Forgotten Used Sedans You Need To Consider In 2025

2025 is coming to a close, and new car prices are at an all-time high. As of September of this year, American car shoppers are contending with a stratospheric $50,000 price tag for the average new vehicle. To escape the crushing weight of bloated new car prices, more and more Americans are opting for used cars. But that doesn’t have to mean compromise.

Take these forgotten sedans, for example. Some are practical, reliable nameplates left behind by the current market. Others are surprisingly sporty versions of once-popular cars. Then you’ve got fast sports sedans of years past. What do they all have in common? They’re often-overlooked used sedans you can still get in 2025 without paying new car prices.

Models are listed in ascending order, from the lowest starting average used value to the highest.

Subaru Legacy GT (4th Generation)

Average Used Price: $3,850-$5,687

For the fourth generation of the Subaru Legacy, the oft-overlooked sedan offered two flat 2.5-liter engine options. At the less-potent end of the spectrum, the Legacy had a 168-horsepower naturally aspirated engine. The second, however, is a much more spirited GT package: a turbocharged, 2.5-liter mill producing up to 250 horsepower mated to Subaru’s celebrated all-wheel-drive system.

Paired with a six-speed manual transaxle, the fourth-gen Subaru Legacy GT of the day is quite the affordable, if also mostly forgotten, driver’s sedan. What’s more, you can get a fourth-generation Subaru Legacy GT, even a Spec.b, for under $10,000. Of course, nicer examples won’t come quite so cheap. For instance, a 2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Spec.b sold on Bring a Trailer over two years ago for $15,500.

Saab 9-3 Turbo X

Average Used Price: $5,053-$7,528

2008. Then-Senator Barack Obama secures the presidency, and billionaire con artist Bernie Madoff ends up in handcuffs. As far as interesting cars go, it was also the year that famed aircraft builder Saab rolled out the Turbo X variant of its 9-3 sedan as something of a celebration commemorating 30 years of the brand’s affinity for forced induction.

Under the hood, the 2008 Saab 9-3 Turbo X packs a 280-horsepower turbocharged 2.8-liter V6 engine. Torque figures for the relatively unknown turbocharged Saab sedan were even higher, at 295 pound-feet. Paired with Saab’s XWD all-wheel drive system, the Turbo X took a utilitarian Saab sedan and added some unexpected performance.

BMW 3 Series (F30)

Average Used Price: $7,250-$23,850

From 2012 to 2018, BMW rolled out the rakishly handsome F30 line of its perennially popular 3 Series sedan. The discontinued sixth-generation 3 Series presents a solid, if also accessible, used sedan option without the bloated price of a newer model. Better yet, as the gold standard of compact executive cars, the F30 is available as a sedan, a wagon, and a spacious, albeit perhaps challenging-looking Gran Turismo hatchback.

Better yet, for fans who want that buzzsaw report from their BMW 3 Series, the F30 was available with a handful of inline-six options. While not up to M3 standards, the F30 340i produced up to 320 horsepower courtesy of a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder engine. With the automatic transmission, an F30 with the turbocharged mill is capable of snapping off a sprint to 60 in around four-and-a-half ticks. But you can (and likely should) have one with a manual, of course.

MazdaSpeed6

Average Used Price: $7,442-$11,757

Between 2006 and 2007, the Mazda 6 sedan offered a high-heat version of the brand’s midsize zoom zoom sedan. It was the MazdaSpeed6, a Herculean do-it-all driver of the day. Up front, the 2006 MazdaSpeed6 packs a turbocharged 2.3-liter MZR inline-four-cylinder engine producing 274 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. And though the power output rating dropped to 270 horsepower for 2007, it was a handful wrapped up in a sensible sedan.

In addition to a power-dense turbo four-cylinder, the MazdaSpeed6 rides on standard all-wheel drive. On top of that, the MazdaSpeed6 tips the scales at around 3,500 pounds, relatively light for a family-hauling four-door. It won’t break the bank, either. On average, buyers can slip into a 2007 MazdaSpeed6 for under $12,000, depending on factors like condition, location, and mileage.

Cadillac ATS 3.6

Average Used Price: $10,416-$23,590

Like the BMW M cars, the performance wing of Cadillac tends to soak up more attention and adoration than the standard sedan variants. As a result, the six-cylinder ATS sedan flies under the radar in the shadow of the ATS-V and larger CTS of the era. Still, even without the popularity, the 3.6-liter Cadillac ATS is a desirable addition to the used sedan market.

The six-cylinder mill is good for a muscular 335 horsepower in later years and 321 in earlier iterations. As a result, the non-V ATS sedan will sprint to 60 mph in a little over five seconds. Also, with a taut chassis, the ATS is a surprisingly compliant cornering companion, even when compared with its closest competition from the European side of things. Of course, performance fanatics will have to stretch to the ATS-V and its 464-horsepower twin-turbo six-cylinder heart.

Ford Fusion Sport

Average Used Price: $12,411-$14,855

How do you improve on one of the most popular midsize sedans in America? Ford thinks the answer was to give it some teeth. That’s exactly what happened with the Ford Fusion Sport on the second-generation platform. The Sport trim ran from 2017 to 2019, just before Ford pulled the plug on the Fusion after the 2020 model year.

To the uninitiated, it’s just another CD4 Ford Fusion. Not dissimilar to the over 1,750,000 Ford Fusions American buyers took home between 2013 and 2020. However, the Fusion Sport models were much, much spicier than the other, comparably tame trims. For starters, the Fusion Sport packs 325 horsepower courtesy of a 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6. Paired with grippier computer-controlled all-wheel drive, the Fusion Sport dials the pedestrian family sedan up to 11.

Pontiac G8 GT

Average Used Price: $15,277-$15,476

America loves its V8s, even in four-door family sedans. Take the Pontiac G8 GT, for example. Rather than packing the available 3.6-liter LY7 V6, the GT version of the Holden-derived Pontiac G8 shoehorned a comparably volcanic 6.0-liter V8 into a somewhat unassuming sedan. The result? 361 rampaging horses in a frequently forgotten used car with space for the whole family.

Fortunately for the sedan shopper with a penchant for performance, the Pontiac G8 GT is much more affordable on the used car market than it was when it was new. When the 2008 model rolled off the line, it started at around $29,995 before additional options. Today, however, a G8 GT with average mileage could cost you closer to $15,000.

Toyota Avalon (5th Generation)

Average Used Price: $20,609-$30,571

Toyota closed the book on the fifth-generation Avalon after the 2022 model year. At a glance, it was simply a longer, more spacious Toyota Camry. Stylistically, that’s not far from the truth; the XX50 model does bear many similarities to the ninth-generation Camry fascia. The reality was that it was an altogether overlooked pseudo-luxury full-size sedan with Toyota’s reputation for reliability intact.

By the time the final 2022 Toyota Avalon rolled off the line, the fifth-generation model offered a hybrid model with up to 44 combined mpg. For the 2019, 2020, and 2021 model years, buyers were able to opt for an inclement-weather-friendly all-wheel drive system, though the option disappeared for the Avalon’s final year. Better yet, the Toyota Avalon scored an 8.7 out of 10 in overall reliability with iSeeCars, taking the top spot among large cars. If that wasn’t enough, it’s also consistently on the list of cars most likely to reach or exceed 250,000 miles.

Chevrolet SS

Average Used Price: $27,567-$32,991

Like the Pontiac G8 GT, Chevrolet took a four-door Holden sedan and marketed it to American buyers. It was the Chevrolet SS, a perhaps too-subtle four-door sedan with a grumbly V8 under the hood and an optional six-speed manual. Instead of running prior to 2010, however, the Chevrolet SS ran from 2014 to 2017 before the Bow Tie closed the book on the muscle-bound family-hauler.

Instead of an inline-six or turbocharged four-cylinder mill, the Chevrolet SS packs a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 pumping out 415 horsepower and the same number in tree stump-pulling torque. Try to exercise some restraint; a 4.5-second launch to 60 mph is a quick way to get kicked out of the carpool schedule.

Sources: Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, Classic.com