6 Used V6 Cars For Under £10,000

V6 engines have become a bit of a rare groove in the modern car world. With the ascent of turbocharging, highly-boosted four-cylinders seem to have taken the mantle once held by the V6 and in most cases when six-cylinders are called upon in new cars, those tend to be inline engines.

Does the V6 still have a place today? That’s a debate for another time, but the question has us wondering which great, affordable V-configuration six-cylinders are out there in the used market. We’ve picked out six of your options.

Nissan 350Z

We do have to wonder how long the days of the ‘cheap’ Nissan 350Z will last. Given anything else interesting made by Nissan tends to cost a fortune second-hand, surely its time will come.

For now, though, you can comfortably pick up the VQ35-powered sports car for under £10,000 in the UK. Higher-mileage cars can be had in useable nick for as little as £6000, though we’d personally go with the best one we can afford – and avoid a convertible in the process.

Mk5 Volkswagen Golf R32

Ok, so the VR6 isn’t a true V6 given its narrow gap between cylinder banks, but for the purposes of including a VW Golf R32 on this list, we’ll allow it.

Finding a Mk4 for under £10,000 today is practically impossible, and we suspect that’s down to it being the first R32 and also using a manual gearbox as opposed to the Mk5’s DSG.

That aside though, we’d argue the Mk5 is a more accomplished car all-round (and better-looking, too). Our budget gives you a wide range of higher-mileage options to pick from, but the absolute best will command closer to £15,000.

Alfa Romeo GTV

The Busso V6 is widely regarded as one of the finest things Alfa Romeo has ever cast its name to. Delightfully, finding a car using one isn’t an expensive affair, either. At least not until something goes wrong with it.

We’ve gone for the GTV here, but you could swap it for the drop-top Spider and enjoy listening to its 3.0-litre version of the Busso.

Combine that with a gorgeous Pininfarina-styled body and you have a recipe for one of the most interesting, possibly underrated coupes of its time. You’ll even have change to spare with that £10,000 budget to stop yourself from crying when repair bills come in.

Ford Mondeo ST220

Fast Fords are one of those categories that generally make you go “How much??” every time you take a look through the classifieds. See the Mk2 Focus RS, Racing Puma and anything with a Cosworth sticker on for some reference.

That hasn’t yet become the case with the Ford Mondeo ST220, perhaps one of the most underappreciated quick saloons of its time. Reviewers appreciated it, but the market never really blew up over it.

In a modern context, it’s a bit of a treat. Its Duratec V6 offered 223bhp and allowed for a sub-seven-second 0-60mph time, which seems a great deal for the £5000 you’ll be looking to pay for one. You could have it as an estate, as well.

B8.5 Audi S5

Ah, we know, the pre-facelift B8 Audi S5 could be had with a 4.2-litre V8 and a manual, and surely that’s the one you want. We get it.

But its post-facelift engine is a brilliant bit of kit in its own right. The 3.0-litre supercharged V6 offered up 328bhp, allowing it to crack 62mph from a standstill in a touch above five seconds. It’s also just a brilliantly well-rounded package.

Pickings at £10,000 are a little slim but there are tidy examples out there, albeit with high mileage so keep that in mind. You could look for the four-door S4 at similar prices, too.

X308 Jaguar XJ

Although the 3.0-litre V6 X308 was the baby of the Jaguar XJ range before the later 2.7 diesel came along – and yes, we know you really want an XJR – it was still nothing to turn your nose up at.

The Ford-designed unit offered up 237bhp, and in a car weighing less than 1.8 tonnes, thanks to the XJ famously using an all-aluminium body.

Given Jaguar’s, err, recent change in business direction, we’re expecting clamour for older Jags to only increase. It might not be much longer until you can find a working 3.0 for under £10,000, so we’d act quickly.

Prefer something with eight-cylinders? How about some cheap V8 cars for under £5000?