Something like a Seat Mii FR Line, VW Up Beats or Kia Picanto GT Line gives you a sporty look without costing a lot in fuel or insurance.

A Suzuki Swift Sport would do the same, but with more performance, and fuel and insurance costs to match. A Fiat Panda 100hp would be similar, but hard to find one still in good order.

If you like the look of a CR-Z, you could look for a 3 door Citroen C4 from 2004-2010. I don't know how reliable they are (especially at this age), but they have the same cut off coupe styling.

Finally, maybe a Kia Proceed.

Edited by Adampr on 18/09/2022 at 22:59

If by cars you like the look of, you're thinking of better looking hatchbacks as opposed to a sports car, convertible etc. there isn't necessarily a huge hit in terms of cost to running it as many are just the same underneath as a more ordinary looking car.

The CR-Z is fairly niche, so possibly a bit risky in terms of finding a good one and then a garage who can maintain it properly, but there are others which are basically just a more stylish version of a common hatchback. For example looking at some of the more stylish hatchbacks now coming up to 8-10 years old so in this price rance, the Volvo C30 shares many of its mechanical parts with a Ford Focus, the VW Scirocco is a restyled VW Golf, and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is on some fairly generic Fiat platform. Even the Peugeot RCZ which most people would think of as a sports car is based on the same platform as the very ordinary (and really ugly!) Peugeot 308.

Having said all of that, as others have also said look at the cost of insurance before choosing anything. It's not necessarily always what you expect though some cars are just seen as higher risk for younger drivers even though they are no more exotic or powerful than others.