The Kei Car Experience: A Review Of The Honda N Box

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Japan, hands down, has to be my favorite country to travel in. In the three times I’ve had the chance to go, I’ve been impressed each and every time. And after my second trip, where I took the time to rent the most iconic Japanese Sports Car of the 1990s, a Nissan Skyline R34 GTR, and get the fanboying out of my system, I was prepared to understand more of what the average Japanese driver experiences on the roads on my, in the type of car that is unique to Japan. That is where my third trip to Japan comes in. On this last trip, just before the COVID nightmare began, I decided to explore Japan by road; stopping in the mountains to to enjoy a traditional Hot Spring Hotel. The car of choice to do it? A new Honda N Box.

Overview

Two kei cars, both Honda N-Boxes
On the left, the base model N-Box. On the right, the higher trim Custom model. Both are available with four wheel drive.

The Honda N-Box is by far, Japan’s best selling car in 2021, with 62,124 units sold in the first quarter of 2021, beating both out its closest competitors in the kei car segment, the Suzuki Spacia and Daihatsu Tanto, by over 10,000 units. It offers funky and boxy styling that is typical of the segment, but would be controversial in America. The N Box also features a refined, airy, and quiet cabin, which, for this price point, is unheard of in the U.S. There is also an abundance abundance of available options so you can personalize your N-Box to your liking. Two engines are available, a naturally aspirated 658 cc 3 cylinder producing 58 horsepower, and an optional engine that is the maximum size and power allowed within Kei Car standards, a 658 cc 3 cylinder turbocharged unit producing 63 horsepower. While the N-Box offers a lot of tech features, it isn’t in-your-face about presenting them, making living with the N-Box a simple easy experience overall

Exterior

The Honda N Box, a super practical kei car from Japan
While the exterior may look strange, the design is very much a form following function affair. I personally prefer the look of the Custom’s fascia over the base model, which looks too generic for my tastes.

The N-box is very aptly named, as it is really a funky looking box of a car. To endearingly put it, it is distinctively Japanese. However, despite the funky looks, I quite enjoy it, especially with the front fascia found on higher-trim models that emphasizes the weirdness. Unlike many cars on sale in America and due to the Kei Car size restrictions, almost all of the styling elements are there for function, and not just for looks. Exterior build quality is overall excellent, and all the panels lined up well. Overall, despite looking odd to some, everything comes together and nothing quality wise looks out of place.

Interior

Honda N-Box interior front
The interior is airy and open. Storage space is abundant, and the design within is very ergonomic and easy to get the hang of

While some may have hesitation looking at the outside, one step inside and all that disappears quickly, as this is where the N-box shines brightest. That boxy shape results in excellent head room, and when combined with the lack of a center console, the resulting cabin is very airy and open feeling, meaning professional basketball players will have no trouble getting comfortable on the inside due to immense leg room.

That trend continues in the back, as even in tall-people normal driving positions, leg room is comparable to a full-sized luxury sedan in America. Throughout the car,  storage space is abundant, and I especially appreciated the storage compartment in front of the steering wheel. When combined with the shelf above the low-mounted glove box and the ergonomic cup holder located directly in front of the passenger’s left hand position, it is easy to set up a small meal in the cabin and have dinner while on a road trip.

Honda N-Box Cargo Area
The large cargo volume of the N-Box was way more than enough for my two suitcases. In contrast, my Honda Civic sedan accepts the same suitcases, but it is at its limit.

This car also allows for easy access to the back seat without having to exit the vehicle, which is a perfect convenience for a mother looking to head to the back seat to check on her baby and not get wet in the rain, and unheard of in America outside of RVs and large vans. This practicality grows even more when the rear seats are folded down, which makes overall cargo volume in the same league as the famously practical Volvo 240 station wagon/estate, and when combined with the high roof, the N-box can easily swallow 2 small motorcycles upright. The seat bottoms can also fold up if you need the additional height instead of width. The electrically operable rear sliding doors mean overall practicality in most cases can exceed that of the Swedish Brick (unless you want to transport 4 by 8 sheets of plywood of course!). However, all is not perfect with the N-Box’s practicality. Given the size restrictions, rear cargo volume with the seats up is limited, suitable for a weekly grocery run at most. The rear hatch is the biggest con though, it is too long in my view, which makes it impractical for use in tight urban areas. A barn door option like the one available on the Honda Stepwgn would’ve been much appreciated, a lesson that my legs learned the hard way.

The driving experience

Honda N Box visibility from the cabin

Visibility is excellent, and driving the N-Box is the opposite of claustrophobic.

One word sums up driving the N-box, easy! Kei cars have restrictions on their external dimensions, and Honda, with the fittingly named N-box, uses every centimeter of the restrictions in all three dimensions to create the boxy exterior shape. This results in a small car driving experience, big car cargo capacity, and, most importantly, excellent visibility! All of these combine to make a car that is stupid easy to drive and maneuver, especially when factoring in the backup cameras, visibility mirrors on the passenger’s side and rear of the car, and the tech-based safety systems included with the car. The ride is incredibly smooth and comfortable, a byproduct of a compliant suspension and large sidewalls on the small tires. In city traffic, the N box performs flawlessly, keeping up at low rpms in the low speeds of start/stop city traffic without issue. Highway stability is also good, which is surprising given the high roof line and less than aerodynamic shape, but not surprising when you realize that despite looking top-heavy, the actual center of gravity is quite low. The problem with the driving experience, however, is in passing and keeping up whenever there is a hill. Going up a hill in the N-box on a highway made the car feel like it has asthma; running out of steam even when my foot is buried into the floor, though not significantly less than my Civic, which was unexpected, given that the Civic has 3 times the horsepower. This speed differential is offset by the fuel economy, with most models averaging between 55 and 60 MPG (US), which isn’t exceptional for a Kei Car (click this link to see the most efficient cars ever made, 2 of which are kei cars). However, the lack of power doesn’t matter on the downhills of a twisty Japanese mountain back road road, where the N-Box, for a pedestrian commuter car, was surprisingly fun! The light weight and small size meant that the N-Box’s intended pedestrian use didn’t detract from the fun, as the road was still a challenging and thrilling experience. While I did wish I had the chance to have my old Volvo S60R on those roads, the light weight of the N-Box and low center of gravity meant that it didn’t miss a beat!

Features and Price

The configurator for the Honda N Box from honda.co.jp, translated from Japanese to English.
Even the most expensive, top trim “Custom” models are under $20,000 at the time of writing. Image taken from Honda Japan’s N-Box Configurator.

The starting price for base model front-wheel drive models is just under $11,400 USD excluding tax (about $12,500 with tax), which is far cheaper than any new car on sale in the U.S. Interestingly enough, an all-wheel drive model is also offered, and that starts at just under $12,500 USD (about $13,700 with tax), which would still be the cheapest car were it on in the U.S, and far cheaper than any all-wheel drive car on offer. In addition, the N-box is offered with a backup camera, apple CarPlay, fog lights, automatic braking, heated seats, and LED headlights. What’s more impressive is that even top-trim models max out in price at under 20,000.

This, interestingly enough, includes models that are designed for use by handicapped people that require wheelchairs, which, in my view, would be very popular in the U.S, given that in America, people with disabilities are statistically more likely to live on low incomes than average.

The configurator for the Honda N Box wheelchair compatible variant.
The price of a new N-Box with wheelchair accessibility built-in is cheaper than JUST THE CONVERSION of a van in the U.S. to accept a wheelchair, and that cost doesn’t even include the van. A lot to ask from a demographic that is statistically 2.5 times more likely to be below the poverty line than average. Image taken from N-Box Configurator

Summary

Hits

  • excellent ergonomic design with build quality to match
  • affordable pricing
  • rear-seat leg room
  • high levels of comfort and refinement
  • optional all-wheel drive
  • Otherworldly fuel economy by American Standards

Misses

  • long, awkward tailgate and no option for a barn-door style setup
  • Slow acceleration up hills
  • Some wind buffeting with the air on the highway due to boxy shape
  • Rear cargo volume with both seats up
Honda N Box Rear
The tailgate length is nearly as long as the car itself, which can make for awkward rear loading in tighter spaces

Overall, the Honda N-Box is a funky, stupidly practical, distinctly Japanese car that would have many applications outside of its homeland if manufacturers could see it. If anyone from Honda’s offices (or Daihatsu or Suzuki) in Japan is reading this, why aren’t you selling these excellently practical kei cars elsewhere? They already have proven their export potential in Pakistan, Indonesia, and Russia, so why not consider selling them in the U.S? It’s not like they won’t meet safety regulations, since Subaru themselves stated 15 years ago, they wouldn’t bring the R1 kei car to America because of branding reasons, not regulatory ones. And with fuel prices going up and up at the time of writing, a super practical all-wheel drive car that gets nearly 60 mpg sounds pretty great.

2017-present Honda N-Box Specifications

  • Engine: 58 hp 658 cc 3 cylinder, 63 hp turbocharged 658 cc 3 cylinder
  • Transmission: CVT (automatic)
  • Fuel Economy: 63 mpg US (3.7 liters per 100 km) (Front wheel drive, non turbo), 54.09 mpg US (4.34 liters per 100 km) (All wheel drive, turbo)

What do you think of the Honda N-Box? Which model would you go for? Or would you instead buy one of its competitors? Let me know down in the comments below.

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