I don’t think it was intentional, but this shot of a VW Squareback shot by furanku2 in Mojiko, Fukuoka makes a nice twosome with that rolling cube behind it, which is a Nissan Roox. That’s one of the very popular kei-class “vans” which are the ultimate in terms of efficiency of both interior space and operating economy.
I know this was intended to be about the VW, but these ultimate squarebacks intruige me. So let’s take a look at the Roox, as we’ve soon a lot of these VWs before.
The Roox, new in 2020, is built by a joint venture with Mitsubishi. It’s taken the kei class tall wagon concept to new heights, and offers a remarkable amount of room, features and all-round cleverness.
This doesn’t show the immense leg room in the back seat, as well as the huge headroom. Yes, you know it’s right up my alley; a better xBox.
Given Japan’s rapidly aging population, this “zero gravity” front seat makes a lot of sense.
Power comes from a 660 cc triple, with either 51 or 63 hp. Plenty, in reality, but Americans would never accept that. Yet it would be the perfect city/suburban car.
It looks like a mini train, or an airport terminal shuttle, the versatility reminds me of the new Bronco or Maverick. I cannot imagine it getting across the Bonneville Salt Flats on I-80 during a wind storm. The whole thing works proportionally, so that if you changed the tires to 20 inch – it would look bad. It would make a fascinating taxi.
Only one man shown. It seems pitched for moms. Love the extras for mobility-challenged occupants. If it was beefed up for the US market, it would lose a lot of the visual interest it has now.
We’ve reached a point here where the engine isn’t even shown. It is not a sales feature. Why is that? Ladies don’t want to know? It is just assumed that it could get out of its own way? This is a very different presentational approach. I can’t imagine not wanting to see the power source of this vehicle.
Interesting point about the engine. Who still wants to look at one, other than a fanatic? Many are hidden under plastic covers. There’s nothing to see here, so move along…
I like to know how my toaster toasts bread.
I like to know how my refrigerator keeps my leftovers from spoiling.
I like to know why I have to get up in the middle of the night to pee again.
I don’t want to look at the products around me like they are magical.
I want to know what is making this vehicle move, where it is, what it looks like, and how it works.
And if I can make that little engine move that little box a little faster, or more economically, or with more fun – sure, call me a fanatic. Yet, I prefer the words “self-reliant”.
Thankfully the folks at CC are as curious as we are about this. I like reading the historical technical stuff you present quite a bit.
Good luck making that or any new engine more powerful or economical. Buy headers for it, and a four barrel carb? 🙂
You care about these things and I would wager most of the readers here do, too.
My experience is that 95% of people I meet are not gearheads and don’t remotely care where the engine is, its displacement and whether or not it can be hopped up.
A good example is my own car. The motor in said car is famously easy to soup up; C$800 will give 40%+ more power. Very few do it.
The “no pics of the engine” thing is rather like how nearly every 1950s to early ’60s American car brochure had a drawing of the frame and chassis, along with an explanation as to why that brand’s frame shape improved safety and rigidity compared to the competition. Those mostly disappeared later when car companies realized most people don’t care what shape the frame is.
(note: We’re actually starting to see this again as a result of pancake underfloor EV batteries, but I’m guessing that will last only until that layout becomes the norm.)
As a mobility-challenged person, despite the swing-out front seat I can see the same problem as a lot of other cars. Where are my legs supposed to go, when I have trouble bending them? The lower edge of the door needs to open further forward, so I have room to swing my legs when getting in – but then there’s wheels on the way…… 🙁
Just a few days ago there was another one of these kei-vans photobombing the main subject, in this case a ’67 Continental coupe. I didn’t recognize it, but described it as “about halfway between a Scion xB and a minivan, with some Fiat 500L thrown in” (it turned out to be a Suzuki Spacia). That same description works for me almost as well with this Nissan too. I like it, especially with the available split bench front seats. Is there a legal reason (probably regarding airbags, shoulder belts, and headrests for the center position) that cars withbench seats can’t be sold in the U.S.? The XBox had bench seats and a column shifter in the JDM, but buckets and a floor shifter in America. Anyway, I’d buy a slightly larger version of this for my daily driver.
I don’t get how the “zero gravity” front seat(s) work.
These are much too narrow for a third passenger in the front seat. Even the rear seat is only suitable for two adults. The narrowness is defined by the kei class, the Roox is only 58″ wide.
The xB (bB in Japan), which was wider, did not have seating for three in the front (belts), even though it had something of a split bench seat. That was for lounging when not moving, or creating the sense of space. The bB was designed as a “mobile lounge car”, since lots of Japanese live in very tiny apartments not suitable for hanging out and socializing. The idea was you’d do that in your car, hence the giant back seat too.
A (slightly) larger version is available! Meet the Suzuki Solio =D
1.2L engine, all but the base model available with a mild hybrid system, etc. Larger models from competitors are available. Shown below is the top-spec sporty-nosed Solio Bandit MV Hybrid:
The seat has sort of a folding/articulating mechanism underneath it allowing it to just swing and swivel out of the car. Most every Japanese manufacturer now has multiple models and options that have something like this as mobility issues are becoming huge business in Japan due to an aging population – in fact it was one of the main foci of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. Note that this as well as everyone else’s are factory items/options, and not at all aftermarket, it was impressive to see the manufacturers take note and engineer to fill the need, of course their engineers likely all have family members that could make use of such a thing.
Reminded by Roger Carr’s recent Mini post on how that car’s 10” wheels were critical to its packaging efficiency, I looked up the Roox wheel and tire sizes. Earlier versions used 13”and 14” wheels: current versions are 14” with optional 15”. Not Mini-sized, but small by modern standards. But they are still narrow: the older Roox 14’s were only 4” wide, and even today the widest 15” option is 4.5” with a comparatively low profile 155/65-15 tire. This is only slightly larger in overall diameter and the same width as a 155/75-12 which would have been standard on an early Civic or Ford Fiesta.
I noticed in one video that they made a point of showing the 15″ wheels; that’s got to be a new record for kei class cars. They’ve gotten so muchg bigger that what they started out to be…think Subaru 360.
My Festiva had 12″ – so to improve handling, I bought the widest sport tires out of Asia that I could find. Those base Festiva models handled like they were wearing rubber bands.
Make it electric, 100hp, pack enough battery in there for 300 miles of actual range, charge $23,999 and Nissan wouldn’t be able to keep them in stock.
I pigs could fly…
This may sound a bit harsh, but you’re thinking too “American”. The whole point of very small cars is for primarily urban use, hence a 300 mile range is completely unnecessary. And of course a battery pack that size would weigh a huge amount and be very heavy, which of course would necessitate the whole vehicle to be much heavier in construction, and larger, to make room for the battery.
They do make EVs in this format, but with about 100 mile range, which is more than enough for the overwhelming percentage of users.
Having 300 mile range battery packs involves massive amounts of rare materials and has a huge carbon footprint, meaning a little city car driving maybe 10 or so miles a day would probably never offset enough CO2; better just using a little gas/hybrid drive train than that.
A Kei-jadosh is used for trips to the supermarket and other urban tasks. It doesn’t need 500 km of range. In fact, few cars in Japan do, because road trips are so expensive.
The cost of expressways in Japan limits their use. From Tokyo to Osaka is almost exactly 500 km. The toll is Y25/km, plus a Y150 admin fee, and 10% VAT. That works out to Y13,915 each way, or Y27,830 round trip.
Flying round trip costs Y10,000.
You beat me to what I wanted to say, Paul. When my Nissan Frontier XE was laid up with transmission problems (again, towing is not its strength) in 2012, I was loaned a Nissan Cube. Ugly little car, and not a particularly memorable highway car either (and prone to crosswinds, too), but I could see it as a short range urban carrier easily. Seats 4 comfortably, can do some small hauling, room for groceries, highly maneuverable, can park really easy in tight spaces. Economical. This was to be a great local (short range) car but not a long road trip kind of car (don’t mistake this for a business coupe for 20K miles/year driving). Would have made a great college/grad school car, and living in a downtown area where parking is madness. I spend too much time on the interstate as it is, but for my wife who drives exclusively local, it would be good car for her. The EV option would be appealing also at 100 mile range because even 20 miles in one day would be a lot for her (shopping).
A Cube is good around town theres one in our yard for runabout purposes I took a 5 metre x 3 inch unloading hose to a delivery site and back in it, all suburban trip it was perfect and lower loading height than a Ranger which was the other option
$24k MSRP? Nah. But a small, simple two-box EV for ~$31.5k (which would get it down to $24k with the $7.5k federal tax credit) might be a winner. Nissan should definitely take note.
A new, base, no-option Leaf ‘S’ goes for~$28,425 (but those only have a 40kWh battery, good for a 150 mile range). And, AFAIK, Nissan still has a way to go for their EVs to remain eligible for the credit before they hit the 200k volume cut-off.
If further proof is needed that an all-electric, small minivan will sell, all eyes will surely be on the 2025 VW ID.Buzz.
As an aside, I want to add that Fukuoka is gorgeous. I had the good fortune to spend three years there, from 1993-1995 and then again from 1996-1997. Fukuoka, in my opinion, is the nicest city in Asia. Unlike most Japanese cities, Fukuoka was designed to be pretty. The jumble of utility poles, signs and cables are absent.
The walking is fantastic and Ohori Koen (park) is just a short walk from downtown and a white sand beach not far from there. The walk is beautiful.
The downside was the terrible summer weather. It would rain in torrents at 35’C. Everything got covered in mould and the power bills to run the aircon cost a fortune. To cool a 15 square metre apartment eight hours a day cost $250+.
Neat vehicle.
The economy-class rear seats and touchscreen lose me, though.
But that’s ’cause me and my fam are big-uns, and we like us some big ol’ buttons.
Curious why this does not have the Kei class yellow license plate, or is it bigger than the allowed parameters for that classification?
I like these types of vehicles and see them as very suitable for city use. I have been driven around in some on trips to Japan and they generally have plenty of room, even for the overweight extra large dude from Canada.
Fighting over the single, narrow armrest would be like flying coach.
Am I the only one to see Exneresque fins climbing up the rearmost pillar?