Honda N-Box Joy Debuts in Japan as an Adventure-Ready Kei Car

The all-new Honda N-Box Joy debuts in Japan as yet another adventure-ready, camping-oriented kei car.

Camping-themed Kei cars are definitely on the rise in Japan, as the JDM market welcomes yet another quirky example of this popular vehicle segment, known as the Honda N-Box Joy. Designed with outdoor enthusiasts in mind, the N-Box Joy gets several additional gears and equipment over the standard, third-gen N-Box kei car it is based on.

Starting with the visuals, the N-Box Joy gets an adventure-themed makeover, featuring some key pieces of equipment such as the redesigned front bumper with horizontal intakes, a black-hued front grille, plus a more elaborate use of plastic underbody cladding. Not to forget, the N-Box Joy also rides on retro-inspired steelie wheels finished in two-tone silver and black hues.

As is, the N-Box Joy looks somewhat tame and less rugged compared to other outdoor-themed kei cars available out there, but fortunately Honda did offer some optional accessories to further jazz up your camping ride. Included in the accessories catalogues are an all-black front grille with Honda lettering at the top, bumper-mounted LED fog lamps, a roof rack, a rear spoiler, plus several funky wheel and decal options.

The adventure-themed makeover continues as we get inside the N-Box Joy. For starters, all the seats are now wrapped in water-repellent fabric upholstery that features a stylish tartan pattern hued in black and beige. On the topic of seats, the rear ones can be flat-folded, which transforms the car’s cabin into a spacious flat bed. More importantly, the N-Box Joy features a hidden compartment underneath the boot space area, meaning that you still get some storage space even with the flatbed setup on.

And just like its exterior design, the N-Box Joy’s cabin has been designed to be a perfect blank canvas for owners to add some practicality and storage solutions to their vehicle. Elsewhere, standard equipment like the 9-inch central infotainment display and the 7-inch digital instrument cluster are all derived from the standard N-Box model.

The same applies to the N-Box Joy’s powertrain setup, as it is offered with the same two powertrain flavours as the standard model. The baseline model uses a 658-cc 3-cyl nat-asp mill rated at 58 HP, while the up-spec model gets a turbocharged version of the same mill, outputting 63 HP. Both engines are mated to the same CVT automatic gearbox, which sends power to either the front (FWD) or all four wheels (AWD).

Now on sale in Japan, the new Honda N-Box Joy starts at JPY 1.844 million (RM53,760) for the baseline N/A 2WD model, while the top-spec turbocharged AWD model will set buyers JPY 2.178 million (RM63,498). Some of its key rivals in the JDM market include the Suzuki Spacia Gear, Daihatsu Tanto FunCross, and Mitsubishi Delica Mini, to name a few.