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Japanese cars have been popular in America for a very long time. Since 1958, cars from JDM manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have delivered some great cars to American consumers. Not only did these cars prove to be more affordable than European and even American counterparts, but they were also lighter, and hence, more impressive in performance. This is what cemented the image of Japanese cars as the go-to option in many segments for the masses.
However, just like any other type of car, Japanese cars, too, have had their problems. While big brands like Toyota and Honda have given us great and iconic cars like the Supra and the Civic, they have also delivered some cars that were downright terrible, and never deserved to be on the roads in the first place. Such cars made living with them infinitely difficult, and while there are plenty of Japanese cars in the market today that prove to be great choices, there are also some dreadful examples that you shouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. In that vein, here are 10 of the worst Japanese cars ever.
10/10 Honda CRX Del Sol
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Honda had a lot to prove with the CRX Del Sol in 1992. This car had to live up to the famed CRX nameplate. In fact, many who bought the CRX Del Sol did so because of the CRX tag. Sadly, the Del Sol wasn’t even a shadow of the original CRX, and was nothing but terribly disappointing.
The roof had leakage problems, and the cabin was a very cheap place to be inside, too noisy even for its time. Making things worse for many customers was a bad engine mount that made the car even more harsh and noisy than it usually was. Another problem that plagued owners of the Honda CRX Del Sol were warped front brake rotors. A blight on the history of Honda and the CRX nameplate, the Del Sol only left a bad taste in everybody’s mouths.
9/10 Eagle Talon
When Chrysler took over AMC, they also got Eagle and the partnership between AMC and Mitsubishi under Diamond Star Motors. The Mitsubishi Eclipse shared the same platform as the Talon, but the Talon simply couldn’t hold a candle to the Eclipse, or any half-decent car for that matter.
Owners of the Eagle Talon found out first-hand what Murphy’s Law was, as everything that could go wrong with a car, did go wrong with the Talon. The Eagle Talon had faulty gaskets, ball joints, problematic differentials, bad radiators, terrible alternators, and a lot more. The timing belt on the automatic variants was terrible too, and the Talon was doomed to fail from the start.
8/10 Mazda Capella
The Mazda Capella also called the 626, went through six generations. While the Capella had things to like about it like its handling and NVH levels, the car suffered because it came with Mazda’s horrible automatic transaxle.
This led to owners being unpleasantly surprised by random downshifts and upshifts. A completely clunky car, the Mazda Capella refused to respond at times, and that earns it a spot as one of the worst JDM cars because it then becomes impossible to consider anything else that might be good about the car. Malfunctioning alternators, CV joints, distributors, and cooling problems only made the car worse.
7/10 Toyota Paseo
Toyota marketed the Paseo as a sport-styled car, and it even had a convertible option in its second and last generation. Sadly, the styling was all there was to Paseo, as it couldn’t even manage to be a decent car.
By no means was the Paseo a fast car, but it wasn’t even quick. In fact, you might just want to cycle to your destination if you were in a hurry rather than getting into a Toyota Paseo. Based on an economy Japanese car, the Paseo simply shouldn’t have ever come off the assembly line with the 84 elderly horses it came with. The radiators were leaky, too, and the underpowered engine made things worse with its excessive oil consumption.
6/10 Suzuki Samurai
The Suzuki Samurai’s initial reception was quite decent, thanks to its affordability and off-roading ability. However, things turned sour very soon when the owners of the vehicle found out the hard way that the Samurai toppled with just a strong enough wind or any slightly hard turn.
Consumer cases over the Samurai’s shoddy and light build quality came one after the other, eventually forcing the Samurai to leave American shores in 1996.
5/10 Honda Insight
The first generation of the Honda Insight ran from 1999 to 2006, and it was a far cry from the 2020 Insight we know today. First off, the design team didn’t deserve their paycheck for the first-gen Insight, as looking at the exterior induced nothing but confusion and visible disgust.
The power, too, was a measly 96 hp, and the handling was equally horrendous. The first-gen Insight was a complete lemon of a car, and while Honda aimed to originally sell over 45,000 units of the car in its seven years, they only sold a meager 17,000.
4/10 Datsun F-10
An awfully-designed car from hood to tail, the Datsun F-10 was not at all easy on the eyes. The design team most certainly was not paying attention to appropriate ratios, as the framework is stretched out too long vertically, and the car looks nothing but fat.
The power, performance, and transmission of the Datsun F-10 were completely unimpressive as well, which made the car a complete failure. In fact, this is the car that essentially killed Datsun, as sales were so bad that the marque itself was retired for Nissan to take over its place completely.
3/10 Suzuki X-90
After the Samurai debacle, it was clear that Suzuki had no idea what they were doing, and the X-90 was proof of it. If you don’t know whether to call the Suzuki X-90 an SUV, a sedan, a sports car, or a pickup, neither did the car itself.
It was the strangest design from Suzuki, and the 95 horsepower it made also served to make it a complete dud. Like the Samurai, the X-90, too, could flip over when pushed too hard. Naturally, the Suzuki X-90 slowly crawled towards its extinction, and absolutely nobody complained.
2/10 Geo Metro
The Geo Metro was originally sold as the Suzuki Cultus in Japan. For the imported US version, GM dubbed it the Geo Metro. Why GM ever thought this car could possibly work in America is beyond us, as it made nothing more than 50 horsepower.
The interior wasn’t something to write home about either, as the cabin grunted and groaned even with such a low-powered engine underneath it. There was even a ragtop version of the car, which was as unsafe as it was uncool. All in all, the Geo Metro is a Japanese car that simply shouldn’t have been greenlit.
1/10 Nissan 350Z
Before you whip out the pitchforks, hear us out. The Nissan 350Z has tons of ardent fans all over the world, but it is also the deadliest car in the United States, as per the IIHS. The 350Z was capable of reaching the 155mph mark with its limiter on and unbound, it could go all the way up to 170mph.
However, it was just as unsafe as it was fast, owing to airbag software issues. As a result, the Nissan 350Z caused 148 casualties in just three years between 2005 and 2008, and that’s simply not a car you could find yourself recommending to someone in good faith.
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