Three Things I Love About Our Red Copen Cero
The seating position, the thoughtful details and the hidden chassis upgrades that make this particular car so enjoyable
Last week, we looked at the idea that importing a car from Japan now means paying no customs duty.
As explained in our CEPA article, you should not build your import budget around that assumption. The agreement was not designed to encourage private buyers to import used Japanese cars, and claiming preferential duty requires more than a car being Japanese.
This week, I’d like to show you around the red Copen Cero we have for sale—and explain why I’m so tempted to keep it myself.
Six Months with Our New Copens
From left, High-lift Xplay, Robe-S, Cero, and GR Sport
It has been around six months since we began holding LA400 Copens in stock here in Britain.
Serious enquiries from people considering a New Copen, and visits to our Showroom pages, have gradually increased. That is encouraging.
My impression from those conversations is that the prices are beyond what some readers had hoped to spend.
I understand. Over the past few months, we have explored Japanese asking prices, auction results, higher-mileage cars, repair-history cars and different standards of preparation. There are several routes to owning a Copen, each with its own costs and compromises.
Ultimately, your budget is your budget. What makes a car worth buying is also a personal decision.
Meanwhile, I am very pleased with how our stock cars have turned out.
In fact, there are moments when I wonder whether I should simply keep them and enjoy them myself.
Today, I would like to show you three things I particularly like about our Matador Red Cero.
If you have not visited its dedicated sales page, you will find the full specification, history, preparation details and price there. It is quite a long page, deliberately written to answer the questions you might have.
Here, I want to take you around the car more personally.
1. The D-SPORT Seat Covers Make More Difference Than I Expected
I used to think of seat covers mainly as something that changed the appearance of a cabin or protected the upholstery underneath.
This Cero made me reconsider that.
Underneath the D-SPORT covers are the original seats. Although the car is now more than ten years old, its low mileage has helped them remain in very good condition.
First-generation Copen owners who have sat in the car have commented on the firmer, more supportive feel of the seating compared with their own cars.
What particularly interests me, though, is how the covers change the seating position.
They add some height to the seat cushion. In this car, I find that helpful.
One characteristic of the LA400 Copen is that it can be difficult to judge where the front of the car ends from the driver’s seat. Sitting slightly higher gives me a better view forward and makes the car easier to place.
It is a small change, but one you appreciate every time you get in.
The covers also suit the cabin beautifully. However, the part I enjoy most is the difference I feel when sitting behind the wheel.
If you come to see the car, take a moment to settle into the seat before looking at the rest of the equipment. You may understand immediately why this is first on my list.
2. The Previous Owner Had a Good Eye for Detail
The more time I spend with this Cero, the more I appreciate the previous owner’s choices.
There is Alcantara trim on the door panels and other interior surfaces. The handbrake cover and gear gaiter add further detail around the centre console, alongside the TRD gear knob.
These are the areas your eyes and hands return to whenever you drive.
I like the way the materials and finishes work together. There is plenty to notice, but the cabin still feels coherent.
Outside, the same approach continues.
The side decals give the body a little more definition, while the pinstripe on the front lip spoiler adds a finishing touch without taking attention away from the Cero’s rounded shape.
That is what appeals to me about this particular car. The previous owner has given it an individual character while retaining the appearance that makes a Cero attractive in the first place.
You can buy individual accessories, but finding a combination you enjoy looking at and living with takes some judgement. I think the previous owner did that very well.
3. There Is a GR Sport Parts Festival Underneath
Some of my favourite equipment is hidden from view.
This Cero has TRD Performance Dampers fitted at both the front and rear, together with TRD Door Stabilisers.
If you are unfamiliar with Performance Dampers, these are body-mounted damping components, rather than the suspension dampers beside the wheels.
On the road, I enjoy the combination of a more solid body feel and a supple response. The car feels composed without losing the lightness that makes a Copen enjoyable.
It is a particularly satisfying balance. From behind the wheel, it does not feel like something you should dismiss as “just a kei car”.
There are also underbody reinforcement braces and aerodynamic fins from the GR Sport specification.
At higher road speeds, I have found the car reassuringly settled. That sense of stability adds another dimension to a car whose appearance might initially suggest that its main attraction is simply being small, red and charming.
The equipment underneath gives you another reason to enjoy driving it.
Of course, you cannot judge that from an equipment list alone. This is one of the reasons I would particularly like interested buyers to experience the car for themselves.
A Red Cero for a British Autumn
There is much more fitted to this car than I have covered here.
However, those three areas—the seating position, the carefully chosen details and the feel of the chassis—are what keep coming back to me when I spend time with it.
It is also a lovely, clean car. Looking around it, I can see the care its previous owner put into making it their own.
That care is part of its appeal.
I can easily imagine this Matador Red Cero on a cool, bright autumn day in Britain: pottering through town, stopping somewhere for coffee, then taking the longer route home through the countryside.
I would be quite happy doing that myself.
For now, though, I am looking forward to seeing who will take it home—and which details they will come to enjoy most.
You can explore the car, its preparation and its current price on the red Cero sales page.
If it looks like your kind of Copen, arrange a viewing and ask about a test drive. Come and sit in it, look at the details and discover whether you enjoy it as much as I do.