Having and operating a Car, frugally but happily

[regular]

Dear all,

I am looking for your opinion and am inviting for your suggestions here.

Some time ago, I downgraded from a 2400 CC regular Toyota minivan (7 seater, gasoline) to a 1800 CC Toyota Prius (5 seater, hybrid). Both were 5 year old when bought, ran around 41000 Km, with auction rating 4 and each costed a million yen. I bought these from people I know who buys them from auction in Japan. I seem to drive each for 5 years before changing, so my depreciation is about 200,000 yen per year.

However, operating cost related to fuel (which is a larger annual expense for me) became less than half for Prius. Though I should be happy, I resent driving it (mainly because of the lowered seat than what I was used to at minivan class cars) and so, am now looking to change it toward a larger minivan class, either 5 or 7 seater, but hybrid car.

I have only driven used Toyota cars till now, and can not find any Toyota hybrid that fits these criteria. RAV4 hybrid introduced in 2019 is still pricy.

I am looking here for your specific suggestions on non-sedan hybrid cars with maker, model, grade, bought at how many Km, auction rating if any, and most importantly your satisfaction level with operating it. I want to be frugal but not at the cost of happiness at my current age, as this forum members seems to imply.

[mighty58]

The Toyota Alphard, Vellfire, and Estima all are (were) sold with a hybrid engine in their lineups. You won't get as good mileage as you do with with the Prius, but it'll be better than the 2400cc/2500cc gas engines in those vehicles. One level down, and the Noah/Voxy line also comes in hybrid versions as well, equipped with the same (I believe) 1.8l hybrid that's in the Prius.
One small but confusing thing to note if you're looking at used car listings on CarSensor is that for earlier (pre-2014) versions, the hybrid is listed as a completely different model (ie. there will be one category called "Alphard" for regular gas Alphards, and another one called "Alphard Hybrid' for hybrids), while for the latest generation, the hybrid and gas models are all mixed together under one listing, so you will then need to use the search filter to isolate the hybrids.

The latest version of the Nissan Serena with their ePower system is also interesting, with a tiny gas engine used exclusively to charge the batteries and it operates akin to an EV. These will be more expensive, but supposed to deliver great mileage.

[pfdsa]

This doesn't answer any of your questions, but I guess it could help someone else.

If you're handy and/or enjoy DIY, you could save some serious money if you do the shaken (car inspection) yourself. There's the regular shaken where you take your car to a car dealer, gas station, etc, and ask them to do the shaken for you, and then there's the user shaken. In the user shaken you do the car maintenance yourself, and then make a reservation online for the nearest District Land Transport Bureau website (陸運局), where they will inspect the car.
If you pass you get the shaken seal to put in the window and you’re done. This way you only have to pay for the parts that you replaced, the inspection taxes and compulsory insurance (自賠責保険), so the total price of the user shaken can be as low as 30,000-40,000 yen depending on your car (excluding the price of the parts that you replaced).
If you eventually find something that needs to be replaced and it’s beyond your skills, you could take the car to a mechanic to replace/fix just that part and then take the car to the user shaken. Fluids are usually very straight forward, and you can learn how to do it in youtube, etc (I highly recommend the youtube channel "ChrisFix"). Obviously you could break your car even further, so be sure to do this at your own risk.

[runmanTX]

This doesn't answer any of your questions, but I guess it could help someone else.

If you're handy and/or enjoy DIY, you could save some serious money if you do the shaken (car inspection) yourself. There's the regular shaken where you take your car to a car dealer, gas station, etc, and ask them to do the shaken for you, and then there's the user shaken. In the user shaken you do the car maintenance yourself, and then make a reservation online for the nearest District Land Transport Bureau website (陸運局), where they will inspect the car.
If you pass you get the shaken seal to put in the window and you’re done. This way you only have to pay for the parts that you replaced, and for the inspection taxes and compulsory, so the total price of the user shaken can be as low as 30,000-40,000 yen depending on your car (excluding the price of the parts that you replaced).
If you eventually find something that needs to be replaced and it’s beyond your skills, you could take the car to a mechanic to replace/fix just that part and then take the car to the user shaken. Fluids are usually very straight forward, and you can learn how to do it in youtube, etc (I highly recommend the youtube channel "ChrisFix"). Obviously you could break your car even further, so be sure to do this at your own risk.

The User Shaken can also be used for motorcycles (400cc or larger) and can save a little cash if one is somewhat handy with the tools. I have done this before.

[runmanTX]

The wife and I started off with a Kei (yellow plate) before kids. After kids, we ended up getting a regular size Toyota Noah which I quite like as a 6 foot tall American. When the kids move out, I can see myself downsizing to a Kei again. The road tax, shaken, gas, etc are all much cheaper and I can bank the extra cash.

[captainspoke]

I have a Fit that I bought new--it'll be 13yrs old next March (shaken time). Last shaken was ¥85,000 at the honda dealer that I've used for normal checks/service since I bought it there. I may try a user shaken in March just for the heck of it. This is an archived post, it looks to give adequate info to do it yourself. It was a little over ¥2M new (plush/sporty model, RS), so depreciation-wise, it has cost about ¥155,000/yr. Tires are great--had a flat a while back and bought a new set--tho the studless set should be replaced if I'm going to keep it.

Still under 90,000km (I don't drive much/far since I retired). It'd be hard to find something used that's comparable. Probably newer and less miles, but really no better for what I need a car for.

[TJKansai]

My wife's Aqua has a surprising amount of space for a small car. We put a roof box on it for extended roadtrips and it is fine for 2 or 3 people. I have been in much larger cars and felt cramped in the driver's seat. I just wish it had a bit more power.

As I age, I would like to get a bit more in the way of comfort and features though. The safety elements of newer cars far outshine those of 10 years ago. Ideally, I would like to get a 3-5 year old hybrid SUV, akin to a Harrier or Lexus NX/RX. The mileage is nowhere near as good as the Aqua, even though they are hybrid.

A more likely move would be to something like an upper-spec Honda Vezel Hybrid. My 186cm friend loves his.

Eventually, an EV is our plan. Self-driving is what my wife wants, and I admit wouldn't mind kicking back on some of my cross-country 8 hr drives.

[regular]

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.

[captainspoke]

Partially due to where we live--a city with narrow streets and sharp turns--and also due to our street and our own parking, one car spec I always look at is turning radius. I think it's 最小回転半径, always listed in the back of a pamphlet with all the other numbers.

Bigger vehicles are nice, but they also don't turn/maneuver very well.

[TJKansai]

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.

Toyota just announce a new EV SUV today. It'll compete with Nissan Ariya and probably be over 5 million.

I haven't test driven them yet, but as some mentioned earlier, Nissan's e-power cars have good gas mileage.

Did you drive the Vezel? My friend didn't feel his was underpowered.

You mentioned a few mid-size SUVs. The 5-year-olds are pricey, but at 7-9 years you may find something around 1,000,000. Of course, maintenance may be more on older cars.

A 1500cc engine is never going to feel fast unless it is a small car and/or there is a turbo.