The BMW 5 Series is an extremely well-rounded car. On the one hand, it’s a posh set of wheels that tells the world your life’s doing just fine thanks very much, and on the other, it’s a practical car that fits into family life with ease. Equally, it’s very comfortable, but also great fun to drive.

Much of the latter is down to the fact that it's rear-wheel drive (unless you choose one of the xDrive four-wheel drive models, that is). It has a sharpness and poise that belies it considerable size, and that's helped by scalpel-sharp steering and a range of powerful engines. Yes, the latest Five is brilliant, but we'd save ourselves a few quid and have an example of the previous generation, which is just as good to drive.

Interior quality is excellent and the BMW iDrive infotainment system is one of the best with pretty graphics and logical controls. Tall adults will be happy in the front and the back and the boot is large enough for a fortnight away with the kids.

The Mazda MX-5 is the very embodiment of everything that's good about a well-designed rear-wheel-drive car. It’s relatively affordable to buy and run and comes with a soft-top roof that drops manually in seconds.

It’s the car's lack of complexity that makes the MX-5 such fun. Its relatively soft suspension and low grip levels make it relatively easy to slide around in bends, while its steering is quick and the short gearshift is one of the best fitted to any car. You also get a choice of fizzy petrol engines that are quick, but not needlessly so.

It feels right on the inside, too. The driving position is reasonably low and you feel sporty looking out over the long bonnet. The small steering wheel is nice to hold, and you get clear dials that are easy to glance at. Even cabin quality is pretty decent, and you get infotainment with navigation. What more could you ask for?

If you want a rear-wheel-drive car that feels very rear-wheel drive, then the Ford Mustang is well worth considering. Its powerful engine means that getting sideways couldn’t be easier, and its front-engined layout also helps it feel pretty loose at the back.

Power comes from a 5.0-litre V8, which has lots of torque and a punchy top end that has a bassy growl when you stretch it. What's more, there’s a degree of delicacy to this car that was missing in Mustangs of old. That said, you do get a line-lock function designed specifically for doing smoky burnouts.

Inside, the Mustang doesn’t feel or look as nice as a European coupe, but then you do get lots of equipment for your money and also plenty of space. The Mustang has room enough for four adults and its boot is large.

If you like the idea of driving a car that can be a bit of a handful then the Mercedes-AMG C63 will be right up your street. The latest one has a four-cylinder plug-in hybrid powertrain, and that's why you'll be wanting its V8-powered predecessor. Its twin-turbocharged eight-pot engine sends loads of power and torque to the rear wheels, so, if you turn off the traction control, the Mercedes can feel pretty twitchy.

Keep it on, though, and you’ll do just fine. The C63 might be based on the standard Mercedes C-Class but all the bits that matter – its brakes, suspension and steering – are upgraded, and as a result, it feels alive in your hands in a way the standard car never does. 

Despite this, the C63 can still play at being a posh executive saloon very well. Inside, it looks and feels very nice indeed, and the pair of large infotainment screens have high-definition graphics. It has room inside for four and the boot is large enough for a set of suitcases. 

The old Toyota GR Supra was made famous by the Fast and the Furious film franchise, which saw a group of car nuts tune and race their cars on the mean streets of the United States (and at one point, Tokyo, randomly). As a result, you might be surprised to learn that the latest version of the car shares many parts – including its engine – with the BMW Z4.

And this 340PS six-cylinder unit is just the ticket in an agile rear-wheel-drive sports car, particularly when it's been proven to produce a lot more horsepower than Toyota owns up to. As a result, you get a car that can be well behaved if you want it to be, or pretty lairy if you don’t.

The Supra looks pretty BMW-esque on the inside, too. In fact, the dashboard is nearly identical to the Z4’s, as is the infotainment, although in reality, that all just means it feels posh and is easy to use. Okay, so the Supra’s only a two-seater, but it has plenty of space and its boot is large for a sports car. 

The Subaru BRZ and its sister car, the Toyota GT86, are the embodiment of what rear-wheel drive should mean in a car. They’ve both been set up to be great fun in corners. They’re also relatively cheap to buy and run especially now they've been around for quite a few years.

While most new cars grip harder in bends than the car they superseded, Subaru set out to do the exact opposite with the BRZ. The company wanted its sports car to slip and slide in bends, and so fitted fuel-saving - and thus less grippy - tyres to help it do exactly that. Factor in its limited-slip differential, which makes the car slide more predictably, and you have the perfect machine in which to master drifting.

It’s also perfect because it doesn’t cost a fortune to run. Tyres are cheap, and it’s 2.0-litre flat-four engine doesn’t guzzle fuel like some sports cars. Inside, the interior is sporty and hard-wearing, while you get decent infotainment, a pair of small rear seats and a reasonably large boot.

Most luxury cars like the Jaguar XJ are rear-wheel drive, but we have chosen the Jaguar thanks to its ability to shrink around you in corners to make it feel like you’re driving a much smaller car. Its rear-wheel-drive setup makes the XJ feel balanced in corners, its suspension doesn’t feel remote from the road like other large luxury cars, and you get quick and accurate steering. You also get a decent range of engines covering everything from a 3.0-litre diesel to a supercharged 5.0-litre petrol.

Inside, the Jaguar feels opulent and cool, andnot suffocatingly retro like the car it replaced. Large panels of wood trim are bathed in mood lighting, while many of the buttons and switches are made of metal. You also get a huge amount of space for four adults – with the option of an even roomier long-wheelbase version – and a large boot.

BMW’s old ‘ultimate driving machine’ slogan was a subtle hint that almost all of its cars were rear-wheel drive, but now, those are starting to dwindle in number due to smaller models like the 1 Series and 2 Series Active Tourer moving to front-wheel drive, and many other models being offered with xDrive four-wheel drive.

The latter does apply to the 2 Series Coupe, if you order it in range-topping M240i spec, which has four driven wheels to control the astonishing 374PS put out by its 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine. The good news, however, is that you don't need all that power to have fun. The entry-level 220i version, with its  184PS 2.0-litre petrol engine is more than quick enough to put a smile on your face, while its rear-drive chassis has all the deftness and playfulness you could ever wish for.

Inside, the 2 Series feels as fancy as any of BMW's bigger models, and it’s even reasonably practical for a small coupe, with usable rear seats and a decent-sized boot.

Alfa had used front-wheel drive for the majority of its cars since the mid-1990s, so the Alfa Romeo Giulia marked a return to rear-wheel drive for one of its mass-appeal models when it was launched in 2016.

Why go back to rear-wheel drive? Alfa Romeo wanted to reinject the sportiness its cars were known for in the past, and so fitted rear-wheel drive and a laser-quick steering rack to do it. The result was an Alfa Romeo saloon worthy of its racing heritage.

Inside, heavily cowled dials and circular air vents keep the sporty theme alive, even if the plastic quality and washed-out sat-nav display isn’t a patch on what you get in a German saloon. There is space for you and three passengers, though, and the boot is a good size, too.

Yes, the latest Porsche 718 Cayman is a car with utterly scintillating handling, thanks to it's rear-drive, mid-engined layout and its razor-sharp steering. However, for the purposes of this article, we're looking for the full package of rear-wheel-drive thrills, and for us, that's delivered by the previous version of the Cayman, launched in 2013.

Why? Because while the 718's four-cylinder turbocharged engines were both cleaner and more powerful than the six-cylinder units fitted to our chosen car, they lacked the aural appeal and the sheer downright character, which in our book detracted from the overall experience. The previous Cayman is still fantastically fast, too, and has every ounce of the cornering poise and adjustability of its successor. For sheer driving thrills, it doesn't get any better than this. Chuck in a plush cabin and a flash image, and you have just about the perfect sports car.