Any rex or evo are good cheap fast cars..
R32 GT-R's seem sorta slow for some reason. The developers got alot of things wrong in my opinion. i.e DR30 with 280ps only cutting a low 14 sec 1/4 mile on qualifying tyres
Definatly save up the money for the black race cars as mentioned above.. makes that point in the game much easier and is the only time they are available in that color (its a sweeet angry matt black).
Wait for an Autech version Stagea to pop up... And spend money on that instead of the regular one.
The Tofu Trueno is alot of fun... Revs out to 10,000
Best drivers car on the game I reckon is the Powerhouse Amuse S2000 GT-1 or whatever its called(The expensive one) with biggest turbo u can fit and soft tyres.... awesome car.
If you want to set something up for drift start with an s13. Stage 2 turbo(Plus all supporting mods), stage 2 weight, economy road tyres, racing suspension- around 2.8 and 1.8 F/R camber. stabilizers 5. drop it on its nuts. and play around with the spring rates from there.
A second hand wheel shop opens up somewhere along the game.. Give access to some oldschool rims like SSR Longchamps and Black Reverse mesh.