5 Forbidden JDM Performance Wagons You Can Finally Import To America

Practical Performance


The promise of practical performance holds strong appeal and is irresistible to those who’d like more zing in their family cars. That’s where hot wagons come in, and long before fast crossovers and SUVs became the norm, it was the ticket to moving people and luggage as quickly as possible on the road.

While it’s the Europeans who are often credited with the growth of the hot wagon genre, the rest of the world also made several rapid longroofs along the way. Back in the ‘90s, some Japanese automakers decided to stick in some pretty punchy engines in their respective wagons, resulting in a horsepower race that hasn’t been seen before or since.

Throughout that decade, Japan produced some of the best wagons that most of the world had never experienced. Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Toyota each had tourers that could go toe-to-toe with some sports cars, all of which we wish were sold outside Japan. With that, here are five of the coolest JDM cars that could haul more than just luggage. Oh, and you can import all of these to the U.S right now. So instead of the usual popular JDM cars to import, we present to you these awesome alternatives.

Honda Accord Wagon SiR


In this list, the Honda Accord Wagon SiR was perhaps the biggest missed opportunity for America. It’s no secret that fourth- and fifth-gen Accord wagons were made for the global market, but one of the best versions was made in Ohio, only to skip U.S. sales channels and be shipped straight to Japan.

The fifth-gen Accord-based Wagon SiR was built from 1996 to 1997, so its limited production run makes it already a rarity. It used the same 2.2-liter engine as the Prelude, producing 188 hp and 153 lb-ft of torque. While that doesn’t sound like much, it actually produced more power than the 2.7-liter V6 available in American Accords at the time. Unfortunately, it was automatic only, but it was still a brisk wagon, nonetheless. If you decide to bring one over from Japan, you’re simply bringing it back home.



Honda

Mitsubishi Legnum VR-4


We briefly discussed the Legnum VR-4 when we discussed some of the best Mitsubishi models of the ’90s. Well, it’s back in another list, simply because it’s the type of car that the Diamond Star brand can only dream about producing these days. There’s that and the fact that North America never got Galant-based station wagons of any kind, making this forbidden fruit even more desirable.

It may surprise some of you that the Legnum VR-4 was built for a relatively long time, from 1996 to 2002. Making this wagon even more interesting was its availability of a manual transmission. Couple that with all-wheel drive and trick diffs from the smaller and more nimble Lancer Evolution, and you effectively had a load-lugging rally car. Oh, and its 2.5-liter twin-turbo V6 was good for 282 hp and 272 lb-ft, so sub-6-second 0 to 60 mph runs were possible. We know, Mitsubishi used to be really cool.



Mitsubishi

Nissan Stagea 260RS Autech Version


If the Legnum VR-4 was the Evo wagon before the actual Evo Wagon, Nissan’s take on the hot wagon concept was effectively a Skyline GT-R with a cavernous cargo area. Indeed, the first-generation model got goodies from the Skyline, as it shared the same platform as the R33, but the ultimate iteration of the Stagea was the 260RS Autech Version.

Produced from 1997 to 2001, the Stagea 260RS was powered by the very same engine as the R32 and R33 Skyline GT-R – the RB26DETT. The 2.6-liter twin-turbo inline-six mill easily fit under the hood of the wagon, and made 276 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. Not only that, it came with the same all-wheel-drive system as the contemporary GT-R, and it was exclusively a manual. Just less than 2,000 of these were built over five years, making it even rarer than the Skyline GT-R.



Nissan

Subaru Legacy GT-B


The second-generation Subaru Legacy may not be the most exciting thing to behold, but its anonymous-looking body was home to Subaru’s first-ever twin-turbo engine. Obviously, it was never offered stateside, as the American version peaked at 165 hp from its 2.5-liter boxer engine.

The Japan-only Legacy GT-B had a smaller engine at just 2.0 liters, but the pair of turbos strapped to it helped it produce 276 hp and 253 lb-ft of torque when fitted with a manual transmission. Sure, it wasn’t the first high-performance wagon from Subaru, but the GT-B kicked things up a notch or two.



Subaru

Toyota Caldina GT-T


In the world of Toyota JDM cars, the Caldina is perhaps one of the more obscure models. The model it was based on, the Carina, was never sold in North America and was effectively an Avensis Estate, another model that never made it stateside. But its obscurity simply adds to its cool, oddball appeal, especially once you know what it’s packing.

For those who always wanted a Celica GT-Four for the family and the dog, the Caldina GT-T was the one to get. It had the same 2.0-liter turbo from the rally coupe, producing 256 hp and 239 lb-ft of torque. It also came with the same drivetrain as the Celica GT-Four, so it had all-wheel drive and a limited-slip diff in models equipped with a manual. Making this odd duck even more offbeat is the fact that it never really shouted about its performance credentials from the outside.



Toyota

Final Thoughts


Japan’s affair with performance wagons was relatively brief. By the turn of the millennium, many of these had disappeared. Honda would make a new generation Accord Wagon SiR, and that one lasted until 2002. But of all the nameplates mentioned above, only the Honda remains, and without a wagon version.

The hot Stagea was axed in 2001, and the second generation was nothing like its predecessor. Toyota still tried to make another fast Caldina for the new millennium with the GT-Four, which was produced for about five years, from 2002 to 2007. Three years after Legnum VR-4 production ended in 2002, Mitsubishi revisited the rally wagon concept with the Lancer Evolution IX Wagon in 2005. Production lasted until 2007 and stopped at 2,500 units, closing Mitsubishi’s chapter on performance wagons in the most epic way possible.

So, where does that leave Subaru? Well, it’s the only one in this group that still actively builds sports wagons. The WRX Wagon is still around, effectively inheriting the baton from the turbocharged Legacy wagons from the past. With the way things are going over at Subaru, it seems that the folks from Gumna are determined to keep the spirit of Japanese sport wagons alive for as long as they can. It’s just a shame that it’s not offered in the U.S.




Mitsubishi

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