The 20 Best Cars For Hoonage

Image via Complex Original

Cars can be fun. It really depends on the car, though. It's a lot easier to have some sideways fun and get into a spot of trouble in a twin-turbo AWD rally car or a V8 muscle car than it is in a Nissan Versa. That said, hooning an exotic does have some downsides. Intentionally sliding a multi-million dollar Bugatti Veyron is a huge risk. We've compiled a list of our favorite cars for hoonage and taken both price and potential hoonage into account. It's a careful balancing act of risk vs. reward, you know.

20. Morgan Aero 8

What's At Risk: $129,950
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: It has the requisite V8 power and driven wheels for some serious sideways-ness. But it also looks like it just rolled out of a 1937 showroom. The mental image of some fool doing doughnuts in a snowy parking lot driving what appears to be a classic car makes us very happy.

19. Hyundai Genesis Coupe

What's At Risk: $22,500
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: As a rule of thumb, Asian automotive enthusiasts get pretty excited about drifting. Hyundai would have missed out on a big opportunity if its first good sportscar had been adverse to sideways movement. Luckily, the Genesis coupe will slide readily, and it won't be too terrible to replace when it slides into a lamp post.

18. Ford F-150 Raptor SVT

What's At Risk: $22,045
Driven Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Complex Says: It might not be the ideal car for drifting or doing doughnuts, but it certainly is a great car for driving at breakneck speeds over just about anything. We think that impromptu rides down creek beds counts as grade-A hoonage.

17. Jaguar XFR

What's At Risk: $82,000
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: Jaguar sedans are usually a bit sedate and gentlemanly. They are certainly fast, but they lack the manic factor of a purebred sportscar. No so with the XFR. From the fully defeatable stability control to the roaring 5.0L V8, the XFR is a vehicle that seems like it was engineered with madness in mind.

16. Audi TTS-TT-RS

What's At Risk: $47,000
Driven Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Complex Says: The base TT might just be an expensive VW GTI, but the TTS and TT-RS pack on a lot more power and performance. Between the all-wheel drive control and the nicely responsive engines, the sportier TTs offer dynamics that are perfect for motoring idiocy.

15. Mazda MX-5

What's At Risk: $23,470
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: The Mazda MX-5 might be strongly associated with "effeminate," but it's also even more strongly associated with "race car." More professional race drivers got their starts in a Miata than any other car. It really is just a sportscar boiled down to its very essence.

14. Cadillac CTS-V

What's At Risk: $64,515
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: Nothing says tire smoke like a supercharged American V8. Enough said.

13. Dodge Challenger R/T

What's At Risk: $30,495
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: It may be based on an aging Mercedes sedan platform, but the Challenger is still an American muscle car. It has a big V8, rear wheel drive, and over-the-top looks that make it clear that burnouts are a priority.

12. Morgan Three-Wheeler

What's At Risk: $40,000
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: It's not terribly capable, but it will make you want to act like a fool, while wearing old-timey goggles and looking like some sort of crazed steampunk adventurer.

11. Volkswagen Golf R

What's At Risk: $33,990
Driven Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Complex Says: It's not as crazy as the competition from Mitsubishi and Subaru, but it certainly is a blast to drive. Hoon in comfort with the Golf R.

10. Dodge Charger R/T

What's At Risk: $29,995
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: A 6.4L Hemi. How could you not hoon something with a 6.4L Hemi?

9. Chevrolet Camaro

What's At Risk: $23,280
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: American Muscle cars are some of the most renowned instruments of mass hoonage in history. These day, even the V6 models pack enough punch to create some 11s to envy.

8. Chevrolet Corvette

What's At Risk: $49,600
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: While the Grand Sport and the ZR1 might be track-gripping race cars, the base model has a reputation for getting a little tail happy. It's a perfect car for all sorts of past-the-limit fun.

7. Mazdaspeed3

What's At Risk: $23,700
Driven Wheels: Front Wheel Drive
Complex Says: Yes, it's a front driver. The lunacy of putting 263hp through the front wheels of a car is what we love about it, though, torque steer and all. It's a perfect car for playing around.

6. Aston Martin V12 Vantage

What's At Risk: $180,535
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: Yup, $180,000 is a lot of car to risk on hooning. But the hooning would be so good in this V12-powered super coupe that we couldn't leave it off the list.

5. BMW M5

What's At Risk: $90,000 (estimated)
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: The BMW M5 seems like it was designed with drifting in mind. It wasn't. It was designed as a razor-sharp track machine/executive sedan. But with the traction control off, the big M will shred tires like they're toilet paper.

4. Ford Mustang

What's At Risk: $22,310
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: If the muscle car is an iconic hoon's vehicle, the quintessential muscle car sure is. The Mustang is happy to drift all day long in any of its trims. A Mustang won the Formula D championship with Vaughn Gittin Jr. behind the wheel this year, and he has also proved the V6 to be perfectly capable of getting its rear out.

3. Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

What's At Risk: $58,930
Driven Wheels: Rear Wheel Drive
Complex Says: This is one of the craziest cars on the market right now. Numerous journalists have commented on how the C63 tried to kill them and cause massive amounts of property damage (your author included), and that's because this car features one of the wildest engines ever made. We love it.

2. Subaru WRX

What's At Risk: $25,595
Driven Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Complex Says: Rally cars are all about being able to control a slide. Hooning is largely about sliding your car around while attempting to avoid life's obstacles (trees, poles, other cars, buildings, people). That's why the Subaru WRX and WRX STI make such perfect cars for people who want to drive irresponsibly.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

What's At Risk: $34,495
Driven Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Complex Says: The Lancer EVO's interior is rubbish, the ride is uncomfortable, the rear seats are small, the trunk is tiny, and the fuel economy is awful. What you get for your $35,000 is nothing but performance and the ability to control a slide on any surface. The EVO is a toy pretending to be a car. There's a reason why this is the fourth most expensive car to insure.