Seeing the threads on the Previa & HiHy made me think of the Ipsum, which are quite popular here. Are they available in Nth America? What are they called (I think they are called a Picnic in Japan) [attachmentid=11066] A couple more photos... [attachmentid=11067] [attachmentid=11068]
No, it isn't available in the US anyway. The closest to that would be the Matrix, but it is smaller (5 passenger) and has a 1.8 L engine. I was fascinated by the different vehicles that I saw in New Zealand when I was there for 2 weeks in 2004. You have a lot of vehicles that are either not imported to the US or are sold under different nameplates than the equivalent vehicles here. Even our rental car, which was a Toyota Corolla, was not the same as a Corolla in the US. The car we rented was smaller than a US spec Corolla. My understanding is that a lot of JDM vehicles are imported to NZ, but that is not practical to export them to the US due to our DOT regulations, etc.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(samiam @ Sep 2 2007, 03:15 PM) [snapback]506020[/snapback]</div> I think it's the other way around. It's called the Ipsum in Japan and the Picnic elsewhere. No we don't have it but it's similar to the first generation Honda Odyssey with its 4 doors and 6 passenger seating. Closest competitor would be the Mazda5/Premacy. I was thinking that the Corolla Verso (similar to the Ipsum) would be nice esp. since the Corolla is revamped for 2009.
They were badged an Ipsum here (non JDM import) until this last year (now called an Avensis). I walked past two in the parking lot this morning and they look nearly as big as a Highlander (the photo probably doesn't convey its size very well). I see what you mean about the Verso though -- here I have seen an Avensis Verso Wagon for sale. Now all the names have begun to confuse me... so I'll give it a rest.
