Having and operating a Car, frugally but happily

[pfdsa]

I am still looking for your suggestions as I do not like the box-like shape of Voxy or Serena or Alphard. Today I actually checked a Honda Vezel hybrid. I was really surprised to learn that it is 17mm shorter (!) than my Prius, and runs with a 1500 CC engine. I am not tall, but even Prius feels underpowered when I need to accelerate, so...

I love the shape of Toyota Estima Hybrid but it is too long. So I am now searching for Toyota Harrier and RAV4 hybrid models, as well as Honda CR-V models. All of them are pricey. There is a new release Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid.

Please share your experience if you have any direct knowledge about these models.

What about the Toyota Sienta? Has lots of space, and doesn't look big and boxy like the vans that you mentioned. It was designed for people that need room, but don't want/can't afford a full sized van like the Alphard, etc.
Not sure if it fits your needs and budget, but heard good things about it, so it might be worth a look.

[mighty58]

Sounds like the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV might be what you're after. You'll have to raise the budget a bit... but 1.5m should be enough to bag a used one. Otherwise, it sounds like you've already crossed most options off from the list of alternative-powertrain vehicles.

One other option is the Honda Odyssey - a minivan that looks a lot cooler than your typical minivan. Again, the budget might be an issue (1.5m) if you want the hybrid version but it seats seven.

The Toyota Sienta is actually a well-designed little car, it's very roomy and flexible for it's size, and I enjoyed driving it when I was using Times. But it probably won't solve the OP's power requirements.

[grimpeur]

The Honda vans with 1.5L engines are all turbos. It looks like they get very good fuel economy. See the last column in this link for real world economy reported by owners. 10.65km/l for a big 7 seater box with economy-killing 4wd is very good. The less boxy ones will do better than the Step Wagon.

https://e-nenpi.com/enenpi/carname/1412

As an aside, kei cars that are turbos are fine to drive but get nowhere near the fuel economy of the non-turbos. So I do not know what gizmo or pixie dust Honda is using to get good fuel economy out of a turbo.

I drive an Alphard hybrid from 2003. It gets about 10-11 too, and is 4wd, with motors equal to about 10% of the total power on the rear axle. This is enough to get you up a steep icey hill, which is all you need 4wd for in a van. Going around corners in winter is all about sensible speed and snow tyres.

My wife's car is a Mazda CX-5 diesel that's beautiful, ours is leather and JBL and feels like an Audi or a BMW, and gets about 13km/l off diesel, so about 10 yen a km for fuel. Crossover SUV, so tyres are a bit expensive, but other than that, it's cheap to run. 2.2l turbodiesel, so about 8 seconds 0-100km/h. Six speed auto, not CVT, which adds to the driving feel. You can get decent one used for about a million yen I guess. They came out in 2012 and I waited until they hit 1.5 million used before buying ours.
https://e-nenpi.com/enenpi/carname/2022

[Rezz]

I am still looking for your suggestions as I do not like the box-like shape of Voxy or Serena or Alphard. Today I actually checked a Honda Vezel hybrid. I was really surprised to learn that it is 17mm shorter (!) than my Prius, and runs with a 1500 CC engine. I am not tall, but even Prius feels underpowered when I need to accelerate, so...

I love the shape of Toyota Estima Hybrid but it is too long. So I am now searching for Toyota Harrier and RAV4 hybrid models, as well as Honda CR-V models. All of them are pricey. There is a new release Toyota Yaris Cross hybrid.

Please share your experience if you have any direct knowledge about these models.

What about the Toyota Sienta? Has lots of space, and doesn't look big and boxy like the vans that you mentioned. It was designed for people that need room, but don't want/can't afford a full sized van like the Alphard, etc.
Not sure if it fits your needs and budget, but heard good things about it, so it might be worth a look.

+1 for the Sienta. We bought a brand new Sienta Safety Edition in summer for around 2million yen. It has seven seats with two folding down in the back. The boot space is huge when they're down. I get around 13-18km/l on local roads and 23km/l on highways if the aircon is off (regular petrol engine). Very happy with it so far. All the auto braking and parking cameras also make it incredibly easy to park.

[Bubblegun]

+2 for the Toyota Scienta.
It has been a good work horse for us. Not big at all. But can have two small seats pull out of the boot if really needed.Ours comes with SNOW drive.

We bought a second hand one, which imho looks much better than the new one.
It is not as big as the "buses" that need the high octane fuel and seem to only shuttle one or two people and it's probably the length of a normal car.

Ours is now over 10 years old, and still running well.Regular oil changes etc seem to keep it ticking over very well and my wife does some mileage in it, because she uses it for work.
The sliding doors are great as we never seem to hit another car especially with the kids.

If I was to consider any Change from this car, it would only be to something like the HONDA FREED. Sliding doors, Head room and just enough space.
But again I won't buy a new one.

We decided not to get a new hybrid as the BS on Saving fuel and money meant it would take about 15 years to recoup the initial investment, even longer when we considered buying a used car.It just seemed made it a better choice instead of a brand spanking new hybrid car.( compared to the savings of a second hand car). Although if you're a heavy user maybe it's worth the investment in the hybrids.

[regular]

grimpeur,

Please check your private message.

[northSaver]

If I was to consider any Change from this car, it would only be to something like the HONDA FREED. Sliding doors, Head room and just enough space.
But again I won't buy a new one.

Big thumbs up for the Honda Freed Spike hybrid. We got a five-year old low-mileage one last spring for 1 million yen. It was less than normal due to some falling-ice roof damage that had been repaired by the dealer (looked like new to me).

It's a fantastic car for sleeping in - truly fully flat with the seats down - and carrying bikes without removing the wheels. And it's a hybrid! Not as economical as a Prius though. We get about 18 km/l on average.

On the downside, it's smaller than the big boxy ones so not so good for families maybe. Great for a couple though.

It's main rival is the Sienta, which I see is also highly praised here. Does the Sienta go fully flat? I get the impression that not many cars do.

Oh, don't get the newer Freed models, they aren't designed as well. It's got to be a Spike.

[Bubblegun]

If I was to consider any Change from this car, it would only be to something like the HONDA FREED. Sliding doors, Head room and just enough space.
But again I won't buy a new one.

Big thumbs up for the Honda Freed Spike hybrid. We got a five-year old low-mileage one last spring for 1 million yen. It was less than normal due to some falling-ice roof damage that had been repaired by the dealer (looked like new to me).

It's a fantastic car for sleeping in - truly fully flat with the seats down - and carrying bikes without removing the wheels. And it's a hybrid! Not as economical as a Prius though. We get about 18 km/l on average.

On the downside, it's smaller than the big boxy ones so not so good for families maybe. Great for a couple though.

It's main rival is the Sienta, which I see is also highly praised here. Does the Sienta go fully flat? I get the impression that not many cars do.

Oh, don't get the newer Freed models, they aren't designed as well. It's got to be a Spike.

We've got two kids and the Sienta has more than enough space for us. I don't think they go completely flat. I guess the Honda spike was designed for the person who likes outdoors stuff. The only difference I see is the rear panel/window. The Honda freed looks slightly bigger than the Sienta, but I really don't want a big boxy Velfire or the Nissan big boxy jobbies. Huge things. I keep thinking its shuttling people to funerals. It just seems massive, not to mention they seem to take the super duper high octane petrol. Gas for out friends across the pond.LOL

That's a great deal...1Million yen.Food for thought!!!!!!! The scienta over 10 years old now and apart from the horrendous screeching fan belt.... shows no sign of stopping. Neither does the fan belt.LOL

[TBS]

Big thumbs up for the Honda Freed Spike hybrid. We got a five-year old low-mileage one last spring for 1 million yen. It was less than normal due to some falling-ice roof damage that had been repaired by the dealer (looked like new to me).

It's a fantastic car for sleeping in - truly fully flat with the seats down - and carrying bikes without removing the wheels.

Yes, Honda really thought about this point. My friend has a Honda Fit Shuttle from the same era where the seats also go fully flat.

Like the Freed Spike, the Fit Shuttle is no longer made however. Not sure whether Honda have any similar models now.