Japanese 5 door hatch/saloon between £7-12k
Discussion
Evening all,
I’m just wondering if I’ve missed or discounted anything Japanese and family-friendly, but still a bit interesting and exciting?
Basic situation is that before long, in the next 12-18 months or so, chances are we’ll be looking at starting a family, and the GT86 will have to go or be retired from daily action. I did start a thread a while back pitting the Z32 Swift Sport against an FN2 Type R, and the relative age of the Swift along with its 5 doors seemed to win out, in my mind at least.
I’m missing the sweet spot between that and an FK2 Type R to be honest, would love one of those, but even selling the GT86 I couldn’t really justify the finances in stretching to one of those. Is there anything 5-door that falls in between the £7k-£17k gap between these two? I’d probably have to max-out at £12k actually, as the title suggests.
Impreza WRX hatch, maybe? Don’t want to go too old, probably a 2009-onwards FN2 Championship White or Sapphire Blue is the oldest I’m interested in.
Cheers.
I’m just wondering if I’ve missed or discounted anything Japanese and family-friendly, but still a bit interesting and exciting?
Basic situation is that before long, in the next 12-18 months or so, chances are we’ll be looking at starting a family, and the GT86 will have to go or be retired from daily action. I did start a thread a while back pitting the Z32 Swift Sport against an FN2 Type R, and the relative age of the Swift along with its 5 doors seemed to win out, in my mind at least.
I’m missing the sweet spot between that and an FK2 Type R to be honest, would love one of those, but even selling the GT86 I couldn’t really justify the finances in stretching to one of those. Is there anything 5-door that falls in between the £7k-£17k gap between these two? I’d probably have to max-out at £12k actually, as the title suggests.
Impreza WRX hatch, maybe? Don’t want to go too old, probably a 2009-onwards FN2 Championship White or Sapphire Blue is the oldest I’m interested in.
Cheers.
Edited by AnhBanhBao on Tuesday 28th March 18:42
Ooooh saloon's: I can thoroughly recommend Toyota Crown's ~ I have a 12th gen which I paid under your min-budget (through TorqueGT who took care of the whole import process & legwork) and it's been so good it's the longest I've ever owned a car! They are becoming more popular here so you might find one that's already here.
In practical terms, 5 seat - lots of luxuries (air-con, electric everything) and is lexus running gear so anyone can service it. On the family side: has isofix mounting points and a big boot (takes pram/all of little ones stuff/clothes and the boot is full). I have the 3.5V6 which gets around 25mpg pootling around but will increase massively to 30+ on long motorway journeys. When you're not with the family can also do 0-62 in 4.9 :biggrin: the other engines are from a 2.5V6 and some come with hybrid's.
Personally I'd go for a 13th Gen (2008-2012) with your budget - you can have a choice of engines and if you're willing to sacrifice boot space then can go for a hybrid, this gen suffers less from the dash cracking like mine does and has better infotainment connectivity. Below is an example shape of one, if you'd like to see more pictures then try goo-net is a good place to go but beware it's a rabbit hole of JDM fun.
Here is mine which is a 60th anniversary
In practical terms, 5 seat - lots of luxuries (air-con, electric everything) and is lexus running gear so anyone can service it. On the family side: has isofix mounting points and a big boot (takes pram/all of little ones stuff/clothes and the boot is full). I have the 3.5V6 which gets around 25mpg pootling around but will increase massively to 30+ on long motorway journeys. When you're not with the family can also do 0-62 in 4.9 :biggrin: the other engines are from a 2.5V6 and some come with hybrid's.
Personally I'd go for a 13th Gen (2008-2012) with your budget - you can have a choice of engines and if you're willing to sacrifice boot space then can go for a hybrid, this gen suffers less from the dash cracking like mine does and has better infotainment connectivity. Below is an example shape of one, if you'd like to see more pictures then try goo-net is a good place to go but beware it's a rabbit hole of JDM fun.
Here is mine which is a 60th anniversary
Tommo's choice would probably be top for me, quality, power, great cars for the money, big fan.
Your budget brings plenty of options. Anything manual or turbo or special will be a premium in general. Some ideas to throw in, I've tried to keep it to newer stuff but not newer than 2013 to avoid any registration issues.
Japan has a load of estates and people carriers as you know, I'll try to avoid those just because you said hatch or saloon.
Honda Legend, 310hp 3.7, 4wd, great cars and not expensive
Honda Accord Euro R, 220hp K20A, 6 speed, bit older, usually 2005ish
Lexus GS or LS, can come with the 3.5v6 in the GS or V8 in both. GS460 might be a shout as parts are easily available here
Lexus IS350, 3.5v6, 315hp, smallish saloon, goes well with the 3.5 (ISF may be doable for top budget)
Mazdaspeed Alexa (3 MPS basically), can get one here anyway, but might be an option
Nissan Fuga or Mitsubishi Proudia, an infiniti basically, 3.7v6 and can have 4wd, rival to the Crown. Rare V8 available, cheap cars
Nissan Skyline Crossover, 3.7v6, 330hp, more of an SUV but its not huge, might be an interesting "hatch" alternative
Subaru Legacy GT, 280hp to 300hp depending on age/model. Great cars, cheap too (3.6 flat 6 version available too in the Outback)
Toyota Crown Majesta, 4.6v8, cheap, similar to the Lexus LS
Toyota Mark X, good looking salooon, 3.5v6 with 315hp, similar to the Crown
Toyota Blade Master, talked about a lot, an Auris with a 3.5v6 basically, not expensive but really quite different as a package
That might give you ideas to start with. Lots of other options out there, loads more wagons and minivans with power
Your budget brings plenty of options. Anything manual or turbo or special will be a premium in general. Some ideas to throw in, I've tried to keep it to newer stuff but not newer than 2013 to avoid any registration issues.
Japan has a load of estates and people carriers as you know, I'll try to avoid those just because you said hatch or saloon.
Honda Legend, 310hp 3.7, 4wd, great cars and not expensive
Honda Accord Euro R, 220hp K20A, 6 speed, bit older, usually 2005ish
Lexus GS or LS, can come with the 3.5v6 in the GS or V8 in both. GS460 might be a shout as parts are easily available here
Lexus IS350, 3.5v6, 315hp, smallish saloon, goes well with the 3.5 (ISF may be doable for top budget)
Mazdaspeed Alexa (3 MPS basically), can get one here anyway, but might be an option
Nissan Fuga or Mitsubishi Proudia, an infiniti basically, 3.7v6 and can have 4wd, rival to the Crown. Rare V8 available, cheap cars
Nissan Skyline Crossover, 3.7v6, 330hp, more of an SUV but its not huge, might be an interesting "hatch" alternative
Subaru Legacy GT, 280hp to 300hp depending on age/model. Great cars, cheap too (3.6 flat 6 version available too in the Outback)
Toyota Crown Majesta, 4.6v8, cheap, similar to the Lexus LS
Toyota Mark X, good looking salooon, 3.5v6 with 315hp, similar to the Crown
Toyota Blade Master, talked about a lot, an Auris with a 3.5v6 basically, not expensive but really quite different as a package
That might give you ideas to start with. Lots of other options out there, loads more wagons and minivans with power
Thanks everyone - for some reason I’ve always had a mental block on going after an import, whether it’s already in the UK or not. Unjustifiably so, probably!
The Crown does look great, and I’ve always been a Subaru fan, there’s a great-looking Forester STI just down the road from me. Plenty to consider.
The Crown does look great, and I’ve always been a Subaru fan, there’s a great-looking Forester STI just down the road from me. Plenty to consider.
AnhBanhBao said:
Thanks everyone - for some reason I’ve always had a mental block on going after an import, whether it’s already in the UK or not. Unjustifiably so, probably!
I don't know about unjustified, insurance on the Crown is double what I'd pay for a Lexus GS350 (the same running gear) and you have to run it on 98ron+ so when fuel prices were mental it was painful. For me they are insignificant in a very enjoyable car & ownership experience so they're easily ignored, even more so when I turn on the car on the 24th/25th December and the dash lady wishes me "Merry Christmas" 
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