13 Underrated JDM Cars You Can Import Now

JDM car enthusiasts sometimes have a long stint in a waiting room. A waiting room to import their favorite JDM vehicle once it turns 25 years old, or in the case of Canada, 15 years old.

Obviously, the R34 Skyline GT-R, the S15 Nissan Silvia, and similar cars all come to mind here. Sure, they may be worth waiting for, even if they are now pretty prohibitively expensive, but the Japanese car market is full of cool underrated cars that you don’t even have to wait to import to the States or Canada.

Honda Z

The original Honda Z was one of Honda’s first kei cars, and while it may be cool, that’s not the one we’re focusing on here. In the 1990s, Honda brought back the Z name, and what a car was chosen to wear it.

Released in 1998, the second generation Z came with a 660cc turbocharged engine, like most kei cars, and it offered a turbocharger and AWD. All of that wrapped up in an adorable, retro-styled exterior that just oozes character.

Eunos Cosmo

Mazda is perhaps a little too well-known for the rotary engine, but it wasn’t just sports cars and tiny pickup trucks that got it. Back in the 90s, during the economic boom in Japan, Mazda (or rather, Eunos) tried out a rotary-powered luxury coupe.

The end result was the wonderful Eunos Cosmo. Easily one of the coolest automotive designs of the 90s, the Cosmo was packed with tech and features, luxury, and you could have any engine you wanted… as long as it had a triangular rotor or two. Just be careful, as rotary engines are some of the worst engines in terms of reliability.

Toyota Crown (S170)

It’s easy to forget, but the Lexus brand actually arrived in Japan with the arrival of the LFA. Before that, if you wanted a luxury Toyota, it also carried a Toyota badge. More often than not, it also carried a crown emblem.

The S170, or the eleventh generation of the Toyota Crown, is the most recent generation of the iconic luxury Toyota that can be imported. Why would you? Because a boxy luxury sedan (and wagon!) with a 2JZ under the hood is a very tempting prospect, even from a relatively objective point of view.

Honda Acty Truck

While this one may not be quite as underrated, as most of North America has been raving about these things in recent years, the Honda Acty Truck is unlikely to get more than a second glance when placed next to, say, an immaculate original NSX.

The Acty deserves a lot more respect than that. Its bed length is comparable to a modern American pickup truck, and yet it’s a third of the size. It may not be quite as powerful, but it’s just infinitely cooler. And simpler. And more reliable. Did we mention cooler?

Nissan Be-1

Nissan’s Pike cars were an absolutely brilliant exercise in retro styling, and proof that it can be done tastefully and exceptionally well. The S-Cargo, one of the ugliest cars ever made, and the charismatic Figaro have won the hearts of just about everyone, so it’s time to consider one of their siblings.

The Be-1, just like the others, was based on the K10 March, or Micra to us Westerners. With a tiny four-cylinder engine and retro styling heavily inspired by European legends, it’s time the Be-1 got some love.

Subaru Sambar

Subaru also had its own kei truck that competed directly with the Honda Acty, but it was also available as a tiny little van. The second generation has a bit of an advantage over the others, and a key clue as to why lies in the styling.

The Sambar bears more than a passing resemblance to a T1 or T2 VW Bus, and entire conversion kits exist to make it resemble its distant German relative. Despite being a super basic tiny van, this will turn serious heads at your local car event that also involves caffeinated beverages.

Nissan Pulsar GTI-R

This is a simply wild hot hatchback. As with many great hot hatchbacks, the Pulsar GTI-R, aka the Sunny GTI-R, was built to comply with rally regulations in the 1990s, specifically for Group A.

Everything started with the otherwise entirely forgettable Pulsar hatchback, to which Nissan’s engineers affixed some ground effects, new wheels, and a giant, very distinctive hood scoop. The hood scoop is justified, as the SR20DET turbo four-cylinder lays underneath it. You know, like you might find in the S15 Silvia Spec-R.

Honda S-MX

Nothing seems particularly special about the Honda S-MX at first glance. Just a boxy minivan/wagon with very appropriate JDM styling. Once you start climbing inside, you’ll see that there’s much more than meets the eye.

Actually, Honda wanted S-MX passengers to meet eyes quite often, as all the seats folded down and lay flush with each other, creating a bed. Are you getting it yet? Look at the name of the car with your head tilted clockwise. With your mind out of the gutter, you’ll also be happy to hear it has a highly tunable B20B under the hood.

Nissan March Super Turbo

Another wonderful homologation special. The March, or as the Western world knows it, the Micra, has been a part of Nissan’s lineup for more than half a century now. Back in the 80s, during the era of the K10 March, Nissan launched a one-make race series called the March Little Dynamite Cup Race.

The homologation special was called Super Turbo for a very good reason. It wasn’t grading the adjective, it was more literal: the March Super Turbo’s powertrain was both supercharged and turbocharged, with 110 hp and a curb weight of just 1,650 lbs.

Mitsubishi FTO

A bizarre, but absolutely lovable vehicle. Only sold across a single generation throughout the 90s, the Mitsubishi FTO is what happens when you combine choice elements of the GTO and the Eclipse.

The FTO was smaller than the 3000GT and FWD like the Eclipse, but you could get it with a V6 engine under the hood. A highly admirable FWD sports coupe, but it continues to live in the shadows of Mitsubishi’s more popular performance cars from the same time period and later.

Mazda 323 GTR

Not wanting to be outdone, Mazda also decided to join the World Rally Championship in the early 90s with its own boosted small hatchback. The requisite homologation special came in the form of the 323 GTR.

As well as a chunky body kit, the 1.8-liter turbo I4 under the hood dispatched 207 hp to all four wheels. A small Mazda with a power figure that’s really close to the Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2? What’s not to love?

Mitsubishi Pajero Mini

A big off-road SUV has a lot of benefits, but it also has quite a few drawbacks, one of the major ones being the size. If you want a capable off-roader that’s half the size but also closely resembles its bigger counterpart, the Mitsubishi Pajero Mini has you covered.

Exactly as the name implies, the Pajero Mini is just a heavily scaled-down kei version of the regular Pajero, known as the Montero in the US. It had standard 4WD and even locking differentials!

Soarer

Technically, this car was available in North America as either the Lexus SC300 or SC400. As is often the case, however, the JDM-only Toyota Soarer is much cooler in many ways. For the most part, the two cars are very similar to one another.

However, the JDM Soarer offered a turbocharged 1JZ that you could pair with a manual transmission alongside the 4.0-liter 1UZ V8. What’s more, in Japan, you could have the Soarer with touchscreen navigation(!) and even all-wheel steering. It’s one of many cars that prove Toyota is an enthusiast brand.