Four underrated Eighties Japanese cars you should consider giving a home to

If the budget can’t stretch to a CR-X, AE86 Corolla or Starion, these cars are more than worthy of your garage

The Japanese car industry was on a roll in the 80s. Critical acclaim was rolling in from Europe and the United States – and as export markets grew, a greater awareness of Western tastes developed. Some brands gained notoriety owing to motorsport, anime or hard-won reputation; others, equally as deserving, had to live in their shadow.

Easy to own, more than affordable and supported by enthusiastic owners’ clubs, our selection of lesser-known Japanese icons – the Mazda 323 ‘BD’, Honda Accord Aerodeck, Nissan Silvia (S12) and Isuzu Piazza Turbo apologise to no-one and would be equally suitable as a daily driver as they would be on a show field.

Mazda 323/Familia ‘BD’ (1980-1985)

Mazda’s first front-wheel-drive family car was something of a seminal hit for the firm in its homeland – but it would take time for the message to spread out across the world, and for the ‘BF’ Familia, as the model was known elsewhere, to really find its feet.

The thing with the 323/Familia ‘BD’, though, is that it has pedigree. The modern Mazda 3 traces its lineage back to the ‘BD’; it was a more than worthy foil to the Ford Escort Mk3, so much so that Ford, which acquired a stake in Mazda a year before the BD’s launch, sold it in Australasia as the Ford Laser in preference to any of its small family cars engineered in Europe.

Japan certainly took the BD to its heart; it’s clear in the number of model kits produced in its image that there was plenty of love for Mazda’s best-seller. Anime and manga were two sources of street cred – it certainly did for the AE86 Corolla and Initial D – the third came from the model kit industry. The likes of Aoshima and Fujimi, among others, worked flat out to slake an insatiable domestic thirst for the Familia.

Thin on the ground nowadays, the BD has more clout than many realise; the Familia Owners’ Club can help you find one.

Isuzu Piazza Turbo (1985-1989)
Often mistaken in profile for a DeLorean DMC-12 or VW Scirocco Mk2, the Piazza Turbo was Isuzu’s entry in the UK sports car market, trailing the other major Japanese marques. A distant derivative of the Gemini, localised here as the beloved Vauxhall Chevette, the rear-wheel-drive Piazza was criticised when new for its drive layout.

Many European nameplates (including Ford and GM Europe, both of which were soon to ditch the Capri and Manta) were moving to front-drive hot hatches and coupes; nowadays, however, rear-wheel drive is no handicap.

Wedge-shaped styling and unusual headlamp eyebrows (cribbed from the Lamborghini Jarama and Iso Lele) meant the Piazza looked like nothing else in detail; a raft of later-life dynamic improvements by Lotus produced the ‘Handling by Lotus’ cars, which remain the best to drive. The supportive Isuzu Piazza Owners’ Club can help with spares and hard-to-find body and trim parts.

Honda Accord Aerodeck (1986-1989)

Volvo 480 and Middlebridge Scimitar aside, there weren’t too many sporty shooting brakes available in the 80, but Honda, out of left-field, surprised everyone with the Aerodeck, based heavily on the third-generation Accord.

While Japan preferred the contemporary Prelude, the Accord Aerodeck, shaped by designers who would later work on the NSX and Insight, was a surprising hit in Europe. Its combination of pop-up headlights and hatchback practicality snared buyers who thought Volvo’s 480 too small, and the Middlebridge Scimitar too niche.

Rust and a few spares issues aside, a bustling community on Honda Owners Club.com is the place to go for Aerodeck guidance.

Nissan Silvia ‘S12’ (1984-1989)

Arguably the car with the most street cred in our group is the Nissan Silvia (S12), the only coupe to bear the nameplate in the UK and Europe out of deference to the Swedish monarchy, of all things.
Of course, like the 323/Familia, the Silvia has serious pedigree; the nameplate continued on in Japan, adorning three more generations of coupes beloved of mountain pass drivers and drifters.

That association from the later S13-S15 generations has certainly rubbed off on the S12; prices and awareness have risen as a result. The only other rear-wheel offering in our group, the 1.8-litre Turbo was the only model the UK received, it was rather better received than its contemporary, the Isuzu Piazza Turbo.

A rallying career and famous successors also mean that the S12 has decent club backing from Club Silvia and Silvia Owners UK. Just watch it on the corners…

Check out our page on Japanese Classic Car Imports for more information on how you can insure your classic Japanese car.