Recently we added a little one to our family. After searching for an overly expensive car seat, the question came up on what car we should get to haul around the little guy. I have a Pajero Mini Turbo, but the high ingress height and thinner-than-paper body means we need a new ride in our future.
Problem is, I like smaller cars, always have. JNCs have a great history of small cars, even a few land yachts like the Nissan President and Toyota Century. The wife wants something bigger but I am still resisting. How about you? When getting a JNC, do you like small runners or large beasts á la Land Cruiser? Have you had to give up a JNC for something larger as a family hauler?
Do you prefer a certain size of JNC?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What questions do you have for the A90 Supra?”
(Since this question was proposed by Ben, and he went to the A90 test drive event, I will leave it to him to answer some of the technical questions.)
No doubt, last weeks QotW got salty and spicy like a chips and salsa platter with extra jalapenos. There were some hot takes and shots fired. That said, if we are looking for the most interesting comment, my pick is Bill. Bill poses some interesting questions that may only be answered in time by how we all accept the new Supra. Who knows if the nameplate will be a flash in the pan or resurrect Toyota’s (with the help of BMW for now) sports car legacy. To be honest, I hope that Toyota can have sports cars — petrol, hybrid or EV — under one roof. For me, this is how Toyota does Toyota best. Here’s what Bill proposed last week:
Can you appreciate in value for the next 25 years?
Can you achieve cult status based only on your quality and seemingly endless potential?
Can you strike fear into the hearts of all challengers? Or, Chargers?
Can you live up to the unshakable bench-racer reply of, “Yeah, but…Supra.”
Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.
Personally I keep finding kei cars frightfully interesting: all the way from the first Mitsubishi Minica, through the Suzuki Mighty Boy, well passed the Mazda AZ-1 and all the way up to the Honda N-One… There is something satisfying with those miniaturized little cars that make them adorable!
But then I snap out of it and realize I have this family to take care of, need space for the stroller and put massive groceries in the car every Saturday. So I’ll keep driving my Euro Civic FK and continue dreaming of owning a kei car one day… 😉
Congratulations on the “little one”, Brandon!
Even though I’m 6′-5″ tall and don’t really fit into them, sometimes at all, I prefer them to be as small as possible, such as the Subaru 360 Young S, Suzuki Fronte SS, and as Banpei mentions, the Mitsubishi Minica. Generally, anything in the 10-feet-long-or-less genre.
Mid-sized. Because if every time a lorry passes you, you break a cold sweat and your life flashes before your eyes, your car is too small for North American motorways. I may have a soft spot for the Honda Beat, but let’s face it, the lorry’s wheels will beat the little Honda into a flat metal pancake easily. Therefore, I prefer the Mid-size options. The Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R, the Z32 Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX-3, etc.
I suppose the stable says it all – Subaru Young SS, Honda S600 Coupe, Honda 1300 Coupe. Oh! and for day-to-day buzzing around, a reliable Suzuki Alto. Yep, although I take a size “L”, it’s size “Kei” for me!
If I were to get a JNC as a “family” car, it would be a 1971 Toyota MS65 Crown wagon, which looked better than the sedan, or the Caprice-looking Mazda Roadpacer, but the 13B makes it underpowered, though.
If I wanted something more modern, it would be the Mazda HD 929 hands down. Way sexier than the UFX10 LS400 of the time, although not as sophisticated.
Not one of the more recent JZS140 Crowns, too Lexus (common) looking…
I prefer JNC’s to be small and funky with matching names, but sadly that approach is less and less common on cars bigger than kei-size.
I love a sports car as much as the next guy, but a small on the outside, big on the inside car with tons of character is the kind of secret sauce that Japanese car companies have often done so well when no one else could.
Remarkably, the Smart car is actually pretty roomy for its size. Remember, there was a San Diego Chargers lineman who bought one.
Yeah, but it’s a bit ugly, a bit charmless, and at a safari park, the lions mistake it for prey and start hunting it. Not really funky or fun enough for my tastes.
And most kei cars aren’t? With few exceptions most kei cars are pretty hideous, and the main reason they exist is the tax laws in Japan.
Can you imagine the outcry if the Democrats started taxing cars based on their size and engine size?
Meh, that’s your country’s problem. And I find most kei cars aren’t that bad, simply because unlike the smart car, they’re not a 2 passenger safety sell with all the ancillaries packaged underneath. The proportions, while minute, are better, although sometimes comically tall.
My Honda VFR800 is waiting for a N600.
There are videos of people putting Hayabusa engines in Smart cars.
I have a ’94 Suzuki Swift, motor is currently out! Maybe it’s time for a Hayabusa swap!
I came across this problem with two kids in 2012. Mothballed the car in 2012 and haven’t driven it since. Tried to sell it at the time but there was no interest.
Hopefully it will drive again some day.
I needed space and reliability at an affordable price. I got a Toyota Avalon and it’s still going strong. As much as I hate front wheel drive, I simply drive it as an a to b beater car.
The best cars, like the best people, architecture, gadgets, cuisine and more, come in all shapes and sizes. I’m not sure I could fully enjoy this hobby if I limited myself to just one section of it!
Would love to import a keicar one day, turbocharged, full option, … what’s not to like? Come from a family where we went through several Mini Morris, so my current Nissan Micra is the best of both worlds to me. Small, affordable (although repairs aren’t getting cheaper as the tin worm had a go), out-corners a lot of cars. Lovin’ it heaps!