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An update, The Lupo has arrived from Japan to the port in Vancouver, has cleared customs and is to be shipped to a city a couple hours from us for inspection before registration for the road. Now there is a rail strike in the offing so not sure how that will effect delivery! Now for a question, our broker claims he could not find a Lupo with a standard shift transmission without going the GTI route so much to our dismay this one will have an automatic transmission. I have an allergy to auto boxes - they make my wallet break out in a sweat! What is the durability track record on Lupo auto boxes? Thanks Merv.

I'm very doubtful about that! A fact check would be in order on that one. I was under the impression that the Japanese government would not allow cars over 10 years to be registered to drive on the road.That was also not true. My broker tells me that the incentive to buy new cars is insurance cost. As cars age there the insurance rates increase hugely as incentive to buy new. It becomes uneconomical to keep a car over 10 years old no matter the miles accumulated. They also have an large insurance incentive on vehicles under a certain engine displacement, hence all the 660 cc cars and mini trucks. That I understand is for exhaust emission purposes. We tried to get an Audi, Jetta, Passat, Gulf or Lupo TDI from Japan but it seems they don't exist over there. I am not sure why but speculate that a diesel is more of a long term/high driven mileage investment and they don't think long term or high accumulated miles over there.

Yes the present Subaru is only good for mileage in the mid 20s at best. The Missus may miss the all wheel drive on a handful of days of the year though.

Thanks for that! Good to know!

We have bought 2 Japanese imported car now, the first one was a rust bucket and the second was good. Do not assume they are rust free as some live close to the ocean. We are in the process of importing a Lupo now and I don't know how you guys check them out and test drive them before you bring them over from there. We just rely on pictures and the good reputation of the broker we use now. The first broker was not straight up with us.

It will be a while before we see it too, 6 weeks on the boat from Japan, A week clearing customs in Vancouver, then another week and a half on the train to Calgary where it has to be inspected before we can register it in Alberta to drive. I expect it to look identical to the ones you have there with the steering wheel on the wrong - pardon me - the right side! Then we will see if this 6'2" guy can even get in!

Hello all! I just found this site a couple days ago and am anxious to read all about these cars. I didn't even know they existed until I saw one for sale on a Japanese import website about a week ago. I then realized they are one of the several VW models we saw in Argentina on our visit there 2 years ago that are not offered for sale in Canada. A little personal car related history: there has been VWs in my family since about 1967 and we have owned and maintained Bugs, Buses, Square backs, Rabbits, and most recently Jettas. There are also 944s, a sand rail and a Manx copy Buggy presently in the stable. What brings me here? My wife delivers rural mail here in our area and as you know we drive on the right side of the road with the steering wheel on the left. This makes it awkward to stuff letters in mail boxes on the right shoulder of the road. Enter - right hand drive cars imported from Japan, problem solved! The first was a Dihatsu mini truck, worked alright but the low gearing and 660cc engine made for slow going and lots of engine difficulties. Next was a Subaru Forester, Yee Haw!! No more snail mail! She gets out and goes but fuel consumption is up considerably and now with over 200,000 km on her we find repairs to be getting more frequent. So - how about one of these little Lupos? Maybe a happy middle of the road option? I hope so... it is on it's way... 2002, green, 67,000 km, 1.4 automatic... We shall see!