Top 5 : Cool (and quirky) Japanese cars
The streets of Tokyo are full of Japanese (and a few European) cars. Photo: Liz Dobson
On the streets of Japan’s capital Tokyo you’ll see plenty of cars that roam New Zealand roads, from Japanese made to European luxury vehicles.
But among those every day vehicles were a few that stood out to me during my recent stay in Tokyo. Some were quirky, some were cool due to their names but overall they were fun vehicles among the masses of mass produced, top selling cars.
Here are my top five vehicle spotted on the roads of Tokyo, with some available in New Zealand as imports.
Daihatsu Thor
Come on now, it wins by name alone, and if you own one you could (paraphrase) say, “Whosoever holds this steering wheel if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor".
While you won’t find this Thor in the Marvel-verse, you’ll find this a cute five-seater, mini Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) with sliding doors in Japan. First launched in 2016, it is sold by Daihatsu, Toyota and a Subaru version.
The Thor received a facelift in 2020, and while a domestic MPV, you can find imports for sale in New Zealand from the mid-$20,000.
It is not a kei car (the smallest category of Japanese motorway-legal vehicles) because of the exterior dimensions of 3700mm long, 1670mm wide and 1735 mm high. It’s engine of 996 cc also exceeds the kei car requirements.
Suzuki Hustler
This is a crossover SUV-style kei car produced since 2014. Suzuki's design department chose the name "Hustler" to promote the car's lively and rough riding image.
It has a length of 3,395 mm, is 1475mm wide and a height of 1680mm paired with a 658cc hybrid engine.
In Japan, the name was used by Suzuki in the past as the nickname of a two-stroke dual-sport motorcycle, the Hustler TS series. The car's accessories also have a replica sticker of the emblem that was once used in the TS50.
The second generation was launched in 2020, with styling similar to the Suzuki Jimny and as an import is priced from $30,000-upwards.
Toyota Crown
This model has been made in Japan since 1955 and is primarily a line of executive cars that is marketed as an upscale offering in the Toyota lineup.
In 2022, Toyota unveiled four different Crown models to replace the fifteenth-generation model. The first model that is available is the Crossover-type Crown. The remaining three models: Sedan, Sport, and Estate, were released between 2023 and 2024 respectively, and are available in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell powertrains depending on the model.
The Crown is imported into New Zealand and prices start from $65,000 for a 2023 model, and let’s not forget if you own one you can say, “Let me adjust my Crown and get my day started”.
Honda N-Box
This kei car has been produced for the Japanese market since 2011 with the N-Box family received a facelift in 2015 with the flexible seating arrangement, allowing a variety of different configurations. The third-generation N-Box was unveiled in 2023.
With a 658cc engine, the N-Box is a favourite as a daily city commute and is one of Japan’s top-selling domestic vehicle.
You’ll spot a few around New Zealand as an import with price tags of late $20,000 for a 2025 model. An Auckland acquaintance owns a blue one, so I tease him that it looks like a chilly bin on wheels!
Nissan Cima
This is a luxury sedan manufactured for five generations for the Japanese market — and for three generations internationally as the Infiniti Q45.
The nameplate is derived from Spanish for "summit" or "top." Earlier generations featured a bonnet ornament with an image of an acanthus leaf that was commonly used by classical Greeks as a crown – a nod to its main competitor in the Japanese Domestic market, the Toyota Crown.
Sadly, in 2022, production of the Cima, concluded, with no plans for a successor but you can pick up a 1990s model in New Zealand for around $10,000.
