Rental of MPV and driving in Hokkaido during winter

[Volvobrick]

32 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

Wow, thanks for sharing! It looks like Alphard is cannot liao...

Lucky the car not buried in snow 😂

Shit, if can't see the road, then how to drive huh?

And when are you going next month? Outback is Subaru? How many pax going?

Outback is sufficient for 4 pax with 3 bags this time.... Will be on the road a few days before Christmas.

They have arrows hanging like lamp post on both sides of the road, but even with that it was still very challenging when everything was covered with fresh snow. Main roads should be an issue just follow the traffic/tracks, but on country roads when you are the only car.... 😅

[kobayashiGT]

I saw this info at Nissan car rental japan website.

Serena can sit 8 pax and 3 luggage as they claim.

[Atrecord]

27 minutes ago, Heartlander said:

Alphard/Vellfire for rental in Japan only got 8-seater and fabric only.

Both rows seems seated quite high. And the last row in last picture should have been pushed forth to the max, seems can put 4 of smaller luggages upright. If can, then the rest can put infront on the floor flat.

Best is trouble your friend again to try out with actual luggages you using.

 

Thanks! But my fren drives a 7-seater leh... 😅 The captain's seat will be different...

if last row pushes forward a fair bit, should be able to put min 2 x 28" bah... then can try stack... ha ha...

[Atrecord]

24 minutes ago, Volvobrick said:

Outback is sufficient for 4 pax with 3 bags this time.... Will be on the road a few days before Christmas.

They have arrows hanging like lamp post on both sides of the road, but even with that it was still very challenging when everything was covered with fresh snow. Main roads should be an issue just follow the traffic/tracks, but on country roads when you are the only car.... 😅

ok, i'll be back before you go over 😀

pray weather will be nice for us to experience enough snow, but not till it inconveniences us... 😅

[Atrecord]

19 minutes ago, kobayashiGT said:

I saw this info at Nissan car rental japan website.

Serena can sit 8 pax and 3 luggage as they claim.

Thanks, but even Elgrand might not be big enough leh... Serena confirms cannot...

[kobayashiGT]

22 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

Thanks, but even Elgrand might not be big enough leh... Serena confirms cannot...

Woah. got consider 2 cars instead? such a big group. I think 2 car is better, can go separately from time to time then meet together for dinner.

If not must consider Hiace Commuter Van.

[Heartlander]

I rented the Hi-ace van for 4hrs from Namba area to drive from nearby Airbnb site to Rinku Town area few years back. More for convenience sake as quite a hassle to take train as a group as not so near to train station or limousine bus stop.

Frankly not so comfortable though space wise definitely more than enough. But the ride difference with Alphard is really huge in terms of passengers' comfort. That is why I am trying hard to steer Atrecord back to Alphard haha. But ultimately he has to decide if it is adequate.

[kobayashiGT]

9 minutes ago, Heartlander said:

I rented the Hi-ace van for 4hrs from Namba area to drive from nearby Airbnb site to Rinku Town area few years back. More for convenience sake as quite a hassle to take train as a group as not so near to train station or limousine bus stop.

Frankly not so comfortable though space wise definitely more than enough. But the ride difference with Alphard is really huge in terms of passengers' comfort. That is why I am trying hard to steer Atrecord back to Alphard haha. But ultimately he has to decide if it is adequate.

Haha. Okok! Then this is a Comfort vs Capacity test for @Atrecord

[grandis123]

On 11/16/2019 at 11:27 PM, Atrecord said:

Am looking for some advice:

We're going to Hokkaido next month, and are looking at renting a large MPV, so hope to get some tips and information on:

1) which MPV is good/best

2) any tips on driving in winter

There will be 7 of us on the trip. 6 adults/children who are 1.7-1.8 m tall, and one 6-yo kid who needs a booster seat. There will also be quite a bit of luggage, tentatively 1-2 pcs 28", 3 pcs 24", 2 pcs 20" luggages.

Looking at the options for MPVs, the larger ones are either Toyota Alphard or Nissan Elgrand, followed by the slightly smaller ones of Toyota Noah or Nissan Serena. Any bigger will be the Toyota Hiace van.

Is there any possibility of accommodating all 7, plus the luggages in Alphard/Elgrand, or is it necessary to go for Hiace?

I vaguely remember that @Heartlander had mentioned before renting Elgrand during a Japan trip, and also owned an Alphard before here? Care to share your experience please? Anyone else with knowledge/experience of these 2 - your opinion is welcome.

If we shift the 3 rows of seats to be more 'forward', will the luggage/boot space behind 3rd row seat, be sufficient for the luggages that we have?

 

Then on #2, driving in winter/snow, apart from going slow, and avoiding icy roads, what else should we look out for? Winter tyres are standard, and there's 4WD option for the vehicles.

Thanks in advance.

You will need minimum Alphard. Not sure if there is Hiace. In Hokkaido, some of the road is quite narrow and also depends on where you go.

You must restrict the luggages, otherwise no way can fit.

I drove an Oddysey before, also 7 of us but 2 adults and the rest ranging 7 to 19 years old. You really need to be very discipline in terms of luggages. I have to spot chat the luggages to make sure my children and wife do not pack extra.

Driving during snow is not really that bad consider that was my 1st time driving under heavy snow. Always keep a distance and never step too hard on the brake. Do not SPEED.. but being singaporean, we always drive faster than the Japanese. But just keep a safe distance and you will be ok.

Be prepared for flight delay as that year, our flight were cancelled twice due to bad weather.

 

 

[kobayashiGT]

3 minutes ago, grandis123 said:

You will need minimum Alphard. Not sure if there is Hiace. In Hokkaido, some of the road is quite narrow and also depends on where you go.

You must restrict the luggages, otherwise no way can fit.

I drove an Oddysey before, also 7 of us but 2 adults and the rest ranging 7 to 19 years old. You really need to be very discipline in terms of luggages. I have to spot chat the luggages to make sure my children and wife do not pack extra.

Driving during snow is not really that bad consider that was my 1st time driving under heavy snow. Always keep a distance and never step too hard on the brake. Do not SPEED.. but being singaporean, we always drive faster than the Japanese. But just keep a safe distance and you will be ok.

Be prepared for flight delay as that year, our flight were cancelled twice due to bad weather.

 

 

Got buy travel insurance?

 

[Wildfaye29]

so exciting. i oso wan to go drive in hokkaido during winter.

[Atrecord]

17 hours ago, kobayashiGT said:

Woah. got consider 2 cars instead? such a big group. I think 2 car is better, can go separately from time to time then meet together for dinner.

If not must consider Hiace Commuter Van.

Prefer to be in one vehicle leh. Today go check out Elgrand see if it's any better. If not, then will go for Hiace liao...

[Atrecord]

17 hours ago, Heartlander said:

I rented the Hi-ace van for 4hrs from Namba area to drive from nearby Airbnb site to Rinku Town area few years back. More for convenience sake as quite a hassle to take train as a group as not so near to train station or limousine bus stop.

Frankly not so comfortable though space wise definitely more than enough. But the ride difference with Alphard is really huge in terms of passengers' comfort. That is why I am trying hard to steer Atrecord back to Alphard haha. But ultimately he has to decide if it is adequate.

Yah, i also feel the exact same way as you. For the Hiace, do you remember whether there is enough leg space between the rows of seats at the back? With the 3 rows of seats (at the back), and the vehicle is shorter than Alphard, i'm sure there's as much leg space.

Plus the seats should be more upright. Can the seats be tilted, even slightly? Or can the seats be folded (I doubt)? If can't fold, we'll definitely have to put some of the luggages onto the seat(s).

Just occurred to us that maybe can consider Elgrand instead of Alphard, as Elgrand's 3rd row is 60/40 split. So worst case scenario, can explore getting my 6-yo nephew and my SIL to sit on the '60' part of the 3rd row, then fold down the '40' part to put luggage, if really after compromising on leg space, still can't squeeze all the luggages in... Wouldn't have been able to do this for Alphard's 50/50 3rd row seats...

[Atrecord]

15 hours ago, grandis123 said:

You will need minimum Alphard. Not sure if there is Hiace. In Hokkaido, some of the road is quite narrow and also depends on where you go.

You must restrict the luggages, otherwise no way can fit.

I drove an Oddysey before, also 7 of us but 2 adults and the rest ranging 7 to 19 years old. You really need to be very discipline in terms of luggages. I have to spot chat the luggages to make sure my children and wife do not pack extra.

Driving during snow is not really that bad consider that was my 1st time driving under heavy snow. Always keep a distance and never step too hard on the brake. Do not SPEED.. but being singaporean, we always drive faster than the Japanese. But just keep a safe distance and you will be ok.

Be prepared for flight delay as that year, our flight were cancelled twice due to bad weather.

Ha ha... but can restrict luggage meh? All the thermal, warm clothes already take up quite a lot of luggage space leh, and we aren't the type that can tahan cold so don't wanna compromise on that. But the kids by now are not bringing teddy bear, bolster, etc. anymore, so not likely to have too much 'not-useful' stuff lah.

There is Hiace available, but am trying to explore last option of Elgrand to see if that can fit. Hiace is definitely not as comfortable, but if really bo-bian, then will go for it.

BTW, i didn't see any Ody available for rent leh. Where did you rent it from?

Thanks for the driving tips too. Yah, will be careful, be slow, and no hard brake.

Flight delays - was that 3 yr ago? A fren was very lucky, one day after flying out from Hokkaido to Tokyo, flights were cancelled for i think 1-2 days... 😅

[Heartlander]

1 hour ago, Atrecord said:

Yah, i also feel the exact same way as you. For the Hiace, do you remember whether there is enough leg space between the rows of seats at the back? With the 3 rows of seats (at the back), and the vehicle is shorter than Alphard, i'm sure there's as much leg space.

Plus the seats should be more upright. Can the seats be tilted, even slightly? Or can the seats be folded (I doubt)? If can't fold, we'll definitely have to put some of the luggages onto the seat(s).

Just occurred to us that maybe can consider Elgrand instead of Alphard, as Elgrand's 3rd row is 60/40 split. So worst case scenario, can explore getting my 6-yo nephew and my SIL to sit on the '60' part of the 3rd row, then fold down the '40' part to put luggage, if really after compromising on leg space, still can't squeeze all the luggages in... Wouldn't have been able to do this for Alphard's 50/50 3rd row seats...

I can only remember that for Hi-ace, the 2 rear benches are fixed, not slide-able. Only last row can be folded down. And the cargo area is really huge, do not worry about space even with the benches in use.

Yes can check out Elgrand for the 60/40 split seats. But my impression of Elgrand is not the last row is not slide-able. From Nissan jp website, 3rd row can slide 24cm, so quite flexible. If you are given the latest Elgrand edition, that is.

https://www3.nissan.co.jp/vehicles/new/elgrand/function_detail3.html

With dimension diagrams, you can actually measure your luggages dimension and see how you can fit them into the space, especially if can put 2 pcs side by side. Good luck.

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Heartlander
Added a picture

[Atrecord]

3 hours ago, Heartlander said:

I can only remember that for Hi-ace, the 2 rear benches are fixed, not slide-able. Only last row can be folded down. And the cargo area is really huge, do not worry about space even with the benches in use.

Yes can check out Elgrand for the 60/40 split seats. But my impression of Elgrand is not the last row is not slide-able. From Nissan jp website, 3rd row can slide 24cm, so quite flexible. If you are given the latest Elgrand edition, that is.

https://www3.nissan.co.jp/vehicles/new/elgrand/function_detail3.html

With dimension diagrams, you can actually measure your luggages dimension and see how you can fit them into the space, especially if can put 2 pcs side by side. Good luck.

 

Wow, you're resourceful. I tried looking, but couldn't find such schematic drawings with dimensions! Thanks!

Apart from this, I think i'll go TC to look up my SE to check out the Elgrand in the showroom, to move the seats around and see if it's possible to hold the luggages we have. Keeping my fingers crossed...

My BIL just asked whether the IDP that we need to apply, can allow us to drive Hiace or not? And I must say i'm not sure... I'm sure i can drive a Hiace van here in SG, but not sure if it's a P or C-plate 'bus', so this is a valid question. When you rented the Hiace, was there a need to check the IDP to see whether can drive the 10-seater or not?

[Heartlander]

26 minutes ago, Atrecord said:

Wow, you're resourceful. I tried looking, but couldn't find such schematic drawings with dimensions! Thanks!

Apart from this, I think i'll go TC to look up my SE to check out the Elgrand in the showroom, to move the seats around and see if it's possible to hold the luggages we have. Keeping my fingers crossed...

My BIL just asked whether the IDP that we need to apply, can allow us to drive Hiace or not? And I must say i'm not sure... I'm sure i can drive a Hiace van here in SG, but not sure if it's a P or C-plate 'bus', so this is a valid question. When you rented the Hiace, was there a need to check the IDP to see whether can drive the 10-seater or not?

Hi-ace just need normal license. But need to go japan website to book, under V3 class. Normal license can rent cars/vans up to 9 pax, eg Hi-ace.

https://rent.toyota.co.jp/service/car/class/charge.aspx?searchKbn=6

Those bigger van/bus that can carry 10 or more passengers (W4 class and Bus class) need a stamp chopped in the D box of IDP license when applying. Not sure if it is class 4 under our system.

https://rent.toyota.co.jp/eng/drive/

 

[inlinesix]

 

Ha ha... but can restrict luggage meh? All the thermal, warm clothes already take up quite a lot of luggage space leh, and we aren't the type that can tahan cold so don't wanna compromise on that. But the kids by now are not bringing teddy bear, bolster, etc. anymore, so not likely to have too much 'not-useful' stuff lah.

There is Hiace available, but am trying to explore last option of Elgrand to see if that can fit. Hiace is definitely not as comfortable, but if really bo-bian, then will go for it.

BTW, i didn't see any Ody available for rent leh. Where did you rent it from?

Thanks for the driving tips too. Yah, will be careful, be slow, and no hard brake.

Flight delays - was that 3 yr ago? A fren was very lucky, one day after flying out from Hokkaido to Tokyo, flights were cancelled for i think 1-2 days... 😅

Skip all thermal clothes.  Just bring 1 really good down jacket like Canadian Goose, Dak or Moncler.

I only use 1 jacket without thermal when i was living in Beijing.