I have been asking my co-workers in Japan what are the hot new cars and they always say that the most popular applications for TEIN Japan are for Mini Vans. I couldn’t believe it. Why would people buy a Mini Van when they can get used Type R, Skyline, S15, S13/14 with OEM SR20DET, GC8 STI, etc… for good prices. They tell me that younger generations are not as interested in speed, power and handling as past generations. Young people want convenience, comfort, good gas mileage, storage space, etc… Sounds like my dad. So I decided to look into the JDM mini vans and here is what I found.

Honda StepWagon RG1

This is the Honda StepWagon. Not a fan but it is actually one of the most popular mini vans in Japan. Since Japan is small and the roads are tight, many new cars are built taller to provide more room. If the car is too wide it has limited areas to park and is hard to drive on narrow residential streets. Already on its fourth generation. Automatic sliding doors on both sides, K20 or K24 power and CVT.

Toyota Estima ACR50W

These smaller mini vans look more like wagons then vans. They even have a hard time out in Japan trying to classify these vehicles, but they finally just classified them as mini vans. This is the Toyota Estima which is the JDM name for Previa. Ultra popular with available V6, sliding second row seats with foot rest, power folding third row, etc…

Toyota Vellfire GGH20W

This Toyota Vellfire (variant of Alphard) is considered a full-size “mini van.” To me it looks like a bug with two separate set of eyes. For some of you out there, you might be asking yourselves why does this car have two sets of headlights. Well it seems that it was just a design change for the Vellfire version. One is actually for High Beams and the other for regular headlights. This is a baller mini van. Features include voice navigation, blind corner monitor, self parking system, auto cruise, lane monitoring system, etc… the thing almost drives itself. Price tag can go up around $60K.

This is a decently popular model and the only one out of all the mini vans in this post that I would actually consider purchasing, a Honda Stream. (I’m not a fan of big cars, I drive a CR-X). The higher end model comes with 2.0L, 150HP, CVT with paddle shifters. Sits 5 and has plenty of space for my pitbull, Mykaela.

Honda Stream RN6

These are just some of the mini vans that they have in Japan. TEIN develops many coilovers for these applications including Basic Wagon, Super Wagon, Basic Flex Wagon, Super Flex Wagon, Super Flex Wagon SUPER LOW DOWN, GT Wagon and Hybrid Wagon Damper (Hydraulic Ride Height Adjustment).  The mini van applications are the best sellers in Japan. These coilovers can be purchased through any of our authorized dealers as a special order but unfortunately they would not fit anything here in the US.