The Toyota Alphard is the car that made the UK aware JDM MPVs exist. It is also the one most likely to confuse a first-time buyer, because four generations span twenty years of production, and the trim level hierarchy within each generation is deep enough that two Alphards at the same price point can be … Read more
The kei truck is one of those JDM categories that sounds absurd until you see one in person. A 660cc, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive (or four-wheel-drive) utility vehicle the size of a large shopping trolley, built to Japanese kei-class regulations and designed to navigate rice paddies, mountain villages, and Tokyo back streets with equal competence. The Honda … Read more
Europe thinks it invented the hot hatchback. Japan perfected it. While VW was putting a turbo four-cylinder in a Golf and calling it a day, Honda was building naturally aspirated four-cylinders that revved to 8,600rpm, Mitsubishi was fitting rally-derived turbo engines to family hatchbacks, Toyota’s racing division was turbocharged a Yaris before anyone thought to … Read more
Nobody buys a JDM import because they want easy ownership. The whole point is the car: the engine note, the styling that never came to Europe, the rare-grade interior trim Toyota never offered the UK-market Auris. But the difference between an import that becomes a long-term keeper and one that ends up under a tarpaulin … Read more
The Toyota Noah, Voxy and Esquire are the same car wearing three different jackets. Together they are the best-selling Japanese family minivan of the last twenty-five years — and one of the most rewarding imports a UK family can buy. This guide covers all four generations: R60, R70, R80 and R90. What changed, what to … Read more