EK9 Popularity in the UK


E

Escy

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
297
I really like the concept of high performance 1.6 in a small car. There are a few similar cars made by other Japanese manufacturers.

Toyota Levin - 4AGE 20V - 165bhp
Mitsubishi Cyborg (and others) - Mivec - 170bhp
Nissan Pulsar VZR - SR16VE - 175bhp

The EK9 is the best, with more power and better performance, nicer interior also. (Although the Pulsar N1 trumps it in the power stakes) The others are all decent cars, especially when compared to UK hot hatches of the time.

I remember the EK9 got picked up in the press, saw it on 5th Gear, think it had a shootout in Autocar.

The EK9 is quite popular over here when compared with the others, always see a few for sale. Hardly ever see any of the others about. I wonder why the EK9 got taken to the hearts of UK drivers and the others never?

I've owned 2 Toyota Levins in the past and they are great. :drive:

(I know it's a different story in Ireland, you guys have all the cool cars over there)
 
Growing up I always thought ek9's were like gold dust..
In the week of owning one I managed to find out there were 4 that I knew of in the small city of plymouth were I live :(

Its annoying because the influx of imported 9's lower the value of the uk market and then kind of tarnish the reputation..

None of the less they are still awesome cars and like you you said they are easily the best hatch of it's time!!
 
They are no doubt still pretty rare sights, i'm talking in terms of popularity when compared to other similar cars like i've mentioned.

I used to own 2 Toyota Levin's. Only ever seen 2 others on the road. Not sure i've ever seen either of the other 2 on the road. Rarely see them at Jap car shows either.

Loads about in Ireland though.
 
Yeah fair enough, iv'e never seen a levin for sale tbh.. An idea could be the amount crashed and written on whilst drifting etc...
 
Ahh I always thought they were the same layout as the ae86..
In that case perhaps the majority of people after toyota's went for the 86..
Either way the ek9 is better so a better choice for import haha
 
k33rxn said:
Either way the ek9 is better so a better choice for import haha
Click to expand...

Faster, definitely. Better, i'm not so sure. Levin's have throttle bodies as standard which sound immense when opened up. The engines produce more torque than a B16b. 6 speed LSD gearboxes.

I'd rather an EK9 but a Levin isn't a poor choice. I understand why they weren't picked up by British media when new, the body style was never released here. The same can't be said about the Pulsar or Colt though, they were both available over here as boring hatchbacks, like the Civic was.

I thought maybe it's the whole "type-r" thing but it wasn't really around when the EK9 was released.
 
levins, colts and pulsar dont seem to run very well over here

been in and raced plenty of them and they dont hold a candle in a straight line to the EK9

all 3 of these cars are equipped with engines that are not sold outside of japan so maybe they dont like our petrol or climate or something.
 
Isn't it the same story for a b16b though? It's more highly strung than the others probably as it produces more power.

I do fancy trying out a Pulsar but the interior is really low rent, proper rank.
 
SiR will also blow them cars off the road

although i do have quite a few EK9 notches on my SiR timing belt lol
 
leeK9 said:
levins, colts and pulsar dont seem to run very well over here

been in and raced plenty of them and they dont hold a candle in a straight line to the EK9

all 3 of these cars are equipped with engines that are not sold outside of japan so maybe they dont like our petrol or climate or something.
Click to expand...

are we talking about the pulsar gti or the gtir here? :drive:
 
they are good cars, but they dont own everything on the road lol

renaults are good also, but require special attention
 
yes reliablity isnt up to honda standards but they have churned out some cracking fwd cars to rival the type r
 
You can't really compare a Renault to a Honda.
Yes they are fun,
But in most other areas fall short...
Poor seating position, electrical issues, cheap quality interior and parts etc.
But for pure driving yes some can be fun :)
 
Last edited:
You can't compare a Renault to the car's i'm mentioning. The ones i'm on about are high revving 100bhp+ per litre 1.6's. Renault hasn't made anything like that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top