Japanese performance for under 10k

[FiftyTwo52]

Looking for a fun car. I have a practical daily (Saab 9-3 aero wagon) which is fine as a motorway cruiser but the responsiveness and weight make it less engaging on twistier roads. On B-roads I find myself missing my MX-5; it was a joy to throw around, if a little underpowered.

So what should I get to fill the need for a fun weekender, within the constraints below:

• Japanese (just like 'em. Gran Turismo is probably to blame)
• RWD or AWD
• light (or at least doesn't feel heavy and unresponsive)
• faster than an MX5
• less than £10k

I'll be working on it myself for the routine jobs, and i'm not afraid of making a few tweaks to have a better car. A track-prepped Impreza is hands-down the best car I've ever experienced so there's something to be said about modifying a car to make it properly sorted.

Cars I'm considering are:

MR2 (SW20) - Turbo or V6 for sure. Worried about twitchy handling, or is it not as bad as people make out?

300ZX -Six cylinders plus two turbos is a seductive equation. But is it too heavy? I also hear they're awful to work on.

200SX - A lighter Nissan, but drift tax puts the prices up. Hard to find a good one?

S2K - great engine and top-down motoring. A faster MX-5. Pricey. Honda haven't left much that needs tweaking (that's part of the fun, right?)

Have I missed any other options? Outside of "sell the daily and get an STi wagon"?

[exelero]

Toyota Aristo- Lexus GS300 with 2jz twin turbo
Toyota Crown- Same
Skyline?

[JQ]

£7,500 should get you a totally sorted +300bhp MX5. You'd just have to be very patient waiting for one to turn up. My 280bhp Mk1 was a blast.

[bennettse2025]

Aristo would be a scream and a little different. However it might not be as tight in the corners as you'd like considering you're lusting after an MX-5 replacement. Nissan Silvia is something else to consider

[Olivera]

I'd go 200sx/Silvia S14 or S15.

S2000 is another option, but despite a great drivetrain the chassis and steering are distinctly mediocre.

[designforlife]

any specific reason it has to be RWD?

My DC5 handles far, far better than my mx5 ever did, and that was properly set up on decent coilovers.

[stevekoz]

I'm going to go left field a little from the current suggestions - Subaru Impreza Type R.

First, well its a Subaru - not a modern mass market subaru, its a classic and its a 3 door, not quite a coupe but certainly not a hatchback - it lives somewhere in-between. Open deck block. 280bhp. 1240kg and good for power to weight of about 230bhp per tonne and sub 5 0-60?

Maybe a future classic and therefore depreciation isn't a factor either. Definitely fun for those b-road blasts but with the added security of awd. But you also get the benefit of the adjustable diff so can if you wish make it more rear wheel biased for that bit more fun.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Impreza-1997-Ver...



Slightly over budget perhaps on this one but its the slightly nicer v5
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-Subaru-Impreza-2-0...

and if you wanted to go very much a bit over your budget -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Impreza-2-0-P1-L...

But for that you get something quite rare and definitely a modern classic that is already going up in value. But still has a lot of motoring left in it.

Edited by stevekoz on Friday 6th April 09:28

[Nickp82]

RX-8 R3? £5000 buys you a very good one

[ZX10R NIN]

370Z these drive well, I'd say test drive one you may be surprised.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-NISSAN-370Z-3-7-V6...

EVO7

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

RX-7

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.5 Impreza STI Spec D

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

2.0 STI

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

330S

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

RX-8 R3

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Skyline GTS-T

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-skyline-r32-gtst...

350Z Supercharged

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2003-v1-Nismo-Edition-N...

R33 GT-R

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/nissan-skyline-r33-gtr-...

[SarGara]

ZX10R NIN said:

370Z these drive well, I'd say test drive one you may be surprised.
R33 GT-R

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/nissan-skyline-r33-gtr-...

No chance of picking up a R33 GTR in decent condition for around 10k, ~20k seems to be the going rate.

[Sammyp123]

I've had a number of Japanese performance cars, but always go back to wanting another pulsar GTI-R. You would get a decent example for £10k.

[aka_kerrly]

My picks would be:
Honda S2000- if you want a cabriolet and a stunning NA engine that is a league above a MX5- with your budget though there are rotrex supercharged S2000 that pack >350hp which take them into the serious fun category.

Nissan Silvia S15 - if you want a "relatively" young rwd turbo coupe at the lighter end of the weight scale with plenty of potential in the 4cyl

Nissan Skyline R32/3 GTS-T - if you want the 90s icon RWD coupe in the middle range weight and the bonus of a 6cyl with huge tuning potential

Toyota Supra - 3.0 N/A an manual with a £10k budget in less you scourer Japan ! clearly slower than any of the 3 above with 230hp pushing 1400kg.

300zx/3000GTO/Soarers are also worth investigating to but finding ones with manual gearboxes is a little harder.

[FiftyTwo52]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Aristo and Soarer seemed a bit heavy (although with a 2JZ or 1UZ you're not likely to notice in a straight line). That said, you did remind me that the Chaser exists. Rare, mind you!

Just how tatty are R32/R33 Skylines in this price range? The R32 is a handsome car in 3-door form and seems to tick the right boxes.

I had considered the turbo MX5 route. To make your own isn't cheap (the BBR Stage 1 kit for the NC is £5k alone) although if one came up second-hand, I wouldn't refuse...

No-one had a MR2?

[Sammyp123]

FiftyTwo52 said:

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Aristo and Soarer seemed a bit heavy (although with a 2JZ or 1UZ you're not likely to notice in a straight line). That said, you did remind me that the Chaser exists. Rare, mind you!

Just how tatty are R32/R33 Skylines in this price range? The R32 is a handsome car in 3-door form and seems to tick the right boxes.

I had considered the turbo MX5 route. To make your own isn't cheap (the BBR Stage 1 kit for the NC is £5k alone) although if one came up second-hand, I wouldn't refuse...

No-one had a MR2?

I had an MR2 Turbo at the same time as a JDM Integra. The MR2 was an absolute animal and a hoot to drive, but it bit you really hard when your driver skill ran out...................which I found out.

[SebringMan]

FiftyTwo52 said:

Just how tatty are R32/R33 Skylines in this price range? The R32 is a handsome car in 3-door form and seems to tick the right boxes.

Rust will be the big problem. It being out longer in Japan will help but not much.

A £10k R32 will still be potentially painful in GTR guise. I've been so tempted to get one at times!

[Integroo]

aka_kerrly said:

My picks would be:
Honda S2000- if you want a cabriolet and a stunning NA engine that is a league above a MX5- with your budget though there are rotrex supercharged S2000 that pack >350hp which take them into the serious fun category.

You'd barely get a half decent AP1 for 10k nowadays.

[Zetec-S]

designforlife said:

any specific reason it has to be RWD?

My DC5 handles far, far better than my mx5 ever did, and that was properly set up on decent coilovers.

I appreciate it doesn't tick the RWD/AWD spec, but I'd have to 2nd this. Prices are still reasonable - if I had the space/money one would be on my shortlist:

https://torque-gt.co.uk/car/honda-integra-type-r-6...

[designforlife]

Don't see many silver ones, that's a peach.

They're going to get silly expensive in the next few years, so it's getting toward that now or never point.

Pretty good residuals for a car that was £24k brand new in 2002.

[Zetec-S]

I remember it was reading your thread when you picked up your DC5 a couple of years ago which got me hankering for one. Such a nice car, especially in red.

I reckon values will skyrocket in about 3 years, mainly because in 4 years time we hope to move to a bigger place with room for me to park a 2nd car. Sods law says I'll get the room but the cost will put one out of my reach

[designforlife]

Mine's worth about £1500 more than i paid for it now, and i've only had it 18 months or so.

As an investment, fast hondas are where it's at, s2000s, dc5s and FD2s are all climbing nicely.