In Malaysia RM150,000 seems to be a the threshold when it comes to buying a slightly more premium car. This figure could be seen as a sensible figure where the price buys you something large and nice or fast and sporty without breaking the bank.
Of course, this price segment is filled with large D segment cars with a 2.0 liter engine like the Honda Accord or a Hyundai Sonata or European and Japanese C segment type cars with either a 2.0liter normally aspirated engine or a smaller 1.6liter and below turbocharged one. But when it comes to actual performance cars in this price range we have to ask...where the heck are the Japanese?
In the 1990s when most wanted sprightly performance we ended up buying Honda Civic EG or EK VTECs that would give us sub 9 seconds 0-100kmh timing for under RM120,000 (unreg grey imported ones). We had the Honda CRX SiR with 160hp in a 1,000kg body. We had Mazda doing 1.8liter turbo hatchbacks for their WRC homologation. We had Mitsubishi giving us the Mivec Colts and we even had a Nissan Sunny GTi-R.
These days we have only Suzuki dishing out a very juicy Swift Sport for us to purchase at RM100k+ if we want some Japanese driving fun. The Honda CRZ hybrid was a missed opportunity, at under RM120k under tax breaks but now at over RM186k , as it wasnt fast at all.even when compared with the Swift Sport. The Civic Type Rs have stopped production and only a few unreg examples from grey importers remain. Toyota's 86 is still overpriced and is mostly sold at a higher price.
It actually leaves us with the Europeans for anything that you can do 0-100kmh under 8.5 seconds and a over 200kmh maximum speed. You have the Ford Fiesta ST, the Peugeot 208GTI, the VW Polo GTI to name a few. Oh...Hyundai has crept into this list too with its newly launched Veloster Turbo (below). I've driven most of these and at this moment no Japanese car under RM150k bar the Swift Sport (due to its impeccable handling) gives more thrills than the cars mentioned right above.
Where are the Japanese in small car or affordable car fun? Its not as if it has been because the local distributors have not imported one in because the Japanese do not have any. There are no Mazdaspeed 2, no Jazz Type R, no Toyota Corolla Levin Trueno under Rm150k that is made anywhere in Japan. And no, a Mazda3 2.0 still is not a purpose built sports hatchback according to the criteria I have given. It needs more power and torque to head under 9seconds to 100kmh.
I suppose the Japanese are chasing profit margins over anything else. But I sometimes wonder whether this is the way to go for them. Slapping on a bodykit and making a bread and butter model look sporty is all they are doing these days. Performance car buyers need to look to Europe and Korea.
Eventually the mindset for the younger generation of performance oriented consumers will ignore Japanese makes as the household names famed for performance will be European and Korean with the exception of Suzuki. What the Japanese built up in the 1980s, 1990s would be laid to waste.
Full circle mind you. In the 1960s and 1970s we were all into Alfa Romeos, Fords, Fiats and Peugeots. We are back where it was...minus Fiat and Alfa Romeo though.
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