won't find any fun, affordable cars from Ford for the 2025 model year, there is good news: There are plenty to choose from on the used market. Nameplates like Focus and SHO from long-gone Blue Oval departments like the Special Vehicle Team (SVT) should perk up the ears of any serious gearhead. These are five of our favorites, ranked from most to least expensive.

The Focus had a 20-year run starting in 1998 and ending in 2018. Before Ford discontinued the Focus, it was kind enough to deliver an RS variant to American enthusiasts. Representing peak Focus performance, this street-legal rally car brought thrills in the form of a 2.3-liter inline-four fitted with a low-inertia, twin-scroll turbocharger that dialed output up to 350 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque.

Paired with a six-speed manual, a torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system, an exclusive RS driver-selectable sport suspension, Brembo brakes, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires, fun was effectively guaranteed. As we noted in a hands-on review, the Focus RS had plenty of power, a nicely weighted clutch, and a "silly but addictive shotgun 'braAP' from the tailpipes on downshifts." Other fun-adjacent descriptors included "grin-inducing."

All that excellence came at a price, however, with the 2018 Focus RS starting at $41,995 and easily cracking $45,00 with options. Fortunately, today you can find used RSs in the $23,000 to $25,000 range with Kelley Blue Book (KBB) pegging the Fair Purchase Price at around $24,000. But you'll have to do some research, as Ford only built the American Focus RS between 2016 and 2018, with just 1,000 units in the final year. Based on the fun-to-cheapness ratio, it seems that extra work is worth it.

The Fiesta ST was another short-lived hot hatch Ford offered in North America between 2013 and 2019. Where a vehicle like the Ford Mustang GT relies mostly on brute force to deliver driving thrills, the wee Fiesta ST was all about lightweight, tossable fun. The 0 to 60 mph run took 6.9 seconds, but these high-performance Fiestas only weighed 2,734 pounds and could cling to the skidpad with 0.93 g's of lateral force.

To sum up what made the Fiesta ST so fun, Car and Driver crowed about how "...the engine, chassis, and lightweight body combine to form a wonderfully balanced performance envelope." The 197 hp and 202 lb-ft of torque from the 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four may not seem like much, but when combined with a 70% stiffer rear torsion beam, reduced negative camber in the rear tires, upgraded front suspension knuckles, stiffer springs, and summer tires — versus the standard Fiesta — it becomes easy to see how Ford made these Fiestas so fun to drive.

When the Fiesta ST was new, it started at just $22,015, making it cheap enough to make our list today, and even though it's gone, these tuned Fiestas are still on the cheap side in the used market. Looking over Bring A Trailer listings, the sale prices range from $18,750 to $22,750 for unmodified models. So, figure on about $20,000 as a good place to start.

The current Mustang may be out of reach for those with a budget of $25K, but Ford has been making its pony car since the 1960s, and you only have to go back 10 years to find one that is the very definition of a fun and cheap Ford. Model year 2015 marked the start of sixth-generation Mustang production, a car that ditched its predecessor's solid rear axle in favor of a fully independent, integral-link rear suspension. The better to have fun with, my dear.

For maximum smiles, we're looking specifically at the Mustang GT convertible. At the time, Ford offered a naturally aspirated V6 and a boosted inline-four with the Mustang, each of which has its merits. However, neither of those mills is going to be confused with the bellow of Ford's 5.0-liter V8 at full whack. Does that noise translate to more fun? In our write-up of the 2016 Mustang GT droptop, we noted that the V8 is what you're really looking for in a Mustang, especially in convertible form, to enjoy the extra "aural tickle."

So, what does it cost to enjoy a Ford with 435 horsepower, a six-speed manual, and a dedicated burnout mode that can clear 60 in less than 5 seconds, do the quarter in 13 seconds flat, and circle the skidpad at 0.95 g's with the wind in your hair? Per KBB, you can expect to pay between $22,000 and $25,000 for the privilege.

Before Ford's ST moniker, short for Sports Technologies, was applied to high-performance models like the Focus, Explorer, and Edge, there was the Special Vehicle Team, otherwise known as SVT. Responsible for icons like the Mustang Cobra and F-150 Lightning, the Focus SVT shines on this rundown of fun and cheap Fords. Produced from 2002 through 2004, this Focus-based hot rod garnered consecutive Car and Driver 10Best awards between 2000 and 2003.

Sold as a three- or five-door hatchback, the Focus SVT had a naturally aspirated 2.0L inline-four rated for 170 hp at 7,000 rpm. Juicy powertrain details include forged steel connecting rods, high-compression aluminum pistons, variable intake cam timing, and a dual-stage intake manifold. Hooked up to a Getrag six-speed manual, this all-time hot hatch had Motor Trend singing its praises with commentary like, "Driving the SVT Focus reminds me it's all about the fun."

When new, the SVT variant was $17,995 to start, or some $5,000 pricier than a base Focus. This made sense considering the body kit, tuned suspension, larger brakes, and special interior that went with the hotter powertrain. Considering that was over 20 years ago, the current average price of $10,231 on Classic.com indicates the Focus SVT has held its value reasonably well. The best part? It's still very cheap in today's market and clearly a blast to drive.

Ford built the Super High Output (SHO) version of its Taurus across four generations, and each has something fun to offer, but today we're giving the nod to the second iteration for the most fun at the cheapest price. On the latter front, you can expect to pay between $3,600 and $7,500 for a nice used example, according to activity on Cars & Bids, though low-mileage second-gen SHOs have gone for as much as $13,250 on Bring A Trailer.

Even at that higher price point, it's worth considering these old SHOs just to ogle the glorious intake manifold sitting atop the 3.0-liter Yamaha V6 that powered these models. The good looks were backed up by a complex system of unequal-length runners with butterfly valves, all designed to ensure easy breathing for the naturally aspirated mill that made 220 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque when paired with a five-speed manual transmission.

Although the SHO engine wasn't the only aspect that made these Tauruses fun, praise from Car and Driver, such as "Above 5000 rpm, the Shogun engine sings like an exotic Italian V-12," certainly helps. That, along with the 30% stiffer spring rates, beefier anti-roll bars, stiffened suspension bushings, and SHO-specific Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires, versus the standard Taurus. All that said, a theoretical 8,500-rpm redline from the Taurus SHO's Yamaha engine is reason enough to go find out how much fun these Fords can be.

To create this list of fun and cheap Ford cars, we set a price cap of $25,000, as that is about half the current average price of a new car. Pricing was gathered from reputable sources like Kelley Blue Book, Bring A Trailer, and Classic.com. Fun is a subjective term, so we focused on how enthusiasts look at fun cars. Generally speaking, that means cars that handle well and offer higher performance than average. All claims of fun are backed up by hands-on drive reviews from reputable sources. Finally, the cars were listed from most to least expensive per current used market values.