Our top seven most fun drives of 2022

Among the seemingly never-ending helping of new SUVs and crossovers launched, 2022 also served up exciting sports cars for motorists seeking high-adrenaline thrills.

Here are seven that rocked our world:

Ferrari 296 GTB — Price R6.4m

In March we headed to Seville, Spain, for the  international launch of Ferrari’s new V6-engine hybrid.

A prancing horse without a V8 or V12 engine might seem sacrilegious to certain folk, and that the 296 can silently drive on purely electric power for up to 25km.

We found the car may be junior in size but certainly not lacking in performance or thrills. The petrol-electric hybrid power train thrusts 610kW to the rear wheels, which brings a 330km/h top speed and 2.9 second 0-100km/h sprint to the party.

The handling of this lightweight and mid-engine Maranello machine truly thrills, but it’s also a remarkably civilised and comfortable sports car you could drive every day.

Porsche 911 GT3 — Price R4.1m

Where the fast Ferrari 296 is a comfortable daily driver, Porsche’s 911 GT3 is an uncompromising sports machine built for maximum emotion.

With firm suspension that exaggerates every road imperfection and a loud six-cylinder engine roar that could wake the dead, the GT3 is essentially a street-legal racing machine.

It is one of the world’s best-sounding cars, courtesy of a 4.0l flat-six that revs to a howling 9,000rpm.

As we wrote in our test-drive report, driving the GT3 feels like you’re riding a dragon attacking King’s Landing. It’s available as an auto and a manual.

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS — Price R2.58m

Another Porsche that raises the adrenaline and emotion meter, but for considerably less money, is the GT4 RS.

The new top dog in the brand’s junior sports car range, the GT4 RS is a car of outrageous charisma, and how could it not be, given it is powered by the spine-tingling six-cylinder 4.0l engine from the 911 GT3?

With 368kW and 450Nm thrust to the rear wheels via a seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, the GT4 will romp to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 315km/h.

Audi RS3 — Price R1.2m

With Audi moving to electric power in future, the new RS3 — available in Sedan and Sportback guises — is the last one that will have a petrol engine.

It may be the junior member of the Audi RS tribe when compared to cars like the 441kW Audi RS6, but it’s one of the most satisfying to drive because it is so compact and agile.

The five-cylinder howl has a unique character and becomes louder in the RS Performance mode, a setting that brings out the wilder side. Compared to the old RS3 the 2.5l turbo engine gets a 20Nm torque boost to 500Nm, and while it produces the same 294kW as before, it’s available over a broader rev range for improved tractability.

It blitzes the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.8 seconds with a launch control system that is child’s play to use.

Land Rover Defender 90 V8 — Price R2.5m

I’m not usually a fan of sports SUVs due to their bulk and weight, but there’s something about this short-wheelbase Defender that brought out the boy racer. The test car’s “Extended Black” styling package and deep-tinted windows made the vehicle ooze style and street cred — this Landy looked like it had rolled straight out of a gangsta rap video.

True, I wouldn’t take this high-riding brute around a racetrack, but there is no shortage of straight line gusto. The V8 petrol supercharged 5.0l engine thrusts 386kW and 625Nm to all four wheels, enabling a hot hatch-like 0-100km/h sprint in just 5.1 seconds and it sounds an uproarious battle cry. We dubbed it Darth Vader’s SUV.

Toyota GR 86 — Price R698,100

With its entertaining rear-wheel handling, Toyota’s coupe has proven you don’t need a gazillion kilowatts (or spend gazillions) to have fun, but even so, many felt it was in need of more passion in its pants than its 147kW 2.0l engine.

Toyota fixed this by bumping up the four-cylinder boxer unit to 2.4l which liberated a more exciting 174kW at a high-revving 7,000rpm. It also updated the car with a facelift and chassis tweaks.

The driving dynamics were enhanced through increased body rigidity, lighter weight and a lower centre of gravity and the car came alive in a most entertaining, tail-sliding way when we put it to the test around the Aldo Scribante track in Gqeberha. 

VW Polo GTi — R514,400

Like the Toyota GR86, the Polo GTi is a relative lightweight in this sports car list, but proves that “fun” and “affordable” can coexist.

Packing a 147kW 2.0l turbo engine into a small, lightweight car, this junior GTI offers a R200,000 saving over the big-brother Golf GTI. In terms of bang for buck the Polo makes a strong case with its ability to sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds and 238km/h top speed — not worlds away from the more powerful but heavier Golf GTI’s 6.1 seconds and 250km/h.

It also loves corners thanks to being planted 15mm lower than a standard Polo, dynamic chassis control that stiffens the suspension and an XDS electronic differential lock that quells understeer — making for a car that nips through corners like a startled rodent.

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