Why is a Mazda MX-5 always the answer? Because it's an affordable, street-legal go-kart that plasters a perma-smile on your face.

The 2022 Mazda MX-5 GS-P with the Sport Package is the best affordable sports car. First, like all 2022 MX-5 models, it comes with Kinematic Posture Control (KPC), which resolves the fourth-generation car's rear-end squirreliness when cornering. Second, this package adds Brembo front brakes, BBS forged alloy wheels, and Recaro sport seats (a similar package, Grand Sport, is offered on GT models with the manual transmission but trades the Recaro seats for terracotta Nappa leather). Third, and perhaps most important, Mazda emphasizes manual gearboxes, making them standard on every MX-5 sold in Canada and a necessity to get the Grand Sport Package. But dang, this immensely rewarding street-legal go-kart is getting expensive.

Fun fact: while the name Mazda MX-5 Miata remains common in the United States and is still seen occasionally in Canada, Mazda Canada has not marketed the MX-5 as the Miata in this country for a number of years.