JDM MPVs - Whats Good/Whats Not etc
Discussion
I might need to buy an MPV and that makes me a bit sad. Looking at UKDM stuff, the Touran and 2 Series Gran Tourer tick some boxes but the Touran especially is so mundane I'd be worried about falling asleep driving it which has led me to look at what JDM stuff is out there as there seems to be a growing number of JDM MPVs on our roads.
Theres some must-haves I'm looking for - auto gearbox (which they all seem to have) and a power tailgate (not idea what has this if any but given they seem to have power sliding doors etc, I'm assuming some/lots do?).
So what are the good ones to look at? Don't need 3 rows of seats as the boot will be used for a wheelchair. Quite like the styling of the Toyota Vellfire but seen in pics that some of the interior switches are still in Japanese (weirdly with some in English). Is that something I'd just need to live with (not too fussed as long as I know what they do!). Not new to JDM cars but the ones I've had previously have been far older/simpler than what I'm looking at now (which in turn seem to be spaceships vs European MPVs of a similar vintage).
Finally, any good importers to look at? Had a quick look at Torque GT's site earlier...
Theres some must-haves I'm looking for - auto gearbox (which they all seem to have) and a power tailgate (not idea what has this if any but given they seem to have power sliding doors etc, I'm assuming some/lots do?).
So what are the good ones to look at? Don't need 3 rows of seats as the boot will be used for a wheelchair. Quite like the styling of the Toyota Vellfire but seen in pics that some of the interior switches are still in Japanese (weirdly with some in English). Is that something I'd just need to live with (not too fussed as long as I know what they do!). Not new to JDM cars but the ones I've had previously have been far older/simpler than what I'm looking at now (which in turn seem to be spaceships vs European MPVs of a similar vintage).
Finally, any good importers to look at? Had a quick look at Torque GT's site earlier...
Sorry I can't give much info on specific specs but the ones I know are the Nissan Elgrand and the Toyota's Vellfire and Alphard, could take a look here for more pics and some of them will show different features Goo-Net.
This is my Crown's interior and you just sort of get used to it and it becomes muscle memory in the end for the major ones (audio on the left, air-con on the right), for any situations using the google-translate app get's me into the finer detail of the menu but I hardly use that now as I just remember.
For the Crown's there's android/apple stuff to get around the touchscreen - not sure if the alphards/vellfires are easier to fix.
I've had two cars through TorqueGT and cannot fault their service, people say they're expensive but they do alot for the money so value wise I'm happy paying the price as I'm basically giving them a car to look for a budget and other than confirming ones to go for at the auction I don't have to do anything until I collect them.
This is my Crown's interior and you just sort of get used to it and it becomes muscle memory in the end for the major ones (audio on the left, air-con on the right), for any situations using the google-translate app get's me into the finer detail of the menu but I hardly use that now as I just remember.
For the Crown's there's android/apple stuff to get around the touchscreen - not sure if the alphards/vellfires are easier to fix.
I've had two cars through TorqueGT and cannot fault their service, people say they're expensive but they do alot for the money so value wise I'm happy paying the price as I'm basically giving them a car to look for a budget and other than confirming ones to go for at the auction I don't have to do anything until I collect them.
Edited by TommoAE86 on Thursday 24th July 14:54
rene7 said:
Just avoid the Chain drive auto's - most newish MPV's have them, make sure the Auto has a normal 5/6speed auto box. Oh and check out Insurance rates JDM vehicles cost a lot more £'s to insure than UK vehicles - just make sure your sitting down when enquiring 
Any idea which resources to look at about the chain drive thing? Do you mean chain driven engines? Never had much issue insuring JDM cars in the past and have modified vehicles already so use specialist brokers who deal with modded stuff, imports etc.Toyota Alphard for me, as I run a 21-year old Series1 V6 as a daily driver, which has been faultless.
I responded to a similar post a couple of years ago about what it's like owning an Alphard and JDM vehicle on a daily basis, and you can find my responses here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Buy one from a reputable dealer, and you'll be fine.
I responded to a similar post a couple of years ago about what it's like owning an Alphard and JDM vehicle on a daily basis, and you can find my responses here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Buy one from a reputable dealer, and you'll be fine.
djsmith74 said:
Toyota Alphard for me, as I run a 21-year old Series1 V6 as a daily driver, which has been faultless.
I responded to a similar post a couple of years ago about what it's like owning an Alphard and JDM vehicle on a daily basis, and you can find my responses here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Buy one from a reputable dealer, and you'll be fine.
Cheers - I'll have a look through that!I responded to a similar post a couple of years ago about what it's like owning an Alphard and JDM vehicle on a daily basis, and you can find my responses here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Buy one from a reputable dealer, and you'll be fine.
If you're considering an Elgrand, make sure it is a mid-2007 to 2010 one and that it has had the rear cats decored or swapped out for bypass pipes.
Post 2007 i.e. Gen 3 E51 Elgrands are considered by many to be the sweet spot, because they don't have CVT gearboxes like all of the E52s, and there are places like Deeside Elgrands who can supply you with a disc to convert the original stereo from Japanese into English, thereby retaining all the other functionality that they have on the good spec ones like the birds eye view cameras etc.
I had a Murano a few years back which I suspect died a death for the same reason as some Elgrands do - blocked second cats causing the ceramic material from the front ones to be sucked back into the engine... Nissan couldn't explain how my engine had sustained internal damage and it was only after I read the horror stories about the Elgrands (with the same engine) that I put 2&2 together...
Other popular option is the Honda Stepwagon (techincally StepWGN) but it's only a 2 litre - but there are loads of them around. Similar to the Toyota Voxy/Noah and Nissan Serena.
Leftfield choice would be a Honda Elysion but they are quite rare and harder to get parts for than any of the above (especially if you opt for the 3.5 V6 version).
Post 2007 i.e. Gen 3 E51 Elgrands are considered by many to be the sweet spot, because they don't have CVT gearboxes like all of the E52s, and there are places like Deeside Elgrands who can supply you with a disc to convert the original stereo from Japanese into English, thereby retaining all the other functionality that they have on the good spec ones like the birds eye view cameras etc.
I had a Murano a few years back which I suspect died a death for the same reason as some Elgrands do - blocked second cats causing the ceramic material from the front ones to be sucked back into the engine... Nissan couldn't explain how my engine had sustained internal damage and it was only after I read the horror stories about the Elgrands (with the same engine) that I put 2&2 together...
Other popular option is the Honda Stepwagon (techincally StepWGN) but it's only a 2 litre - but there are loads of them around. Similar to the Toyota Voxy/Noah and Nissan Serena.
Leftfield choice would be a Honda Elysion but they are quite rare and harder to get parts for than any of the above (especially if you opt for the 3.5 V6 version).
Edited by -Lummox- on Friday 25th July 14:27
Oh, also to mention - 3rd row seating - seems to be a split between the various options as to which ones have removable 3rd row, which have 3rd row which can fold up to the side of the boot area, and which can fold their 3rd row seating into the floor. The last tends to be the option with the biggest boot space relative to the overall vehicle size (as a StepWGN is a smaller car than an Elysion, for example - but particularly with the 3rd row of seats stowed away, has a bigger boot). Toyota Estima also has rear seats that fold into the floor and a gigantic load area when configured that way. Many of those that have been imported are hybrids but most owner opinions that I've read about them is that the hybrids aren't worth the extra complexity and potential bork costs for negligible MPG improvement. Many garages don't want to touch hybrids generally and the 2.4 petrol is a tough unit that is straightforward to work on.
JayEmm has done reviews on Youtube for all of the usual suspects in this class. Have a look at his videos if you haven't already.
JayEmm has done reviews on Youtube for all of the usual suspects in this class. Have a look at his videos if you haven't already.
Edited by -Lummox- on Friday 25th July 14:30
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