I mean, at this price point, I am sure you could get an M1 or M2 MacBook Air base model. Why an older MacBook? I am not sure if MacBooks post 2015 can be upgraded, at least I know their RAM can’t be, others could clarify if its possible to upgrade storage (knowing Apple, they might make you jump through multiple hoops for this).
The M series offer superior performance to Intel and moreover, I think the Intel models are being phased out now, the next update (coming this Fall) would be the last one for Intel models.