To the casual observer, they appear to be worn-out wrecks. But the Autocar team knows better. These are 10 of the most entertaining, affordable used cars that will be a hoot on track.  Cheap but cheerful (well, until a wheel falls off), they are a great way to understand why, when you visit places like the Nürburgring, it’s drivers of old Volvo 340s and Citroën ZXs who are laughing all the way round the lap. And when it rains, imagine how smug you would feel overtaking a supercar in a £1500 Subaru.  Avoiding cars with overtly sporting pretensions and sticker prices above £2000, this ragtag bunch proves that very little money can indeed buy happiness.  So with the summer now in full swing, why not give into temptation and get yourself sidetracked with an unlikely track-day car. MG F/MG TF 1995-2002 The correct roadster in which to learn the dark arts of pedalling a mid-engined car without falling off the track and remodelling the nearside bodywork should be a Toyota MR2. But the MR2 has a reputation for being good, so prices aren’t all that affordable. The MG F, or TF, is still as cheap as chips, though, probably because those in the know are worried about head gasket failure or the Hydragas-based suspension expiring. Yet snap one up with a long MOT and you’ve got yourself a car as entertaining as it is challenging to master, just like those used in the one-make MGF championship.  One we found: 2002 MG TF 1.8, 60k miles, £1295 BMW 318i 1991-1998 ‘Is there a better £15,000 sports saloon?’ asked the Autocar coverline of 24 April 1991. Before you could ponder the question, the crack squad of road testers had answered it for you: ‘We don’t think so.’ Which is why budding track-day drivers should stop fantasising about clipping apex after apex in an E46-era CSL, and start searching for a humble, 28-year-old BMW 318i. It was a joy to drive. And with a few new bushes in the suspension, it probably still is. So track one down and decide for yourself whether the 318i is the best sports saloon – albeit for now less than £1500. One we found: 1993 318i SE, 100,500 miles, £585 It may cost just a few hundred quid. You might be left wondering whether a couple of cylinders are on strike. And there will be misaligned panels following years of Parisian-style close-contact parking. But none of that matters one bit. What counts is that it will teach you everything you need to know about car control in a front-wheel-drive set-up. The ZX, like its Peugeot 306 cousin, features a passive rear-wheel steering system, and once weight transfer takes hold, the tail can be coaxed into angles Ken Block would be proud of.  One we found: 1995 ZX 1.4, 82,000 miles, £495 When Lexus released the original, straight-six IS 200, it was a departure from what we’d come to know of US-influenced Japanese saloons. The steering was direct, the alloy-capped, Ferrari-like gearlever had a short-shift action and the rear-drive chassis was set up to reward drivers who treated every trip as though they were running late for a job interview. And then there was the interior, which was like peering into the window of a posh watch shop. Engineered to last, and surprisingly resistant to rust, a well-cared-for IS 200 should give track-day drivers a really satisfying steer. One we found: 2004 IS 200, 87k miles, £1995 Jaguar S-Type 1999-2007 The S-Type wasn’t Jaguar’s finest hour. Bits of the original, pre-facelift car’s interiors felt like they were lifted straight from Ford’s giant parts bin – because they were. Some of the switchgear was lifted directly from the Lincoln LS, a car that in turn looked like a mediocre Hyundai. Nonetheless, with the V6 turbodiesel engine, it’s got plenty of effortless urge, yet won’t run the tank dry in a handful of laps like the supercharged V8 R version would. Find a fully serviced, 100,000-miler for less than £2000 and you’ll be able to lap the circuit – and drive home – in comfort.  One we found: 2006 S-Type 2.7D V6, 89,000 miles, £1500 Want to be loud, proud and stand out from the crowd? Then consider one of the most famous names on the road. The CTS is a sports saloon that was sold during Cadillac’s dalliance with the European market. However, Brits didn’t embrace it with quite the same enthusiasm as rock ’n’ roll, Hollywood or drive-throughs, so they’re nearly as cheap as a bottle of flat Budweiser. A potent 306bhp, 3.6-litre V6 drives the rear wheels, making this a proper 155mph highway hauler for less than two grand.  One we found: 2007 CTS 3.6 V6 Sport, 56,000 miles, £1995 Ford SportKa 2003-2009 The success of the original Ka took Ford by surprise – it outlived its planned life cycle. But during the first seven years of production, the first question from fans of fast Fords was always: “When’s there going to be a hot version?” It was worth the wait, though. To create ‘the Ka’s evil twin’, Ford dropped in a larger, 1.6-litre engine, paired it with the Puma’s super
Origin: Unlikely track day stars: top picks for under £2000