Enthusiast Car in Malaysia for less than RM100,000

There are people that would like to buy enthusiast car, manual transmission, good handling and adequate power. The problem is Malaysia.
Why?
1. Import duty makes most enthusiast car out of reach to most as a new car
2. Since the cars are already expensive, general Malaysian car buyer thinking is that they don't want to pay a lot to do someone else's work, which is why they want the car to work for them by having an automatic transmission. It really works out that way, if I can get someone to fuck my wife, why would I..... wait??? Is that right?

So, I did some research with my very own opinion on what would be a nice enthusiast car. They are not recommendation as you would need to test drive and do more research on them.

The criteria are:
1. It must cost less than RM100,000
2. It must be not more than 10 years old, meaning 2005 and above at this time of writing
3. It must have a manual

If you plan to get a loan to finance your car, keep in mind that most auto-hire purchase don't do well for cars that are more than 7 years, so you might want to reduce the age of the vehicle.
Another note is that with hire purchases, the interest rates are higher as compared to new purchase. So if your initial budget to have a new car is RM100,000; best to drop your budget to RM90,000 if you are buying used with a loan.

With no alphabetical and correlated order, here is my list.
1. Mini Cooper S 1.6 (2005, 2008) RM65,000 to RM70,000
2. Honda CR-Z (2011-2012) RM75,000 to RM95,000
3. Honda DC5 Type R (2005) RM95,000
4. Subaru Impreza STI Version 8 (2005) RM90,000 to RM95,000
5. Subaru Impreza STI Version 9 (2006) RM100,000
6. Mazda RX-8 (2006) RM55,000 to RM70,000
7. Mazda 3 MPS (2012) RM95,000
8. Mitsubishi EVO 7 (2005) RM80,000
9. Nissan 350z (2005) RM85,000
10. Suzuki Swift Sport (2008 - 2010) RM45,000 to RM60,000
11. Proton Satria NEO R3 Lotus (2010) RM65,000 to RM75,000
12. Proton Inspira 1.8 (2010-2015) RM45,000 to RM80,000

So these are the list, and ouch on the depreciation of my car.
If it was my money with no consideration of other factors?
I would go for the Subaru STI Version 8 with the special edition, (man! I really would get this car if I work in KL)
the Mini Cooper S seems like a nice option if it was primary your wife's car and I would really like it as an occasional driver.
The Subaru STI V9 is a solid second choice,
the DC5 Type R is also great provided you can get the specialize Type-R parts,
CR-Z is fairly new and is a current production (sorta). It drives great.
RX-8 is an awesome choice and a great car for the money (the original 4 door coupe - suicide doors!) if you can find a reliable motor in the car with its rotor seals that are not worn out yet.
350Z would kill you with the road tax of more than RM3,600/year in West Malaysia but would be a great car if you are in East Malaysia where road tax is cheaper
Suzuki Swift Sport would also be a great choice, however I was never drawn to it.
EVO, I only found one at the ads, and might seem a little dodgy on the reliability wise as per normal EVOs.
I've forgotten the Mazda 3 MPS. Did they even come to Malaysia? Why are they here? How come I have never heard of them? I would say that the Mazda 3 MPS are neck in neck with the DC5 Type-R in terms of fun Front Wheel Drive car, but I would need to test both cars.
The Satria Neo R3 Lotus? Unless you are less than 5'2", you would not be comfortable driving that car as the seating position is wrong.
Finally the Inspira? It's the only one when you can still get it new and recheck after 2 years and cry at your depreciation.

That is my list. You could broaden your list, and may include
1. Toyota MR-S, but getting a manual version might have you search for older models. (the one I found was only auto)
2. Basically more choices on BMW like the E60 530i if you don't mind the auto. But the thing about BMW is that, unless I'm getting the E30, E36, E46, I wouldn't want to rush into getting into a BMW at this time of life. I will, eventually and wouldn't mind having an automatic BMW by then.
3. More choices if you can comprise on a automatic, but, if that's the case, I recommend a Camry. Why? Because, if you just want to cruise around and have your neighbours know that you've made it, that is the car for you. Yup! That's the whole point of driving an automatic in Malaysia, letting the car do all the stuff because I'm not a peasant any longer. (I fully understand the appeal of the Camry as it is a cheap, somewhat luxurious car with great reliability, basically like what past Mercedes are like, without the badging)