And let's not forget the Miata! The best compromise IMO is to have a dedicated sports car (2-seater, manual transmission, low, light, optionally with ridiculous

And let's not forget the Miata! The best compromise IMO is to have a dedicated sports car (2-seater, manual transmission, low, light, optionally with ridiculous power depending on budget) and a second vehicle for everything else, like a Honda Element (wish they still made those, compact but roomy, handles well for what it is, truck bed liner in the interior, many seats if you need them) or a quad-cab pickup if you need to e.g. tow heavier stuff. There are some ideas like fast station wagons (Volvo v40 Polestar for ~$60k, automatic only, WRX STI wagon that they don't make anymore, E63 AMG wagon at >$100k also automatic only), fast trucks (SVT Raptor, Chevy SSR, SRT10 RAM), or hot hatches (A45 AMG, M140i, Audi RS1, Megane Trophy-R, Astra VXR, Leon Cupra, Civic Type R, none of which are available in the US...we get the GLA45 which is higher and handles worse, and the M240i which is a coupe), sporty SUVs (Cayenne, Macan, X5M, etc who cares), but all make huge compromises and end up mostly being heavy and/or expensive. For ~$50k new, you could have a real sports car and a real truck or utility vehicle.