Thursday 9th April 2015

Forgotten Japanese Heroes: Delivery Miles

A weak yen is making some neglected but highly talented cars very affordable...

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You could be forgiven thinking that the Japanese performance car has long since died and been buried. The Japanese manufacturers have only themselves to blame, hell-bent as they seem on killing off such iconic badges as the Lancer Evo, Celica, MR2, Supra and MPS.

While we wait for the new Civic Type R, NSX and MX-5, it seems we'll just have to console ourselves with memories of Far Eastern greats. Or will we? There are still some fantastic Japanese performance tools around, even today - and a favourable yen/pound exchange rate means you really shouldn't ignore them.

Far more appealing at GT86 money

Naughty but NISMO
Nissan's 370Z is possibly the last of the old-school bruiser sports cars - none more so than the NISMO version which we've recently tested. With its bodykit, big spoiler, Rays alloys, NISMO exhaust and upgraded interior, it's a 370Z with the full-on warpaint treatment.

At its £36,995 price tag, the NISMO's appeal is rarefied, but at £28,995 - some £8K off the list price - it's got a lot more going for it. A brand new NISMO 370Z for the price of an Audi A3 diesel? Don't mind if I do...

What of the Subaru Impreza? Reports of its demise in recent times have proven premature, and while the Impreza name may have shuffled off this mortal coil, the STI badge very much retains the 'STIng' in its tail. Ahem. As you may have noticed, we're running a WRX STI on the fleet and finding it surprisingly good fun, both on track and road.

There's no questioning the STI's £28,995 list price for competitiveness, considering its mighty performance credentials. So it's not surprising that discounts are pretty much off the cards, but at least you can get one with no wait at all - like this brand-new in-stock 2015 white example. Just like Dan's, in fact.

£6K off here not to be sniffed at

GT-R deals - really?
Another car readily available with immediate delivery is the Nissan GT-R - and there's even the prospect of a bit of money off one. Celebrated GT-R specialist Middlehurst Motorsport is offering a 15-plate GT-R Recaro; though it's not brand new, it might as well be with just 300 miles on the clock. Priced at £72,995, that's a saving of around £6K on a similarly specced new example.

Sub-£20K delight
Here's a more leftfield Jap. I genuinely thought you couldn't buy a Honda CR-Z brand new any more. Disappointing UK sales pushed it off the new car price lists some time ago, which is a shame as it's actually far better than it's usually given credit for, and it's as 'eco' a sports coupe as you can get. Trouble is, the CR-Z was never a £22K car. So this good-as-new metallic black example, with just 52 miles on the clock and a '64' plate on it looks appealingly priced at £17,000.

And there's more. We've recently covered deals on the Nissan Juke NISMO RS and Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 - all of them available for at or around the £20K mark brand new. And I bet you'll find your tongue is made of silver if you pop along to your local Mazda dealer and ask about one of the last of the Mk3 MX-5s...

Yup, now is undoubtedly a great time to go Japanese. Yen-know it makes sense. [Written warning in the post - Ed.]

[Theophany]

I've always had a soft spot for the CRZ. Shame it just seems a bit...gutless. If it was knocking on, say, 180bhp with the hybrid drivetrain I'd be really keen. Jazz performance in what seems to have been designed with the Type R lot in mind doesn't make a lot of sense to me...