With the current chip shortage in the automotive industry setting back millions of new car orders, consumers are turning to the used market for their next car. In the last few months the UK has seen a rapid increase in the used car market with prices of older vehicles being £2,000-£5,000 more expensive from what they were back in May of this year.
So, there are plenty of used cars out for sale, right? Well, yes, but you have to be careful – it’s logic, the more cars, the more chance of being stung. Let me explain. Don’t get me wrong, not all used cars are hiding a past, but with the right mind set and knowledge you can avoid falling into the trap of driving around in a death trap or a dog.
HISTORY: When looking at a car, always ask for the service book, that way you’ll know if the current vehicle you’re purchasing has been cared for because the book will be crammed with rubber stamps. Make sure that each service has got a mileage record and a date, that way if the seller hasn’t got an invoice to prove of any work carried out, you can phone up the garage that worked on that car to ask. If the car has a full main dealer service history then you know that the previous owner didn’t mind shedding out a few quid, and that you will know that genuine parts are going to be of better quality and will last a lot longer.
A full main dealer history increases the value of your car as well as it shows the previous owner looked after the car mechanically.
2. CAT C, D, S AND N: It is illegal for a seller, private or retail, to sell a car without marking it clear whether it has ever been a total loss. Cat (short for category) C and D is the old system, but essentially a Cat C car has been involved in an accident that has had structural damage, whereas Cat D is lightly damaged. Cat S and Cat N is the new recordings and essentially Cat S stands for structural and N non-structural. In my experience, if you are going to buy a categorised car, my advice is this, “be very careful”. In fact, if it was me, I would walk away, because you never know with an accident damaged car how it is going to behave should the worst happen again.
3. HPI: HPI, or Hire Purchase Information is an easy and effective way to know if you’re making the right decision with your next car. By paying a small fee, HPI, can tell you within seconds whether the car you are looking at has any outstanding finance, if it’s ever been stolen; had a crash and been declared a write-off, if it’s had a number plate change and that the ID of the car matches the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). For the sake of £15-£30, it is well worth it and can save you time, hassle and can stop you from making a big financial mistake.
HPI results can save you time and money as well as preventing buyers purchasing bad cars.
4. OWNERS: The V5C or logbook is the beating heart of paperwork with a used car. Never buy a car without it, because otherwise you will not be the registered keeper. However, the main reason why is to always read it, because it records the amount of past keepers that vehicle would of had. Any car that has had more than six owners, I always question why? Has that car been problematic? Has it been past down the family? Why so many owners? On an older car, it’s not as bad, because the older the vehicle the more likely it may have had a few owners, but a three-year-old car with four owners does put a big question mark over the vehicle. Not only does a higher owner car decrease its value, but it also means that it might be harder to sell on. Try and look for a maximum of the three former keepers on the logbook, or the best would be one owner from new, because you would know that the car has been in the same household from new and that it has never changed ownership or fallen into the wrong hands in its life.
Low owners means better residual values.
5. CONDITION: One of the most important points to make when viewing a used car – the condition. Vehicles on the whole are used on a day-to-day basis, so it’s inevitable that occasionally a few knocks and scratches are going to appear. Deep scratches and large dents give the game away that the vehicle has been used in a demolition derby, and poor paint work repairs mean that a certain car may have some previous accident damage and it’s hiding a dodgy past. The way to look if a car has had paintwork in its life is to look for an orange-peel affect in the paint, air bubbles, (where little bits of grit and dust get under the lacquer when the car is being re-sprayed), over spray and the biggest giveaway…miss-match paint colours on each panel. Don’t get me wrong, just because a car has had fresh paint doesn’t always mean it’s been involved in an accident, it can be minor things like, stone chips, key marks or even the owner may have bumped a lamp post. But if a car has had previous work, you have to question why? Always cross the Ts and dot the Is when viewing a used car.
6. STICK TO YOUR BUDGET: The final point to make: never pay over from what you expected. Always stick to your budget, try and negotiate and never pay the full asking price, especially if the vehicle needs work. If the seller doesn’t budge, then it’s their loss, because there will always be used cars out there and another one will pop up in no time at all.
So, there you go, buying a used car can be a stressful and pain-staking experience, but that goes to all of us out there. Cars are an expensive purchase and going in with your head held high and knowing full well what you’re preparing to pay and doing all the basic checks means you will eventually end up with the right car at the right price.
In the current climate crisis we are facing, there are a lot of controversies and conspiracies surrounding us, and one hot topic in conversation with the automotive world at the moment is the future of the car itself.
Many people believe that the future of our transport will be running on battery power in years to come, but come on! If we all behave and believe that the future is a one-way street then people need their heads testing. In my research at University and studies of the future of the car, I know damn well that the correct attitude and solution to reduce the chances of increasing our CO2 emissions is by giving the consumer choice and thinking logically about how we are going to tackle the hurdles that we face in the next ten to twenty years.
I’m sure that electric car fans will tell you that the future is electric, or so be it. But, of course they are going to say that because they have just blown all their life savings on a car that destroys the earth to produce, so they are going to be a bit biased.
My theory is this, it’s not the internal-combustion engine that is warming the world up that we keep being told by every politician and news organisation, it’s the fuel they run on, if we change the fuel for a more sustainable and cleaner solution, then we can achieve the impossible task of getting to net-zero with multiple solutions.
WHAT IS SYNTHETIC FUEL?
The clue is in the name. It is basically fuel that isn’t fuel, if you catch my drift! Let me explain, you see, the way we produce petrol and diesel at the moment comes from crude oil, which has to be drilled from the ground and that is what environmentalist want to stop. Petrol and Diesel is a fossil fuel, something we need to cut down on to reduce our carbon footprint. Where synthetic fuel comes in, is that it’s basically made from carbon capture. What’s carbon capture? Well, in parts of the world now, we are seeing giant fan turbines being made in remote parts of the world, one place is in Chile and what they do is suck in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and store it. To produce the fuel, the stored carbon is then mixed alongside hydrogen (H2O) to create a liquid fuel, so you’re basically turning a greenhouse gas into a raw material.
The beauty over this process is that, no dirty crude oil is being dug out of the ground and carbon is being sucked out of the air and made into good use. Another benefit is that synthetic fuel can be used to power our current internal-combustion engines. Currently there are over 1 billion vehicles in the world that run on petrol or diesel and if enough synthetic fuel is generated to power those vehicles, it will enable them to run cleaner, greener for longer and we won’t have to scrap all our old existing cars, for shiny new ones, that will probably be battery powered (even though truthfully to be told running an older car for longer is more environmentally friendly then buying new electric ones) and the fuel station network would continue as the pumps would be able to store this new fuel.
Technically speaking this process is carbon-neutral; sucking carbon dioxide out of the air, making it into a raw material, producing the fuel with renewable energy, going into our fuel tanks of our cars and then admittedly producing CO2 again, but the process is repeated, so the carbon dioxide that comes out of our engines is sucked out of the air without going into the atmosphere, so we are never increasing our emissions, we are staying carbon neutral, we are not increasing our carbon emissions, they are staying level.
From a logical point, this fuel would save car-makers, economies billions and billions as we wouldn’t have to invest in all this technological advancement on electric vehicles. Don’t get me wrong, the electric car does have a place in the future, but it’s not the be all and end all. There are still infrastructure worries, the range on some models is still way off manufacturer claims and the prices of these vehicles is still far too high.
Car companies like Porsche are already jumping on the bandwagon with this technology and are set to be producing 55 million litres of synthetic fuel by 2024.
Like for like, the future is always uncertain, we know that we have ambitious targets to meet and car manufacturers’ targets are pressurising, but with cleaner and better solutions like synthetic fuels, the future could hold many opportunities in reducing emissions and even better, creating new jobs in the industry, which will boost the global economy.
This is the story of how I managed to acquire a car that is very special to me and has more sentimental value than anything else. This is my journey and experience with the MK1 Toyota Yaris and how I managed to find the rarest UK example.
I’ve always been a car person from a very early age, and the car that kick-started that trend was the original Toyota Yaris. Why? Back in 2002, my mother went out shopping and in our local supermarket were two big cages at the back of the store full of toys, and in one of the cages were two small model cars from the company, Majorette. My mother picked up a blue Citroen C3 and a silver Toyota Yaris thinking: “Cameron would like these.” From then on, my life changed. I picked up this Silver Yaris and fell in love with the shape of it. Although many small boys grow up wanting a Ferrari or an exotic supercar of some sort, I was very different: A small, reliable hatchback from the land of the rising sun was what I had my heart set on.
Where the journey all began, my silver Toyota Yaris which I’ve had since I was two years old.
Over the years, the interest became an obsession. Models, magazines and books – you name it, I’ve got it – and even now at 22 years old I am following that passion and love for these little cars.
A small proportion of my Yaris/Vitz collection
So, cast yourself back to 2013, when I was 14 years old. My father and I decided to buy a little run around car that we could do up and sell on. I found a year 2000 Honda Logo in typical faded Milano Red with only 39,000 miles on the clock. Eager to get going, we jumped on the blower and did a deal. However, on the return home we found that Milano Red paint had actually turned to Milano Pink and it was really past its best. So what to do? Down the road up for sale was an pristine 1999 Toyota Yaris 1.0 GLS in Lucerne Silver with only 33,000 miles on the clock – exactly like a real-life replica of my model from more than a decade before. Our plan was to try and see if we could part-exchange the Logo for this Yaris and amazingly that is what happened as well as getting the Yaris at a cheaper price – result.
1999 Toyota Yaris 1.0 GLS in Lucerne Silver 3-Door
We decided, instead of tart the car up and sell it on, my father knew how much Yaris’ meant to me and decided to keep it as a reliable daily run around.
Jump forward to July 2014, we’d had the silver Yaris for nearly one year and the summer was in full swing. I suddenly decided that I will be 17 years old in 18 months’ time and really fancied a slightly more modern Yaris with air conditioning. In an serious conversation with my father, we decided to sell the silver Yaris and look for a facelifted model with air conditioning. I found two: a 2003 1.3 T Spirit in Ice Blue and a 2005 1.3 Colour Collection in Thunder Grey. Happily we had sold the silver Yaris to a friend of a neighbour, so we had the money already but we decided to go and have a look at the Ice Blue car first, which was a complete waste of time as it was in rough shape. A bit disheartened, a few days later we took a trip to Newbury to go and view the grey example, which low and behold, became my first car 18 months early. So pleased with my purchase, I wanted this car to be bang on, so I saved up and got the car park dings pulled out, the rear bumper and valance repaired and I cleaned it within an inch of its life. It then sat in our garage and only came out at weekends before I could learn to drive.
My 2005 Toyota Yaris 1.3 Colour Collection 3-Door in Thunder Grey
In July 2016, after many driving lessons and practise sessions in my Yaris, I had finally been given the gateway to freedom – I had passed my driving test. My impeccable Yaris became the first car that I drove somewhere on my own; the first car I drove on a motorway and the car that made me become a confident and responsible driver.
Fast forward to November 2017, at the time I had owned my grey Yaris for more than three years and had loved every minute of it. But I suddenly had a brain wave: “I would love to have a Yaris T Sport.” Funnily enough, there was a Caribbean Blue Yaris T Sport down the road from where I lived, up for sale, so I decided to make my way down there to view it. On closer inspection I’d made the decision that I definitely wanted a T Sport, but a facelifted one like my old grey Yaris. So, as always the search begun, in the back of my head for years before I’d always really fancied the 1.5 T Sport but never really thought to take up on the idea due to the expense of insurance. But now with a couple of years’ no claims bonus, getting cover wouldn’t be an issue.
On the search there was another Thunder Grey T Sport with only 38,000 miles on the clock, but it had been up for sale for a while and I really wanted a Balearic Blue example; however there were only a handful of those in that colour as it was discontinued from the Yaris range in 2004 and there are virtually zero examples left with low mileage. I thought to myself: “I’ve got nothing to loose”, as I’d agreed to sell my old Yaris once I’d bought a T Sport. My father and I decided to take a trip up to Chesham, Buckinghamshire, where this 38,000-miler was standing as it was the only decent example on the market. Once viewing the car, I was very impressed, with a full Toyota service history and very few marks on the bodywork, that was it, I bought it there and then.
My 2004 Toyota Yaris T-Sport 3-Door in Thunder Grey
Buzzing with joy, I now had to face reality and build up the courage to sell my besotted 1.3 Yaris, which I had cherished for nearly three and a half years. Within a few days I had found a buyer who lived in North London. We agreed a price and she and her boyfriend could pick up the car the following Saturday. That day came and boy was it a sad one. Luckily the car was going to a home where it would be looked after, but like a lot of first cars, they capture and hold so many memories that I really didn’t want to let her go, but such as life in general, you have to move on.
Now I had the T Sport all to myself, I did, like the last Yaris, went to town on making it the best one out there, so, I repeated the same processes; the car park dings were pulled out, wheels refurbished, the bumpers had some paintwork, interior repairs and keep it always looking its best.
Now, quick factual point: Yaris T Sports with mileages under 20,000 are like trying to find needles in hay stacks, if they are out there you have to react quickly otherwise you will lose. In November 2019 that’s what happened with me. Another Thunder Grey T Sport popped up on eBay in Maidstone, Kent, with are you sitting down… 14,000 miles on the clock. With excitement, my father and I contacted the man selling it and we got a response the next morning telling us it was his mother’s car and he will put us in contact straight away with his parents. So, we spoke to the husband and before the auction had finished, we agreed a price and my father and I would go up the same day and pick it up; words and emotions could not comprehend how ecstatic I was. I decided to drive and after a two and half hour journey we arrived, and to be brutally honest, it wasn’t for me. There were marks around the body which would need body shop repairs (something I didn’t want to do) and the passenger window was not the original glass, nerdy but true. I walked away and made that my next challenge, to find an ultra-low mileage Yaris T Sport. As you can expect, there was literally nothing that popped up on the classifieds, so I decided to stop looking for a while and then on one evening in September 2020, something almost tongue-swallowing happened. A Thunder Grey (surprise, surprise) popped up at a Toyota dealership 25 minutes from my house with only 7,200 miles on the clock, but for a very steep price of more than £4,000.
With shock, I told my father I just had to have it – I’d have a virtually brand new Yaris T Sport – something I never thought would happen. The dealership were closed at the time and I was working night shifts. The plan was my father would ring the dealer the next morning half an hour before they opened to put down a deposit. The next morning came and before work I had hardly slept with excitement, my dad phoned the dealer at 8am and was told the car was still available and that I could be the first to view it and have the car on a first-come-first-serve basis – brilliant. I shot out of work and went with my father to the dealership bang on time with the deposit. On inspection, the car was literally brand new, apart from three little car park dings which the garage had agreed to pull out in the deal. We then proceeded to the showroom and waited for the salesman to greet us only to be told that there had been a mixed communication and that the car had been sold a couple of minutes earlier prior to me arriving. The reaction from my father and I was like all the volcanos in the world erupting all at the same time. I was absolutely livid and even though the dealer was very sympathetic, it still defeated the point that I had lost the car.
Anyway, on a more cheery note, I looked at that experience as things happen for a reason and that scenario was a sign that it wasn’t for me and that there would be something else that I would end up buying (spoiler alert: yes that is what happened).
Now we’re almost up-to-date with where the car I didn’t believe existed happened. So like the Yaris I just lost out on, it was the evening of January 9 2021. I didn’t have work the next morning, so spent some of my evening on the iPad. I am a member of Yaris Club UK on Facebook and I was browsing the group’s pictures and messages where this post popped up with a man saying that he had just bought a car off his elderly customer and was wondering what to do with. What was it? A 2003 Yaris T Sport in Balearic Blue with only 14,200 miles on the clock, and even better still, it was the very rare five-door variant (I have only ever owned three-door models) and it had the optional Protection Pack and blacked-out windows all round. My jaw dropped to the floor, but I didn’t get too enthusiastic as the man didn’t mention about selling it, I was quite bitter that I had lost another one, or so it seemed. Two days later, on January 11, the man uploaded another post of the car, saying he’d taken it out for a drive and like with the first post, the likes and comments were going berserk, and one comment caught my eye. Someone pointed out: “what are your plans with it?” His response was: “gonna do it up and possibly sell to an enthusiast.” Right, that was enough evidence for me to dive onto Messenger with “I want your car”.
My 2003 Toyota Yaris T-Sport 5-Door in Balearic Blue
I messaged the guy, giving him a small background story of me and the car I lost back in September and the reply was promising. He’d had two guys before me wanting to buy it for around £3,500, so I dived in with an offer of £3,750. He then said to me that he wanted a private registration for the car, the wheels needed a refurb and the all the brake discs and pads needed changing. After a lot of backwards and forwards messaging, we agreed a final price and a date to come and collect the car, even though I wouldn’t be purchasing the car if not described.
On Saturday February 20 2021, my father and I took a trip to Horley near Gatwick Airport, we arrive at this house where the car was located under a car cover. The seller takes the cover off the car and my eyes light up with joy; the car is absolutely beautiful as I had never seen a Yaris T Sport in that colour before (that’s how rare that car is). I open the door and I’m greeted with that new car smell, seats that have hardly been sat on and a boot and spare wheel well that still had its original bubble wrap from new. I took the car for a quick drive and I was completely hooked, I had to have this car and it would be a long-term keeper. He invited us into the house where I handed the money over and he showed us the paperwork, only to give me every service invoice, lots of old MOT certificates, the original bill of sale, a welcome letter from Toyota, 14 Toyota service stamps and even the window tinting leaflet from when the car was new. The old couple that had it from new only got rid of it as they had both given up driving and you can tell by everything with this car that it has been cherished all its life and I am very privileged and proud to call it my car. What’s more it shows that loosing the Grey 7,000-miler back in the September was a sign that I was meant to have the car that I’d always wanted years before.
Once I drove it home my father and I decided that I would keep both T Sports, my grey one as a daily and the blue one as a show car and for something I can keep, take it out on special occasions and car shows.
So there you are, my story with the MK1 Toyota Yaris. No car holds more nostalgia or value to me than anything else, and that is why, I can say that Toyota’s small hatchback is one of my all-time favourite cars. And being the proud owner of two immaculate T Sport examples, these little cars will always put a smile on my face.
The motor car has been the pinnacle of personal mobility since it was invented in the late 19th century, and in that time it has evolved very nicely. But, in just eight years’ time we will see the the biggest revolution in the history of its existence – or will we?
You see, the government has got it into its head that electric power is the solution to everything. They want cars, planes, trains, buses and even our homes to run on clean, renewable electric energy, which is fine, in an ideal world – but we don’t live in an ideal world.
There are some very big hurdles to not only leap, but also climb and we need to see a future that has a diverse and logical structure. Electric cars has been the go-to point for every government since the Paris Agreement in 2015. The first announcement in 2017 saw Britain set a target to ban ICE vehicles (internal-combustion engine) in 2040; however in 2019 with Theresa May’s departure as Prime Minister, she announced that the UK would be the first country in the world to set a target to become carbon-neutral by 2050. This inevitably caused the ban on ICE vehicles to be brought forward to 2035 in February 2020, and then again in November 2020 to 2030 – which is now less than a decade away.
So is this the end of the internal-combustion engine? Not quite, you see, the ban only affects new cars and 2035 will still see plug-in hybrids, which use petrol engines. There will still be millions of ICE cars on our roads for many years after the ban comes into affect, and in recent months, there has been a breakthrough. In my opinion this technology could see the ICE live on alongside the electric car and its synthetic fuels, or E-fuels as they are more commonly known. What it is, is a breakdown of hydrogen and carbon dioxide that is already in our air. The hydrogen is zapped through a formula called electrolysis and the carbon dioxide is used as a raw material to create methanol. Companies such as Siemens and Porsche are investing in this technology as it keeps classics and current ICE cars on the road and it is another solution to carbon-neutral mobility, if the fuel is made from renewable energy. This is one of the downsides to synthetic fuel – it’s a very high-energy-consuming formula and people may think that because you are still burning the fuel you are still causing pollution. They would be right to an extent, but the process works to enable any greenhouse gases to go into the atmosphere will be captured by carbon capture technology. So, you’re preventing anymore harmful carbon emissions reaching the atmosphere, which enables it to be carbon-neutral in the process. I think this has great potential in saving the ICE, but at the moment prices for this fuel are still very high and we will only start to see a drop once there has been enough produced. Porsche reckons that by 2026, it will have made around 550 million litres.
Moving onto the present with electric cars and I personally think that they have many flaws and need to fill some big boots to win the hearts of the consumer. Firstly, the range. I know they are forever being improved but my logic is this: the bigger the battery, the more range, however the car is more expensive and once that battery begins to degrade, so will the bill for the owner for an replacement battery. A smaller battery means, less range, but makes the car cheaper to buy, but will also degrade and be expensive to replace.
Then we’ve got the infrastructure itself. There are currently 35,000 public chargers in Britain, but to achieve the 2030 ban, the country will have to install at least 400,000 and at this moment in time the government isn’t pushing or investing to get more on-street chargers installed or in petrol stations. One solution would be to install on-street chargers in lamp posts as this would be a practical and easy way to charge an electric car at night, but the transition is still too slow and the government really needs to push if it wants to put its money where its mouth is.
My biggest gripe I’ve got with EVs, however, is the battery production, which is a wash of toxic emissions and finite materials. Cobalt and lithium for example are very delicate and need to be changed from being adopted in a battery cell for an electric vehicle. Current car manufacturers are working on improving the ingredients that goes into their batteries, such as solid-state batteries which are alot smaller and promise a greater distance on one charge, but it’s not here yet.
A study recently was published by Polestar, the electric car company from Volvo, revealed that the battery production of one of their electric cars compared to a conventionally-powered Volvo XC40, meant that battery production was so high in emissions that you had to drive the Polestar 48,000 miles before you can balance the emission levels with the XC40. Now, in my view, a zero-emission vehicle is one that is zero emissions from the get go – not after 48,000 miles.
On the face of it, hydrogen fuel-cell looks like a valid and sustainable solution and I think it still is. Not only does it give the consumer good range out of a tank, but it offers the practicality of ICE motoring and in the process of only produces H20 (water). There are problems though, there are only two cars on sale today that offer this alternative fuel: the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo. Both of which are ruinously expensive at more than £60,000, and the infrastructure in the UK is very poor, with less than 20 hydrogen filling stations, so there is further investment that needs to be backed by the government for this to be a viable solution – which it could still be for heavier industrial vehicles like trucks and buses that wouldn’t work with an electric motor.
So, the country has got a lot of work to do to meet its ambitious target to end the sale of new ICE cars, and only time will tell to see whether that goal is achieved. My outcome is this: you need to give the consumer choice, it can’t just be a one-way street. We need a balance of electric power, hydrogen fuel-cell and low-carbon synthetic fuels to reach Britain’s target of net-zero by 2050.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that you could buy serious Japanese machinery for the price of a new Fiesta. Cars like the legendary Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, Honda NSX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evos all could be had for as little as £20,000.
However, times have changed and the Japanese domestic market (JDM) is thriving across the world and these days the aforementioned cars are now going for some eye-watering figures. Why? Well, there are several reasons and here’s my guide to what it means if you own a classic JDM car.
Gran Turismo generation
If you’re a 90s or 00s kid growing up around cars you will know that this gaming series really set the mark for the JDM scene. The Nissan Skyline, which before the introduction of Gran Turismo in 1997 was an exclusive product to the Japanese market, became the flagship poster car for the franchise and was recognised almost globally. The same could be said for many other Japanese hero cars which were not sold outside of Japan such as the Subaru Impreza 22B and Mitsubishi EVO 6.5 Tommi Makinen Edition.
Picture credit: James Richards (Nismo 400R no.040/044)
Rare exotic variants of otherwise mainstream vehicles were given the opportunity to also become mainstream. With only 44 produced globally from 1996 to 1998, this car would still remain relatively anonymous if it wasn’t for the Gran Turismo exposure. An example of the Nismo 400R recently sold for in-excess of £300,000.
Supply does not meet demand
Recently, this has become an issue in the USA where demand has literally gone through the roof. America is importing cars from Japan quicker than you can say ‘JDM’ and used examples elsewhere in the world are becoming thinner on the ground by the day. Part of the problem is American import laws whereby you could only import a car from another country if it is 25 years old or older. That means cars built in 1997 or before are higher in demand for markets in America. Cars like the MK5 Honda Civic SIR-II, for example, have recently been selling for upwards of £40,000 for pristine collector examples. Ten years ago, you could have picked one of these cars up for around £2,000.
Honda Civic ESi 1992
Even in the UK, examples of the 1991-1995 Honda Civic are beginning to increase with genuine low-mileage examples exceeding £5,000, whereas ten years ago you could pick up good examples for around £1,000.
What was the car of choice in the scrappage scheme in the late 00s is now a real gem and is a truly sought-after classic.
Investors
The avid car collectors are now starting to catch on to the ever-growing bubble of Japanese cars. Purely for speculation, collectors with high disposable income are now ”investing” their money into these classics, as they know it will make them earn a profit in the long-run. These investors are willing to pay astronomical sums in order to obtain the best-of-the-best examples, ultimately making them impossible for them to find, let alone afford.
This drives the market and deman up, and at the moment, the bubble is growing and shows no sign of bursting.
What if you own a classic JDM car?
My advice would be to keep hold of your car because each day they are becoming harder to obtain, driving their values up. Japanese cars above any other form are more than likely to hold on to their value due to their quality, reliability, nostalgia factor and heritage that helps retain prices.
The Civic Type R has been the benchmark when it comes to driver-focused hot hatchbacks. Back in 2001, Honda released the first Civic Type R to British shores and it was an instant hit. It was equipped with independent rear suspension, a six-speed manual gearbox and Honda’s legendary VTEC powertrain meant you had one of the finest- handling and engaging hot hatchbacks around. The first Civic Type R to come to Europe was code named the EP3 and it demonstrated that even the most sedate hatchbacks could be fun, so when Honda announced in 2006 that the EP3 was going to be replaced by the next generation of Civic Type R’s, code name the FN2, it had some rather large boots to fill.
The FN2 was on sale from 2006-2011 – model shown Type R GT Mugen 200
On paper, things did not live up to its expectations. Firstly, it only produced 1bhp more than the old EP3 – producing 198bhp. It was also heavier making it slower than the old car and Honda ditched the independent rear suspension for a safer old-fashioned torsion beam, which made the car cheaper to make and also not as good to drive. On top of that, the rear spoiler blocked your view out of the back and the ride was like bouncing around on a space hopper.
But, on the flip side, Honda decided to keep its renowned K20A engine in the FN2 to give the driver the car’s track- focused appeal and it certainly did not disappoint from a powertrain perspective; it may not have beaten its older brother around a track but it certainly gave an engaging experience. Added to that, the FN2 had space-age looks and from a practicality point of view, it was vastly bigger for carrying items than its competitors at the time.
Even though it was slower than an EP3, it was still great fun which a lot of people did not believe after the media slated it for not being as good as the previous generation. The handling was quick and precise, the pedals were positioned perfectly for heel and toe gear changes and the VTEC engine was just as impressive as in the EP3 with a lot of torque at the top-end of the rev range, while retaining on a motorway run 40mpg.
It also had value on its side, with a fully-loaded GT version priced around £5,000 less than the equivalent Volkswagen Golf GTi.
The Type R FN2’s interior certainly matched its bold exterior design
Then we had the small matter of depreciation. FN2s have held onto their money well and used examples now with under 60,000 miles can be picked up from around £5,500 -£7,000 depending on condition and specification. The model shown in the pictures is a limited-edition model that ran in 2010 called ‘Mugen 200’ and low-mileage examples of those can vary from £13,000- £18,000 due to their rarity.
Back in 2006, when this car was first launched, peoples’ assumptions meant that this car had tripped up before it had reached the ring and after spending some time with one, it still deserves the Type R badge because not only was it a rewarding hot hatch to drive, it was the last naturally-aspirated Civic Type R before Turbos arrived to boost power for the next Civic Type R in 2015, with the FK2. So, was the FN2 the worst Type R? Well… no, there has never been a bad Type R and I don’t think there will ever be.
It wasn’t that long ago that Toyota had a reputation for making rather forgetful vehicles, and with the surge of electrification and hybrid technology, enthusiast-derived performance cars have been put on the back foot – until now.
The GR Yaris is Toyota’s flagship hot hatchback and with the recent hattrick of victories from WRC, WEC and BTCC, Toyota are on a role in motorsport. It makes sense then for the company to give us, the customers, a little taste of the race and rally circuit. The GR Yaris is an homologation special, which for many will know that this is a rule set by manufacturers to sell a certain amount of road-going versions of the rally or race-spec car. Cars like the Lancia Delta Integrale and Ford Escort RS Cosworth were all examples of what I mean – they gave the customer a rally car for the road.
GR stands for ‘Gazoo Racing’ and for the keen Toyota enthusiasts out there, this badge means business. GR-branded cars first came to Europe in 2018 with the extremely exciting yet very exclusive Yaris GRMN. Followed by this was the Yaris and Corolla GR Sport, which were normal versions of the popular hatchbacks with sports suspension and some cosmetic tweaks. In 2019, a comeback from one of the most famous names in the Japanese car fan book was reborn – the GR Supra, which had been off sale for more than two decades in the UK.
GR Yaris in Pure white with optional Circuit pack £33,495
So, what does this mean machine have to offer? Well, it comes equipped with a 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces a rather healthy 257bhp. It can dash from 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds and has an electronic top speed of 143mph. Toyota claim that this new engine is the world’s lightest and most powerful three-cylinder engine (engine name G16E-GTS).
What lurks beneath that wild body makes you forget that this is still a Toyota Yaris: Four-wheel-drive, dual exhausts and a limited-slip differential make the GR Yaris behave very much like its rallying father and will give the driver full reassurance and confidence in the slipperier trouser-clenching moments.
The GR Yaris is Toyota’s first mass-produced hot hatchback in over a decade.
When the car is released, there will be two versions: GR Yaris and GR Yaris Circuit pack. The standard car starts at £29,995 and comes with, automatic lights and wipers, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, electric heated and folding mirrors, keyless entry and push button start, dual-zone climate control, sat nav, Bluetooth, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, DAB radio, USB,a rear view camera and a selection of solid, pearlescent and metallic paints (Pure White (Solid) shown in pictures), Platinum White pearl, Scarlet Flare and Precious Black).
The Circuit pack is a bit more costly at £33,495 and adds 18-inch forged lightweight alloy wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, two torsen limited-slip differentials, red brake callipers and GR circuit suspension – this version will attract the track day enthusiast.
As this is a pre-production model, I couldn’t drive it, but after spending a good hour with the car I can tell you that this is going to be Toyota’s diamond. You sit low down and have three aluminium pedals, while there is a six-speed manual gearbox and a manual handbrake.
The only nagging gripe I have is due to the sloping roof line, taller passengers may struggle to get comfortable and the visibility out of the back window is like looking through a letter box.
The Toyota GR Yaris goes out to its first customers next month and the Circuit Packs are set to be released in January 2021.
My conclusion on this car is, this is just the beginning of a very exciting journey for Toyota indeed.
Entering a new decade, we now have the new fourth generation Jazz which has kick started Honda’s electrification programme; to make all of their mainstream models have an electrified drivetrain by 2022. This new iteration of Honda’s popular supermini has ditched conventional fossil fuel and gone hybrid only, so, can this new Jazz offer the same practical and easy driving experience as its previous counterparts? Let’s find out.
DRIVING
Behind the wheel, the Jazz has always been a relaxing car rather than an engaging one and this new model is no exception. When driving in town the steering is light and there is a generous amount of visibility, with very small A pillars and big rear windows makes manoeuvring a doddle. At slow speeds the engine is running on electricity, so there is virtually no noise, however, put your foot down and the E-CVT transmission does roar into life and makes the engine sound unrefined. The steering does have more feel than before; it certainly has more involvement, but being a taller car means cornering does have its weaknesses. The main problem is body roll, with the Jazz struggling to remain stable around the bends, if you want driving enjoyment, then the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2 are better in this department. The ride also the lets the Jazz down, with it being very fidgety among bumps and it never feels settled at any speed.
The Jazz has a practical interior
PRACTICALITY
This is the Jazz’s piste de resistance as the rear seats (magic seats) help improve the Jazz’s already vast interior space. Rear legroom is more than generous and headroom thanks to the boxy shape is also very good, with six footers having no issue at all at getting comfortable. The boot at 304 – litres is just shy of the Fiesta’s boot capacity at 311- litres, but once the Jazz’s back seats are folded completed flat this transforms the boot space to 1,205- litres – making it the best in class. However the Crosstar version that we have on test has a smaller boot to the regular Jazz at 298 – litres of space. There are also lots of cubby holes dotted about the cabin, with plenty of cupholders and a double glove box compartment adds to the Jazz’s spacious and well thought out interior.
Honda’s magic seating arrangement can make loading of taller items i.e. plants much easier
PERFORMANCE AND RUNNING COSTS
In the UK, the Jazz is only available with one engine choice. A 1.5-litre petrol engine mated to two electric motors, which produces a total power output of 108bhp and 253Nm of torque. There is only one transmission choice, an E-CVT automatic.
The two electric motors have two roles in their job, the first helps with direct propulsion and the other converts energy from the petrol engine into electricity. All of this means that the Jazz can achieve 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds and 9.9 seconds for the Crosstar variant and has a top speed of 108mph for the normal car and 107mph for the Crosstar.
Depending on trim level, the Jazz delivers very and low running costs, with Honda claiming that normal Jazz’s in SE and SR spec will achieve 62.8mpg, whilst EX trim will be 61.4mpg and the heavier Crosstar will manage 58.9mpg. CO2 emissions are also low, ranging from 102g/km and 110g/km depending on which model.
The Jazz’s 1.5-litre petrol engine cuts in seamlessly with its two electric motors.
VERDICT
The new Jazz has really matured in its new generation, there is a lot to like about this little supermini and Honda have done a great job in improving one of their best selling models. If you want a no nonsense practically work horse, than the Jazz needs to be high on your shopping list. It’s just let down by a bland driving experience, the lack of engine choices and with prices starting from just under £14,000 and rising to £21,000 for the Crosstar – it’s not exactly cheap either.
Before the Jazz was launched in 2001, Honda decided that they would break into the small car segment by selling a car that had sold well in Japan to see if us Europeans would warm to the idea. That is where the Honda Logo was introduced. No, you may not have heard of it either but the Logo was only sold in the UK from March 2000 to March 2001.
2000 Logo SE 3-door
Originally launched with just one engine: a 1.3-litre four-cylinder petrol, and one trim level called Logo, the Logo was targeted at people who wanted a cheap-to-buy and run city car. The outcome though was bleak. In its one-year life span, Honda only sold around 1,700 Logos in the UK causing them to drop it immediately, even though in September 2000 the firm added and extra trim level called SE which boasted equipment such as a leather steering wheel, gear knob and a rev counter. The main reason for the Logo to be a sales flop was because it arrived in the UK too late.
Logo interior
Japan had introduced the car in 1996 meaning it was already four years behind the competition. Its design, interior and safety equipment where all archaic which is why no one really caught onto the Logo. Nevertheless, the Logo did have a ace up its sleeve with a lot of equipment that came as standard such as air conditioning, electric windows, heated electric door mirrors and remote central locking.
Only around 1,000 Logos are left on Britain’s roads making them rather exclusive. Despite all this, though, its spacious cabin, decent-size boot and oddball styling does attract this little hatch to Japanese car enthusiasts as they are now extremely unique little cars.
If you are trying to buy a Logo, prices generally sit around £200-£1,000 for poor-to-average-condition examples – or expect to pay up to £2,000 for a low-mileage rust free one at a dealership.
The Yaris was the jewel in Toyota’s crown as it captured the combination of Japanese innovation with European design, and the first iteration was one of the best. With its cheeky styling, funky interior, class-leading VVT-i engine and tardis- like interior space, the Yaris was light years ahead of the old Starlet that it replaced. Originally sold with a 1.0-litre 67bhp engine, the Yaris had the most powerful 1.0-litre engine in the world which is why it won Engine and Car of the Year in 2000. It quite literally re-wrote the rule book for the supermini. The competition shrieked when they saw the Yaris, as it had completely transformed Toyota’s image and it gave a glimpse of what the Japanese giant was really capable of.
In its six-year life, there were several engines, including petrols and a diesel as well as a 105bhp warm hatch named the T Sport to give the Yaris its own identity – making it stand out from the crowd in a very competitive market.
2005 phase 2 Colour Collection 3 door
The Yaris was always at the top of the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey back in the early 00s; reaching first or second place as owners praised its engine, space, design and dealership experience. As a current owner of two Yaris T Sports and previously a 1.3 Colour Collection, I would recommend a Yaris to anybody who is looking for a first-time car, a practical economical runabout or even for a family. I’ve never had any reliability problems, they have never failed to start, parts are reasonably priced and the cost of filling up a T Sport from empty is around £40 – which for a near 20-year-old 1.5-litre engine isn’t too bad.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
1. Avoid the MMT (Multi-Mode transmission) which is an automated manual transmission. These gearboxes had a tendency to fail costing owners some times more than what the car was worth in its older age. My advice would be to stick to the five-speed manual or the four-speed automatic.
2. Check for any rust on the rear wheel arches. Mud, salt and dirt can build up in the rear arches and if they are not cleaned out regularly, moisture then causes the arches to corrode. The most common areas to look are the rear sills near the jacking points and front strut towers.
3. Make sure that it has been regularly serviced as timing chains on 1-litre cars can have a tendency to snap if not cared and looked after.
4. Look for any water in the spare wheel well as rear brake light gaskets can fail which can cause a Tsunami in the boot area, or where the seam sealer around the boot area cracks overtime, which also lets water in.
5. Avoid entry-level models such as S and T2. The S model didn’t come with power steering until 2001 and both models are very spartan: a cassette player, keep-fit windows and one airbag meant that you hardly got anything for your money.
Apart from these niggles the first-generation Yaris is pretty much bullet proof, if you can find a low-mileage and full-service-history example, I am certain you will be very satisfied with one of these little cars.
1999-2003 Trim levels: S, GS, Colour Collection, GLS, CDX, SR and T Sport
2003-2005 Trim Levels: T2, T3, Blue, Colour Collection, T Spirit and T Sport
T SPORT
Then we get to the most desirable of all the first-generation Yaris’ – the T Sport.
This warm hatch was introduced to the Yaris line-up in April 2001 and it gave the range a bit more flavour. Not only was the supermini given a new lease of life, packing 105bhp out of its new 1.5-litre engine, but there were significant mechanical upgrades too. The chassis was stiffened, it had sports suspension, bigger alloy wheels, bespoke bumpers, side skirts and a TTE (Toyota Team Europe) rear spoiler added to the car’s sporty appeal. But, T Sports are becoming increasingly harder to find in good condition and many have been thrashed and abused. If you can find a stock, low-mileage example, you’ll be looking to spend around anything between £2,000-£4,000 – depending on their condition and history. Both were available in -three and five-door form, although five-door examples are a lot rarer. You also had a limited choice of colours. Phase 1 T Sports, which ran from 2001-2003 came in either the flagship colour, Thunder Grey (pictured below), Chilli Red, Caribbean Blue, Eclipse Black and the rarest colour being Flame Gold. The Phase 2 was introduced in 2003-2005 and came in the same colours with the exception of Flame Gold which was dropped and Caribbean Blue was replaced with Balearic Blue, which was discontinued in 2004.
All in all though, T Sports are the most fun Yaris , and with fuel economy of around 40mpg, it won’t damage your wallet either.
2004 Phase 2 T Sport 3-door2003 Phase 2 T Sport 5-door
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