Top 10 JDM Cars That Can Finally Be Imported into Canada (2022 Edition)
There’s never a better feeling than the one that comes with knowing that you can now legally import your dream car. A few posts ago, we mentioned that in order to legally import a vehicle into Canada, the vehicle must be at least 15 years or older. So if that makes my math correct, that now means (as of 2022) all cars that were made in 2007 can legally enter the country. So go on gearheards, go crazy with some of the choices on this list!
Let’s start with the Honda Civic Type R (FD2). It comes with a naturally aspirated 2.0L engine, which simply means that the engine is supplied with air, rather than the use of turbocharging or supercharging. This car comes in Front-Wheel-Drive and is manual. It makes up to 225 horsepower and is estimated to reach 0-60 MPH in 6.2 seconds. The price range for this car is anywhere between $18,500 and $35,000 CDN.
Although it looks really nice on the road, and even more when work is done on it, it really shocks me that this car is actually quite slow. I mean 6.3 seconds is a lot longer than what most cars can make, but I guess it really is the potential that buyers see in it when going to make the purchase.
Next is the Subaru Impreza WRX STi (GRB). A lot of letters for a little car right? This car has slightly better stats, if you ask me, and it is a really nice looking one overall too. The price for this vehicle is anywhere between $13,500 and $28,000 CDN. In this case, you are not paying for what you get, in my opinion, the price is too cheap for the numbers this car can make. It comes exclusively with the Manual option and in All-Wheel-Drive only. It’s 2.0L turbocharged engine can get this car making up to 308 horsepower. The stats for this specific model for the 0-60 MPH test are not known, however, the WRX STI makes it in 5.0 seconds flat.
I feel like here, the price is really what makes the difference. If you can find a car within this price range, the amount of potential it has for future modifications will really be worth it. I promise you will be able to make back money here too when it comes time to sell, if it is taken care of by the owner.
Let’s talk about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X (CZ4A) now. This beast has so much modification potential in my opinion making it one reason to buy. It comes in both manual and automatic transmission options and makes 280 horsepower. Under the hood, it sports a 2.0L turbocharged engine, only availble in All-Wheel-Drive. The price range for this car is anywhere between $13,500 and $35,000 CDN. In the 0-60 MPH test, this car makes it in 4.5 seconds making this the fastest time yet.
Did you know the Lancer Evolution X is the tenth and final generation of the Lancer Evolution? The production was set to end in 2015 and a “Final Edition” (FE) trim was offered, adding special production badges on the center console indicating which number it was of the allocated amount per market.
The Nissan Skyline 370GT CKV36 is a BEAUTY. It looks like your average Nissan car, even striking some resemblance to a few Infiniti cars from far. These cars range from anywhere between $6,000 and $13,000 CDN bumping the Subaru Impreza WRX STi (GRB) to second place on the affordability list for the cars listed so far in this post. Same like the Honda Civic Type R (FD2), this car comes equipped with a naturally-aspirated engine, except this one is slightly bigger at 3.7L. This car comes in both automatic and manual options for the transmission and makes 333 horsepower. It comes in Rear-Wheel-Drive only. In the 0-60 MPH test, the Coupe version makes this speed in 5.2 seconds.
Fun Fact: Infiniti is a division of Nissan Motor Co. In 1987, Infiniti received it’s now famous name, later followed by the well-known logo two years later in 1989.
Lexus is part of the JDM car group, believe it or not (yeah I know I was shocked too when I found out). Of all the cars on this list, this one by far has the biggest engine – 5.0L Hybrid-electric. There’s one more thing that makes this car interesting, it contains a CVT transmission – Continuously Variable Transmission – using 2 pulleys linked by a belt instead of gears like a basic transmission. This is one thing that makes Lexus and Toyota hybrid cars stand out, they always have this type of transmission in their hybrid cars. The typical CVT transmission lasts around at least 100,000 miles.
The Lexus LS600HL UVF46 ranges in price anywhere between $8,500 and $16,000 CDN. It is available in All-Wheel-Drive only and makes 394 horsepower. There is no data for this cars performance in the 0-60 MPH test.
Nissan has made it yet again on this list, which actually is not quite surprising. Nissan is known to have their hand in the sports cars section of the market for a couple of well known movie made famous cars, namely the GTR.
The Fairlady Z Z33 is a rear-wheel-drive car available in both automatic and manual transmission options. It comes equipped with a 3.5L naturally-aspirated engine under the hood and makes 313 horsepower. The price ranges anywhere between $8,500 and $30,000 CDN. In the 0-60 MPH test, this car clocked in at 5.2 seconds.
The Honda Fit RS GE8/GE9 is next on the list. This car takes the title for the smallest engine in this post at only 1.5L (naturally aspirated). It makes 120 horsepower and is available in All or Front-Wheel-Drive. The price ranges between $4,500 and $8,500 and comes in two options; automatic or manual transmission. For the 0-60 MPH test, there is no specific data for this model but the general RS makes it in 9 seconds.
For a tiny car these stats make sense and although they seem to be impressive they aren’t. Put another way, it’s all thanks to aerodynamics that the car is able to move so fast and the shape really helps with this too. Air is able to move faster around the car when the shape of the vehicle is smaller, helping the car to propel forward easier.
The Honda CRV RE4 really surprised me, because I never realized that it was in fact a JDM car. It has a 2.4L naturally aspirated engine and makes 170 horsepower. The price range for this car is between $6,000 and $10,000 CDN and is available only with an automatic transmission. It comes in All-Wheel-Drive only as well. When it comes to the 0-60MPH test, this car makes it in 9.1 seconds.
Let’s move onto the Subaru Impreza S-GT GH8. The price range for this car is between $6,000 and $18,000 CDN and is only available in All-Wheel-Drive. It comes equipped with a 2.0L turbocharged engine and makes 250 horsepower. When it comes to transmission options, you can choose between automatic and manual.
Last but not least is the Nissan X-Trail 25S/25X TNT31. It comes with a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine and makes 170 horsepower. This is the second vehicle in this post that comes equipped with a CVT transmission. The price range for this vehicle is anywhere between $6,000 and $11,000 CDN and is only available in All-Wheel-Drive.
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