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Massively overhyped, it's easy to forget these Japanese classics are rife with reliability and performance issues.
Japan produced some of the most iconic cars during the 1980s and 1990s. By the 21st century, Japanese automakers had already established a reputation for producing affordable and virtually indestructible sports cars, often outmatching their European and American in the market. Today, JDMs are among the most sought-after cars in the world, with the biggest hits including the Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra, Mazda Miata, Honda NSX, and more.
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But like every other automaker, Japanese automakers are not immune to mistakes. The land of the rising sun has equally produced some misses. Most of the cars on this list are not worth buying - while some were significantly undone by reliability and mechanical problems, others were fitted with mediocre engines that didn’t match their sporty image.
Following a steady stream of near-perfection in the JDM market, people think these classic Japanese cars are awesome, but they are not.
The Mitsubishi Eclipse was designed as a true driver’s car, defined by its excellent performance and ergonomic design. These characteristics were carried over to the car’s subsequent generations and even went ahead to inspire the production of the Eclipse Cross SUV.
Overall, the Eclipse was a good car, but it had chronic dependability issues that ultimately made it less desirable than its contemporary rivals. It was recalled multiple times throughout its lifetime due to mechanical issues ranging from ABS unit corrosion, faulty brake booster, fuel leak, transfer case lockup, thrust bearing failure, and more.
The Toyota MR2 was the brand’s first rear mid-engine production sports car introduced in 1984. While it’s still an iconic classic car today, the MR2 was conceived as a small, sporty, economical car. It lacked in part regarding power as the inline-four engine produced 112hp.
Elsewhere, it was infamous for its snap-oversteer – the ridiculous short wheelbase plus the mid-engine set-up made the rear susceptible to mid-corner sliding. Even in its revised suspension state in 1992, the MR2 was a deadly car for drivers who love testing a car’s limit.
Produced between 2002 and 2012, the RX-8 was left with a huge gap to fill following the success of the RX-7. While they were both powered by a rotary engine, the RX-8 was underpowered, as it lost the sequential turbochargers that made the RX-7 a favorite among gearheads.
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And for all its flaws, the troublesome reliability problems made it one of the worst cars produced by Mazda. The engine was prone to excess fuel and oil consumption due to leaking apex seals, eventually leading to engine failure. The RX-8 was discontinued in 2012 due to falling sales.
Production of the seventh-generation Celica began in 1999. It featured an exterior design closely resembling the XYR concept, except for the rear spoiler and front bumper. Unlike the previous generations, the T230 came in a liftback body style only.
The Celica T230 was propelled by a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that produced either 140hp or 192hp, depending on the market version. Besides the Celica’s mediocre performance figures, the car’s reputation was ruined by the oil pump and filter problems which eventually contributed to its downfall.
The Honda CRX was produced from 1983 to 1991, based on a Civic platform, hence the Civic badge. Other than that, the CRX was a whole different car. In what was supposed to be a direct rival to hot-hatches, the CRX completely redefined the pocket-rocket segment. Despite being an engineering marvel, it frequently breaks down and is extremely expensive to fix or restore to working order.
The CRX was also characterized by excessive body roll and a choppy ride, especially on rough roads. And in an attempt to make the car economical, Honda implanted a 160hp 1.6-liter engine that was later detuned to 15ohp.
The Celica Supra and the entire Celica lineup were completely redesigned for the 1982 model year. While the Supra was still based on the Celica platform, some notable key differences included the retractable pop-up headlights and the front-end design.
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Another significant difference was the 2.8-liter inline-six engine, an underperformer by all standards as it only produced 148hp and 155lb-ft of torque. Even though power was marginally increased to 161hp in 1985, there was no significant performance improvement as the Supra took 8.4 seconds to accelerate from 0-60mph.
Mazda Cosmo was built as a halo car during a period when the Japanese automaker was looking to raise its image and market share in the automotive world. Mazda lacked its own design heritage and looked to the American and European styles when designing its new showpiece, named as one of the most beautiful Japanese cars.
The result was an Italian-like exterior, which was a head turner by all means, but not when it comes down to the car’s performance. Under the hood, Mazda stuffed a two-rotor Wankel rotary engine that could only crank out 110hp, propelling the Cosmo Series I from standstill to 60mph in a sluggish 8.2 seconds.
The SVX is a rare and exotic one-hit wonder produced across a single generation from 1991 to 1996. It standouts among other JDM icons with its wedge-shaped design and window-within-a-window styling, further proof that the Japanese automaker never spent a dime on the car’s design department.
The SVX was Subaru’s first shot at the luxury and performance segment, but it never made a breakthrough. Earlier models had transmission problems due to a faulty torque converter clutch. Subaru ended production of the SVX following poor sales and incurred a $75 million loss with the project, becoming one of the greatest automotive flops in history.
The 280ZX was Nissan’s second-generation Z-series car. Following the success of the 240Z, the Japanese manufacturer made a less appealing version in the 280ZX – it was heavier and slower as the designers sacrificed performance for better fuel economy.
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Earlier 1979 280ZX models that produced 135hp (14 fewer horses than the 280Z) were slower than the 240Z. It wasn’t until 1981 when a turbo was added to the 2.8-liter inline-six engine to produce a respectable 180hp. In line with the car’s luxurious nature, the ride quality was plush; not the best to hurry on a racetrack due to heavy understeer, failing to excite true gearheads.
While the MX-3 arrived when the world faced economic recession, it also faced stiff competition from stiff contenders like the Nissan NX. It featured a sporty exterior with flush headlights and a front lowered chin spoiler that elevated the car’s image.
At the rear were a slopped curved glass and a small wing to complete the MX-3’s sporty look. However, the biggest surprise lay under the hood. Besides the entry-level 1.6-liter inline-four, Mazda stuffed a 1.8-liter V6 engine – the smallest V6 in the world that produced 130hp. It took the MX-3 8.4 seconds from standstill to 60mph before hitting a top speed of 126mph.
Dennis Kariuki is a tech enthusiast who writes for Hotcars.com. Previously, he wrote for the.car .He likes covering the marriage between technology and cars. Besides that, he is big f1 fan. After working tirelessly through the week, you can be sure that on Sundays he is most likely enjoying and following motorsports events.