That's just not true in any possible way. The handling and driving experience of a nicer sports car is absolutely nothing like a regular midranger, not to mention all the quality of life features.
I think it's truer these days than most of us would admit. The current Shelby Mustang placed only behind the McLaren 570S in Motortrend's 2016 best driver's car contest, beating out the Merc, Aston Martin, Porsche, and others[0]. The BRZ might not be fast, but it has almost universally positive reviews anyway because it handles and drives so damn well[1]. Even the $23k Ford Focus ST gets positive reviews as a great driving car[2]. You can get a fantastic sports car for well under $75k these days.
Oh I know, I have a fiesta ST myself for weekend driving and taking to the track; it's amazing. In fact I find it far more fun to drive than some much more expensive sports cars (specifically a F80 M3 owned by someone close to me). While it doesn't have anywhere near the driving joy it still doesn't hold a candle to the M3 on faster tracks.
For reference, the trackday club I belong to is doing a weekender trip to the nurburgrink in late october: I'm not taking the fiesta for that (also I don't want to drive 800km in it to get there).
