Voxy rental rates: Okinawa with a family of seven
A white Voxy parked at Umikaji Terrace at sunset
Haisai! I’m CULT.
Following my review of the Toyota Noah, today.. I thought I’d review a slightly cheaper minivan. I.. know quite a few rental company owners, so I can rent cars at very low rates.. and just try all sorts. I needed a car for my Okinawa photo shoots, and reviewing it brought in some more blog page views too. A win-win.
Anyway.. let’s take a look at the Voxy, a minivan that’s cheaper than the Noah.
Before we get into it, the rate was discounted when I rented it: 31,300 yen in total, including insurance, for 3 nights and 4 days (72 hours).
Pickup and return
You can’t collect the car at the airport, so you need to take the monorail one stop.
First off, you can’t collect this car at the airport. You can take the monorail one stop and pick it up at Akamine Station. With a credit card, you can get there from the airport just as you would on the subway in Korea. Easy. I used to moan so much about Okinawa’s monorail not accepting credit cards.. and now it even takes Samsung Pay -_-;;
Alternatively, they can deliver the car to your hotel. Delivery is free in Naha and Tomigusuku. You can also return it at your hotel, Airbnb or a paid parking lot near your accommodation.
Toyota Voxy at a glance
It’s a cheaper minivan than the Noah, but with seven people, you need to agree on suitcase sizes first.
Details
The backdrop for today’s rental car review thumbnail is pretty spectacular. It’s Umikaji Terrace, basically a place to munch on snacks. Go between 4 and 5 pm, sip a drink and zone out, and you’ll get a sunset like this.
A look inside
The features aren’t fancy, but it has what you need for an Okinawa trip.
This car doesn’t have any particularly fancy features. It’s also at the bottom of Toyota’s minivan range, and I hear even a fully loaded Voxy feels a little lacking. That’s why the rental rate is low. Makes sense when the car itself is cheap. Still, it has just the features you need to enjoy an Okinawa trip, so there’s no need to worry.
One disappointment with the Voxy is the lack of a cup holder to the right of the steering wheel.
Still, it’s much roomier than a typical small SUV, Toyota Yaris or Toyota Roomy. Of course, the Noah and Toyota Alphard I covered earlier are bigger.
There are two seats in the second row. You can slide them forward and back to adjust the space. They don’t have all the features of the Alphard’s seats.. but this car is all about a cheap or good-value Okinawa trip, rather than luxury, so you won’t find those extras here.
A minivan for 7,000–8,000 yen a day.. try finding another car like this in this condition at that price. You won’t, haha.
Here’s the third row. There are only two headrests, but there’s another one in the trunk. Take it out and fit it in the middle, and you can seat three people, though.. can’t we just call this a six-seater? Anyway, value for money! Savings! Budget travel!
The instrument cluster is very simple. You don’t really need to look at the fuel gauge or the engine-speed gauge on the left anyway, so you can put your smartphone here. From what I found out.. if a rental company installs a phone mount and an accident happens, the owner can also be held partly liable for the damage.. so rental cars usually don’t have phone mounts. There have even been Japanese court rulings on this, so the savvier rental companies deliberately avoid fitting them. Anyway, placing your phone on the left doesn’t get in the way of driving.
I manage to drive just fine without a phone mount too.
You might as well treat this screen as a dedicated rear camera monitor. The navigation only supports Japanese.. and even if it supported Korean, it would be utterly useless. You have to enter things in Japanese, and how good is your Japanese? It’s easier to think of it as just a rear camera monitor. Using Google Maps on your smartphone is pretty much the easiest way to get around anyway.
In-car navigation.. if it doesn’t support Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, it’s all useless crap. Even if it supports Korean.
There are three pedals.
The one on the left is the parking brake. I keep mentioning this because.. I always hear stories of people leaving it on and asking why the car is so slow. I heard that regular passenger cars in Korea stopped using foot-operated parking brakes about 15 years before this rental? So people don’t know. They don’t even know foot-operated parking brakes existed..
There’s also a fuel door release lever low down on the right of the driver’s seat, toward the top of that area. Pull it to open the fuel door.
Ah.. where did that photo go -_-;;
Anyway, this car has a power sliding door on the left. Power sliding doors on both sides cost extra, and this car is a bit.. basic, so only the more commonly used left sliding door is powered. Japan drives on the left, so it’s handy when dad pulls up to quickly pick the kids up from the roadside.
Trunk space
If all seven of you agreed to bring only carry-on suitcases, this is where you need to keep that promise.
Huh.. I don’t have many photos of this..
This is with the golf bag storage area expanded, giving you more space lower down. And yes.. if there are seven of you, nobody plays the troublemaker and everyone sticks to the promise to bring only carry-on suitcases, you can fit seven. The moment someone brings a 24-inch suitcase or a big 28-inch one like the one on the left, you’re in trouble. With carry-on suitcases only, you can fit seven plus one small folding stroller.
For five people traveling with lots of luggage, there’s more than enough space. Though in that case, the Toyota Sienta is the best choice.
But if someone in your group needs a powered wheelchair, folding the seats gives you enough space for it and luggage for five people.
Driving impressions
After driving the Alphard, I found parking the Voxy easy even in Naha’s paid parking lots.
First off, the Voxy isn’t really my kind of car. The fuel economy isn’t great: roughly 7–8 km/L.
I usually drive rental cars in Okinawa on my own.. so for me, traveling alone, it’s really about the worst choice. But if seven of you agree to bring only carry-on suitcases and rent it together.. nothing can beat it for value. Of course, you could go for the slightly nicer Noah, or an Alphard if you’ve got the money, but today we’re talking budget travel, remember?
On a trip of around 3 nights and 4 days, even if you drive a lot, you’re unlikely to exceed 300–400 km. Even if you’re not used to driving in Japan, fuel should cost around 6,000–8,000 yen in total. Factor in the rental fee, and it does work out cheaper than a higher-trim vehicle.
I’ve already driven the Alphard a lot.. so I’m having no trouble parking in Naha’s supposedly tricky paid parking lots. The Alphard is bigger than the Voxy, which makes it a bit harder to park. As I always say, if you’ve driven something like a Kia Grand Carnival or Hyundai Staria.. the Voxy is easy to park and drive. It’ll feel really small. Even if you’ve only driven something the size of a Hyundai Sonata, you’ll soon get used to it.
I mainly used this Voxy for daily photo shoots at American Village and reporting trips in eastern Okinawa. As I said, the fuel economy when traveling alone is a bit.. But the rental rate was very cheap at 7,500 yen a day, so rather than something like an Alphard Hybrid.. one of those cars that costs over 13,000 yen a day to rent.. I think enjoying the Voxy on a budget is a perfectly decent option.
There’s a Noah two spaces over too. The Noah is just a tiny bit bigger. I’ve driven the Voxy several times, and the thing that always strikes me is.. the side mirrors are freaking huge. Not quite sure why they made them like that..
Had to include a convenience store shot.
7-Eleven had recently launched its own zero-sugar drinks, so I’d been dropping in often. The zero-sugar lemon-lime soda is good, so give it a try. I found 7-Eleven’s own-brand zero-sugar lemon-lime soda tastier than Chilsung Zero Cider in Korea..
Oh, and.. while reporting in the east, I also visited a restaurant Mr. Fun, Cool & Sexy had been to.
A good restaurant serves good food.
Because that’s what makes it a good restaurant. (nods)
I’d been holding out to post this when Mr. Fun, Cool & Sexy became Japan’s prime minister, but heh.. so much for that..
By the way, Nangang-sama has been to this restaurant too.
Cost and booking
Let’s crunch the numbers, including insurance.
Let’s crunch the numbers.
The Voxy was discounted when I rented it. It was 7,500 yen a day, plus 2,200 yen a day for insurance, making 9,700 yen a day in total. For 3 nights and 4 days, or 72 hours, the total was 31,300 yen. One tip.. the moment you hit 73 hours, you get charged another day’s insurance, so keeping your rental to exact 24-hour blocks can save you a little.
Today.. we talked about the Voxy for exploring Okinawa by rental car, especially as a way to save money on family trips. I hope this helps you enjoy Okinawa on a budget. That’s it for today, and tomorrow.. I’ll probably be talking about Okinawa restaurants.
Mata yasai
- There are two headrests fitted in the third row, but there's another one in the trunk. Take it out and fit it in the middle, and you can seat three people.
- Folding the seats creates space for a powered wheelchair. There was enough room for luggage for five people too.
- When I drove it, I got roughly 7–8 km/L. The fuel economy wasn't great for traveling alone.
- This car's navigation only supports Japanese. I found using Google Maps on my smartphone the easiest option.
- Of the three pedals, the one on the left is the parking brake. It's a foot-operated parking brake that you press with your foot, rather than pull by hand.
- There's a fuel door release lever low down on the right of the driver's seat. Pull it to open the fuel door.
- You can return it at your hotel or Airbnb. A paid parking lot near your accommodation works too.
