For people who love the outdoors and camping, owning the right kind of vehicle is important. With much camping gear to take with you, carrying larger equipment like portable generators or tents requires a larger kind of car.Whether you are planning to set up a tent or sleep in your car, one of the best types of camping-friendly vehicles is the spacious minivan.
5. Nissan Serena
The Nissan Serena offers both a sense of style and an impressive amount of interior space, perfect for campers wanting a combination of looks and utility. This multipurpose van is offered in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel-drive versions with automatic or manual transmissions. The 4-wheel-drive is well suited to Africa’s outdoor rugged terrain. The solid engine of the Serena has an average displacement of 1,998cc, and runs on petrol with fuel consumption that is surprisingly reasonable, at roughly 10 liters per 100km.
The exterior of the car is slim, beautiful, and has large headlights and taillights, which help improve visibility during night-time driving in the countryside. The Serena’s large front and rear windscreens make reversing and viewing the environment around you even easier.
Being a big car, it gives both the driver and passengers more leg and head room when they are seated inside. It also offers wheel rims up to around 16 inches, giving the vehicle enough ground clearance to move through light to medium-rough terrains easily.
4. Toyota Noah
The Toyota Noah is a multipurpose minivan that has been in production since the early 2000s and today, is widely available as a great vehicle that you can hire or even buy not only for camping but also for use as an everyday family car. On average, its engine has a displacement of around 1,998cc with a tank capacity of 60 liters. With a fuel consumption of about 8.1 liters per 100km, the Noah will save you money and can carry enough fuel to get you through the long journey to the camping grounds. It has a lot of storage space, can seat up to 8 passengers, and often comes in a 2-wheel, front wheel drive with an automatic transmission.
In addition to having the capacity to carry a large family, the Noah is a very functional multipurpose van with features like GPS navigation and comfortable, high-quality fabric seats.
3. Toyota Alphard
If you need an even bigger minivan for camping, then the 9-seater Toyota Alphard is going to serve you just right. Being a bigger car, the Alphard has higher fuel consumption than other minivans on this list but this is made up for by its generous interior capacity and functionality. On average, the fuel consumption for the Toyota Alphard is rated at about 5km per liter.
The interior of the Alphard is a joy to look at and ride in. The dashboard is high, and the seats are offered with soft and smooth leather. In addition, the interior itself is spacious and roomy, which is not surprising considering this vehicle is bigger than most vans in its category.
2. Toyota Voxy
Most people confuse the Toyota Voxy with the Toyota, but one common element between both vehicles is that they are equally sufficient for casual camping.As for the Toyota Voxy, this 5-door (including 2 rear sliding doors), 7-passenger multi-purpose van has been on the market since 2001 and has only been getting increasingly better with time. It has a very friendly fuel consumption rate at only 10 liters per 100 km, with its average fuel tank capacity around the 60-liter mark.
This is a solid van for camping with small to mid-sized families, thanks to the easy-sliding doors on both sides and the folding seats at the back, which allow you to create a lot of space to carry any number of bulky camping gears or use for sleeping arrangements.
Within its interior, you will be amazed at the amount of cabin space for the passengers have as well as the driver while its exterior boxy design is elegant in its simplicity. Similar to the Toyota Noah, its front headlights are big and bright and make for easy nighttime driving.
1. Honda Odyssey
Although not very common in East Africa, included on this list is the Honda Odyssey. The Odyssey is a very family friendly vehicle, packing all the space and features that a mid-sized modern family needs. It is a great car to use for camping, and the best thing about it is that despite the big size, it is very fuel efficient.The Odyssey is a 5-door, 7-seater car, featuring trunk space that can take luggage of up to 280 kg, with an option of folding down the back row seats to create more space to fit extra camping gear if needed.
The interior is appealing, in particular due to the high-quality wood trim. The gear stick is situated high and close to the dash, leaving a lot of room between the front passenger and driver and furthermore opening the front cabin.
With an average 65-liter fuel tank and a combined consumption rate of around 11.5 liters per 100km, you can also see that this MPV is not a fuel guzzler. The 4-cylinder internal combustion engine with a displacement of 2,354 cc is powerful enough to easily transport a number of passengers and their gear to any camping ground in comfort.
And who more to trust to get you any of these minivans for hire other than Tristar Africa Skimmer Safaris! To get in touch with us , simply send us an email to info@nairobicarrentalservices.com or call us on +254-713510387 to speak with the reservations team
