Top used V6 heroes from £3500

The V6 has found favour in all manner of cars, so here’s our pick of the best used V6 cars, arranged in alphabetical order:

It took Alfa Romeo a couple of years from introducing its 916 generation of GTV coupe and Spider before it offered these cars with the superb Busso 3.0-litre V6 engine. When it did, it was a marriage made in Heaven as the sleek, distinctive looks gained the power and soundtrack they deserved.

The Spider is generally more expensive to buy now, with prices starting at £9000 for the open-top and £6000 for the coupe. That makes the GTV the keener bargain, but the Spider lets you enjoy the V6 engine’s noises unfiltered and it’s still a brisk car with 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds.

Audi’s S models take a subtle approach and the B8 generation of S4 takes that to the point of anonymity. Yet under the bonnet is a 328bhp supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engine that will carry the saloon or Avant estate from 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds. No slouch, then, and the S4 handles, rides, and stops just as well as it performs as a family car.

Prices for the saloon begin at £9995, with the Avant commanding a £1000 premium. Make sure there are no coolant leaks, the cam covers are not seeping oil, and the crank damper pulley isn’t vibrating. With those in order, you have a great V6-powered, under-the-radar performance car.

An American muscle car without a V8 might seem like sacrilege, but the 2010-on Chevrolet Camaro with its 3.6-litre V6 engine is a crafty buy. For starters, the V6 motor produces 312bhp, rising to 323bhp in 2012, so it’s far from slow. It’s also cheaper to run if you want to use your Camaro rather than just have it as a weekend toy.

Prices in the UK vary as there are few Camaros on sale, so reckon on spending from £18,000. However, there are plenty of average mileage examples in the US from $12,000, so importing a clean title car could be a cheaper option, especially as all Camaros are left-hand drive.

Launched in 2005, the Citroen C6 was not a great sales success, but it is now rapidly pulling itself clear of being a used car and into modern classic territory. This means prices are on the up, so even a high mileage example is going to cost from £4500. Look for one that’s been pampered and you’ll need to budget at least £7500.

For that money, you get a striking executive car with super ride and comfort, and a suitably quirky interior design.  The 3.0-litre V6 petrol models are vanishingly rare in the UK, so look for a 2.7 V6 diesel and you’ll get power and decent economy combined. Check for coolant leaks and make sure the motor’s timing belt has been changed by 100,000 miles and not the original recommended 160,000-mile interval.

While most fast Fords attract premium prices, the Mondeo ST220 remains a bargain. This anomaly is all the more strange when you consider the ST220 is powered by a great sounding 3.0-litre V6 engine and nips off 0-60mph in around 7.0 seconds. It’s a superbly flexible engine, too, and makes for a great long-distance machine.

The hatchback body is the most common for the ST220, but you might be lucky and find an estate. IF you do, it will likely cost around £1000 more than the £4000 that bags a good hatch. When buying, make sure the engine is free from oil leaks and the dual mass flywheel is not vibrating, which means a replacement is imminent.

Honda got the name of its executive saloon spot on as the Legend has earned its name with unburstable reliability. That might come at the expense of some driving excitement, but if you want to cruise in comfort and refinement, few do it better than the Legend.

Much of its peerless reputation comes from the 3.5-litre V6 engine under the bonnet, which produces 296bhp, or 305bhp from 2008. In both forms, its smooth, quiet and comes with an automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive as standard. It can still get a shift on, though, with 0-60mph in 7.3 seconds and head on to 155mph flat out. Costing from £3800 in good nick, the Legend is an interesting V6-powered alternative to the usual German-made executive saloons.

The 2003 Jaguar XJ 3.0 may have had the smallest petrol engine in the range, but the 237bhp V6 was aided by the car’s relatively light weight of 1790kg. This was due to the new XJ’s all-aluminium body, and the free-revving V6 motor meant it could head from a standstill to 60mph in 7.8 seconds.

Designed by Ford, the V6 engine also offered a good balance of refinement and economy, with a claimed average economy of 27.0mpg but more than 30mpg possible in the real world, especially in distance-running. Running costs like that are matched by used prices that start at around £3800 for XJs that have been looked after.

There were a few raised eyebrows when Kia launched its Stinger saloon with a 361bhp 3.3-litre V6 engine. Surely it couldn’t give the likes of the Audi S5 a run for its money? Well, the Kia could, and it still offers a very rapid way to get around as it can accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds and hit 155mph.

The twin-turbo V6 motor sounds good and is also happy to cruise, returning around 30mpg in normal driving. On top of this, the Stinger is very well equipped, so used prices that begin around £23,000 make this an intriguing, appealing left-field V6-powered five-door sports hatch.

Mating a big V6 engine to the featherweight Lotus Exige could have gone against the grain of the sports car firm’s ethos. Yet the resulting machine instantly became the ultimate expression of the Elise-Exige chassis when it arrived in 2012. Tipping the scales at just over a tonne, its 345bhp supercharged 3.5-litre V6 from Toyota meant 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds, romping performance in any gear, and complete reliability.

As a track car, the Exige is every bit as impressive as it is on the road, and it will better supercars costing four times and more than the £40,000 a used Exige begins at.

Maserati’s third generation of Ghibli took the Italian firm into direct competition with Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Mercedes with a pair of V6 engines to power its new car. The twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol offers 345bhp, or 404bhp in the S, and either is a tempting alternative to a Jaguar XFR when prices start from £18,000.

Don’t discount the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, though. It comes with 271bhp and sees off 0-60mph in 6.3 seconds, so it’s far from slovenly. Prices for the diesel are also easier on the wallet, so reckon on spending from £14,500. With better reliability than the petrol and 50mpg average economy, the diesel still makes a strong case for itself.

The 2004 R171 generation of Mercedes SLK is a great all-round roadster and at its best with the 3.0-litre V6 engine. You have a choice of 225bhp in the 280 model, or 264bhp in the 350 that became 297bhp in 2008 when the facelifted version arrived. All of the V6s sound great and give strong performance – reckon on 0-60mph in around 5.5 seconds.

Rust is no longer a concern in the second generation SLK, but make sure the gearbox has had its oil replaced at 35,000-mile intervals. Also, avoid any car with a misfire as it can spell expensive and terminal engine failure. However, there are plenty around in fine and fit condition from £3500.

When supplies of the Rover V8 engine came to an end, Morgan replaced that model with the Ford V6-powered Roadster. It started off as a 223bhp 3.0-litre V6, moving up to a 3.7-litre unit in 2011. In the light, traditionally styled Roadster, acceleration sees the car from 0-60mph in less than 5.0 seconds and it’s great fun to drive.

Morgans tend to be pampered by owners, so you can buy with confidence and the Ford V6 motor is easy to service. Prices begin at £35,000, which is around a third of what you’ll pay for a new Plus Six.

Nissan followed up the hugely popular 350Z with the 370Z, and the key difference is denoted by the model number. This shows the V6 engine grew in size from 3.5- to 3.7-litres for the newer model, coming with 228bhp at launch to give 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds. This was also the first road car with a manual gearbox to come with rev-matching to mimic heel-and-toe down shifts.

Today, the 370Z Roadster, which arrived a year after the Coupe’s 2009 launch, is the cheaper option as prices start at £8500. If you want the Coupe, reckon on spending from £11,500 to enjoy its simple, rear-drive charms. Be careful of annual road tax and the car’s thirst however.

For the truly brave, an early 3.2 V6 Porsche Cayenne could be yours for less than £3000. The biggest fear with this age of car is not the engine but the automatic gearbox, which can shift harshly and hesitate as its control valves deteriorate.

A better bet is a second-generation Cayenne from 2009 that came with the 3.6-litre V6 producing 296bhp in standard form. There are various other V6 petrols going all the way up to the 434bhp GTS model, and there’s the turbodiesel 3.0 V6. All are durable and you can find this generation of Cayenne in good nick with average miles from around £10,000.

Range Rover had offered the Sport with a supercharged 3.0 V6 from as early as 2013. With 335bhp on hand, it was the same engine as used in the Jaguar F-type, so it could take the Sport from 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds.

However, this revvy engine was at odds with the more luxury-pointed direction of the Range Rover, so it was a slow seller even if it was £4300 cheaper than the equivalent diesel version. Now, you’ll pay from £24,000 for this oddball model.

Renault did not get off to the best of starts with the Clio V6. The Phase 1 model, as it’s now known, arrived in a blur of oversteer and V6 grunt in 2001. It quickly gained a reputation for tricky handling, so Renault ushered in the Phase 2 version in 2003 with a longer wheelbase, wider track and much revised suspension.

Along with a power hike from 225- to 255bhp, the Phase 2 was a revelation and everything this car should have been from the start. With its classic status firmly established, this is reflected in Clio V6 prices that start from £45,000.

Saab and Aero in the same name badge is always e beguiling combination, and the 9-3 2.8 Turbo Aero looked to have it all. Here was a sleek Swedish saloon, estate or convertible with a 250bhp V6 engine offering 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds and stomping in-gear acceleration.

The reality was a car that struggled to cope with this much potency driving through just the front wheels, which is why Saab also offered an all-wheel drive version that is much better. Four-wheel drive versions of the 9-3 2.8 Turbo Aero cost from £4500 now, with the front-drive models about £1000 less.

For all its funky looks, the Toyota FJ Cruiser is still a big SUV, so it needs an equally large engine to cope with its near-two tonne weight. This comes in the form of a 4.0-litre V6 that produces 239bhp and 278lb ft of torque, so the FJ is more than handy off-road.

On the road, the FJ Cruiser is less impressive to drive, but its styling will still win many fans. It’s full of quirky details, not leas the rear-hinged mini doors to offer slightly better access to the rear seats. If the FJ takes your fancy, you’ll spend from around £22,000 on a decent one, but remember they are all left-hand drive as it was never officially sold in the UK or many other countries.

Four-wheel drive, 321bhp and a turbocharged V6 engine. Sounds like another quick car from Audi, but these are the stats for the Vauxhall Insignia VXR. Its turbo’d 2.8 V6 provided 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds, though it often feels more leisurely as there’s no sudden rush of turbo boost.

With secure, all-wheel drive handling, and the choice of saloon, hatch and estate bodies, the Insignia VXR is sound alternative to an Audi S4. Prices start at £6500 for decent ones, which makes the Vauxhall all the more worthy of consideration.

Before the R became the leader of the pack in the Volkswagen Golf range, there was the R32. The original Mk4 model of R32 is now a collector’s item, so we’ll look to the R32 based on the Mk5 Golf that ran from 2005 until 2009. It uses a sweet-sounding 3.2-litre V6 engine that generates 247bhp.

VW offered the R32 with a six-speed manual gearbox that saw it from 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds, or with the company’s DSG dual-clutch transmission that reduced that time to 6.2 seconds. Either way, all R32s came with four-wheel drive and are great to drive. A good one will cost from around £5500 today.