When you look at a Dodge Charger or a Mercedes sedan with AMG on the back, you know it will be loud and quick. Ditto the Subaru WRX, which looks ready to rumble. But most sedans are in the Toyota Camry or Honda Accord bracket, built for practical comfort, rather than burning rubber.
But some sedans look like anything else on the road, until the traffic light goes green, and they scorch down the road. Many of these under-the-radar cars are the performance options of normal models. Sometimes there will be a bit of a wing on the back that gives the game away, but most often, they look exactly like other trims in their range.
Models are listed in ascending order based on 0-60 MPH times, from the slowest to the fastest.
Subaru Legacy Sport Turbo
0–60 mph 5.7 seconds
The 2024 Subaru Legacy is the sedan version of the popular Outback wagon, with a 2.5-liter horizontally opposed flat four-cylinder engine that makes 182 horsepower. It also has all-wheel drive and will take around eight seconds to reach 60 mph. So a practical, sensible sedan for everyday driving. The Legacy Sport offers a bit more. At $36,410, it costs about $10,000 more than the Base trim. For that, you get, in addition to a lot of other features, the 2.4-liter four-cylinder boxer engine with a turbocharger. 260 horsepower is a lot more grunt than the naturally aspirated 2.5, and it will certainly surprise those who expect normal Subaru behavior.
Volkswagen Jetta GLI
0–60 mph 5.6 seconds
The 2025 Volkswagen Jetta GLI looks pretty much like any other VW Jetta, a small sedan with nice lines. But the GLI has the same engine as the hot hatch GTI, although not with the same horsepower. Still, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo makes 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, compared to the 158 horsepower of the regular Jetta. The Volkswagen Jetta GLI comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission that will take it to 60 mph in six seconds, and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic that will shave 0.4 seconds off the 0–60 mph time. So you will have to decide whether you want to give up the fun of a stick shift for a quicker sprint.
The GLI’s best asset remains its engine, a powerhouse of horsepower and torque at all RPMs, but also a lively four-cylinder that will allow you to easily rev it out to its limiter.
– William Clavey for TopSpeed
Mazda 3 Turbo
0–60 mph 5.6 seconds
Mazda has, over the past few years, moved a couple of rungs up the premium ladder, and the 2026 Mazda 3 Sedan is a very slick-looking car, with the higher trims boasting seriously upmarket features. In its normal guise, the Mazda 3 has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 186 horsepower. This is available as either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, which will take it to 60 in either 7.3 or 7.0 seconds. In the higher trims, the Mazda 3 is available in AWD and with a 250-horsepower 2.5-liter turbo engine. These versions are only available with the six-speed automatic, and that is the one that will do 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds. The Mazda 3 is reported to be a well-balanced car, fun to drive, agile, and comfortable. The turbo version is an attractive package, giving loads of power, a luxury interior, and a reasonable price.
Throwing it hard into a corner will always be highly rewarding. Point it where you want it to go, and it behaves with as much precision and maturity as a BMW.
– William Clavey for TopSpeed
Kia K5 GT
0–60 mph 5.2 seconds
The 2026 Kia K5 looks sleek and more exciting than the other practical sedans out there, with sharp looks and aggressive daytime running lights flanking a stylish grille. But under the skin, it is more of the same: a 2.5-liter four-pot that makes 191 horsepower. And then there is the GT. There is a GT-Line with more sporty looks, and then you move on to the GT. This adds a turbo to the 2.5-liter engine to make 290 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. It is only available in front-wheel drive and with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic. It also has better brakes, a tuned suspension, and rides on 19-inch tires. If you have a brand preference, you can get the Hyundai Sonata N Line with just about identical specs.
Toyota Crown Platinum
0–60 mph 5.1 seconds
The 2026 Toyota Crown replaced the much-loved Avalon. It is an oddity of a car in several ways. It is a sedan, but it has an almost SUV-like ride height. And you get the Crown Signia, which is an SUV. The Crown on the inside is definitely more Lexus than Toyota, and it has the Lexus bias of comfort over performance. The two basic trims of the Crown come with the 2.5-liter hybrid found in the Camry, tuned to deliver 236 horsepower, which is not a lot for a car this size, but does give it 42 MPG. And then the strangeness really kicks in. The top-trim Toyota Crown Platinum gets a 340-horsepower hybrid system with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder turbo, which is less fuel efficient but way quicker. While the normal Crown options come with a CVT and soft suspension, the Platinum has a six-speed automatic and adaptive suspension for crisper handling. It is also the version of the Crown that comes closest to matching the Lexus ES in terms of its luxury interior.
Hyundai Elantra N
0–60 mph 4.8 seconds
The Hyundai Elantra is in the same segment as the Honda Civic and VW Jetta, a smaller sedan perfect for a daily drive. It has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that makes an underwhelming 147 horsepower, a 1.6-liter turbo that makes 201 horsepower, and a hybrid that makes just under 200 horsepower, but with excellent MPG. And then there is the Elantra N, which probably stands for “Not the same as other Elantras”. The 2025 Hyundai Elantra N – not to be confused with the less powerful N-Line — uses the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder used in the odd Veloster a few years back, but has an overboost feature called N Grin Shift, which increases the power to 286 horsepower. It comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission, but has an eight-speed automatic as an option, and that is the setup that delivered a 4.8-second 0-60 time. Priced in the mid-$30,000s, the Hyundai Elantra N is a lot of car at a very good price.
The Elantra N is as athletic, stiff, direct, and engaging as any of its established rivals. I love how loud the exhaust pops can be, or how muted the entire experience can become. The manual gearbox isn’t as slick or as quick as in a Honda, but it can definitely hold its own against a Golf R’s.
– William Clavey for TopSpeed
Acura TLX Type S
0–60 mph 4.6 seconds
Acura is the luxury division of Honda, and the 2025 Acura TLX competes in the same segment as the BMW 3 Series and Merc C-class, although the TLX is slightly bigger, falling between compact and mid-size. The basic model TLX is already quite spicy, with a 272-horsepower four-cylinder turbo, but then comes the Type S. The Acura TLX Type S comes with a 355-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 turbo, a 10-speed automatic transmission, a kind of adaptive all-wheel-drive called SH-AWD, and a sporty suspension setup. This Acura is probably slightly too big to qualify as a sports sedan, but it is quick, handles briskly, and has a very nice interior.
Body control is well managed, as is the level of mid-corner composure, demonstrating the TLX Type S’s expert-tuned bones, chassis, and handling, yielding an excellent behind-the-wheel experience as a sports sedan and performance vehicle.
– Chris Chin for TopSpeed
Hyundai Ioniq 6 Long Range AWD
0–60 mph 4.3 seconds
It feels unfair to use an EV in this list, but the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is different. The thing that makes the Ioniq 6 a sleeper sedan is the AWD option, where there is a motor on each axle, and this boosts the power to 320 horsepower, at the price of some battery range. The Long Range AWD looks exactly the same as the 147-horsepower entry-level trim, but it can shift to sixty in 4.3 seconds. And that is not even the end of the story. There is also an Ioniq 6 N, based on the Ioniq 5 N, that makes 601 horsepower as is, which can be boosted to 641 horsepower via the N Grin Boost. It also has a feature called the e-Shift, which simulates gear shifts via paddles on the steering column. Zero to 60 time should be under three seconds, but the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is not a sleeper sedan. It has a prominent rear wing and general setup that tells the world it is a fast sedan, in the same way the Dodge Charger does.
Sources: The EPA