Japanese families have voted with their steering wheels again — and the winner is, once again, the minivan. When it’s time for a long family trip, this is what they reach for. And it’s not even close.
According to a survey by Honda Access, minivans kept their number one spot among vehicles chosen for long-distance family travel, picked by 30.2% of respondents. Behind them, with a clear gap, come kei cars at 19.4%, crossovers at 16.5% and compact cars at 15.6%.
The survey ran July 1–2, 2026, among 1,000 men and women aged 20 to 59. Every participant was an active driver who had taken a family trip of more than 100 km one-way at least once. This isn’t a snapshot of all of Japan — it’s the opinion of a seasoned crowd of road-tripping parents, the kind who know exactly what it’s like to drive with kids and a trunk packed to the ceiling.
The story around driver-assist tech has its own twist. Lane keeping turned out to be the most common feature, installed in 38.3% of cars. Standard cruise control follows at 32.5%, adaptive cruise control (ACC) at 18.6%. Sounds like progress — until you look closer: 38.1% of lane-keeping owners admitted they don’t actually turn it on while driving on the highway. Cruise control and ACC, meanwhile, tend to get switched on situationally, depending on traffic and how tired the driver feels.
A year ago, lane-keeping penetration was lower, at 32.8%. Now it’s 38.3%. But adoption is outpacing trust: the share of owners who don’t use it also grew, from 34.5% to 38.1%. The survey doesn’t say why. It could be quirks of specific systems, patchy road markings, or drivers simply not ready to hand over control just yet. That part is guesswork, not data.
66.5% of respondents are planning a long summer family trip. It won’t be an easy ride: 73.9% said they’ve run into problems on the road before, and traffic jams are enemy number one — 44.1% said congestion threw their schedule noticeably off track. So a minivan’s real value isn’t just about seat count. It’s about being able to plan the route, pick your stops, and dodge the worst traffic before you even leave the driveway.
