Jucy New Zealand Review

Rated 2.8 / 5 from 14 reviews

Editors Review

Last Updated: 11/22/20

Lo and behold, the first-ever electric campervan in NZ! Jucy EV is meant for those who want to travel around the country in a more sustainable way. This 2 berth campervan may be small but it does wonders to nature compared to the traditional RV types. Another thing to take into account is the changes in their rental fleet. They no longer offer the 2 berth Jucy Coaster and the 4 berth Jucy Compass. As of this writing, they have 4 campervans for hire, on top of their car range.


Jucy New Zealand is an icon in the land of the long white cloud. From small beginnings, Jucy is now a major force for campervan hire across New Zealand and Australia and is also expanding into the USA. The quirky artwork and stand-out colors, as well as well thought out original designs, have seen them shoot to the top and stay there.

About Jucy NZ

Jucy is one of New Zealand's leading and fastest-growing independent tourism brands―years ago. This dynamic campervan rental company focusing on the youth market who are looking for funky yet quality campers is still very popular but now plagued with inconsistency. They have catered to a number of rentals over the past years, some of these were great, some were so-so, some were disgusting. But because Jucy is one of the rare companies that rent to 18yo +, not just 21yo +, they continue to attract those unassuming and youthful renters, but maybe not the fancy retirees.  

Jucy has depots in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Wellington, and Dunedin and offers some exciting rental inclusions like unlimited kilometres, free maps, and free airport shuttle transfers. And to make your trip to whatever city in NZ more convenient, use this freedom camping tool and enjoy your adventure to the fullest―without breaking any rules and regulations.

Fleet


Jucy was the first to move away from the “van” style and go for more of a “people mover” style of vehicles. And their range of compact and easy to drive green and purple campervans are pretty much very popular around the world. Their units are more like a car to drive, handy if you are inexperienced at parking vans or don’t like sitting on top of the engine. But the roof is lower than van style campervans and generally, they are a little smaller. Jucy has a nice rental fleet of 2, 3 and 4 berth campers with 2014- 2017 fit-out and recently introduced 4 and 5 berth motorhomes. All units are automatic and are equipped with almost everything you need, from a nice kitchen to a comfy bed. However, smaller campervans do not come with a shower and toilet. Additional items include GPS system, picnic seats, roof racks, snow chains, child/baby seats, Tourism Radio (which is free) and more. 

Vehicles

Jucy Cabana

The Cabana is the smallest campervan option, suitable for just two people. The fitted bench seat makes for a much comfier bed when folded out and better for eating with the interior table. Whilst the kitchenette is at the rear and you must cook with the back door up, the quality of the equipment in there is quite impressive. Even though this is the basic model, it still has a fridge―a stingy 18L. But a fridge is a fridge and the fact that it's in there is a great plus for Jucy campers. Also, with the Cabana, there is no awning supplied for at the back door, so you are fully exposed to the elements when cooking. But this is actually great to cozy up in front of at night.

Jucy Condo

The upgrade to 4 berth is the Condo campervan. This model seats 5 but can only sleep 4 - 2 peeps up, 2 peeps down and all are inside the campervan. They have done a great job in converting this campervan that allows you to stand fully upright inside. Cooking facilities are entirely inside the vehicle and the whole campervan is kitted out in style. There's a sink with grey water capture, dual battery, blinds on all windows and plenty more. This is an impressive conversion with handy pouches that are lined on the upper walls. These are great places to store things you need daily like toiletries, flashlights, and other small things. 

Jucy Chaser

A 3 person camper with bathroom, this compact vehicle is definitely a charm. The campervan comes with two double beds even if it's just a 3 berth model so that one person can fully enjoy a cozy double bed at night. TV/ DVD player, 50ltr fridge, CD player and a bunch of other mod-cons are provided on your campervan ride. The great thing is―even with all these onboard amenities, you don't feel restricted and space isn't compromised. 

Jucy EV

Introducing the first-ever electric campervan in NZ, JUCY EV! This 2 berth wonder has now crossed the campervan rental industry in a high note. This is not your normal campervan; it runs using electricity, which means lesser toxic emission for a sustainable road trip. With this eco-friendly kind of travel around Cape Reinga and Wellington, the JUCY EV is such a great alternative for travellers who want to focus more on greener expeditions. The JUCY EV is like most basic 2 berth campervans, except for the fact that it uses electricity and it comes with a pop-up roof tent. The rear kitchen is quite an interesting feature for backpackers because it is equipped with the basics and even some great extras like cutlery, dinnerware, cooking utensils, and more. With a 100 km driving range, you can explore more places without the need for a complete stop, though you need the half an hour fast re-charging to encourage in-between breaks. 

Insurance

The insurance excess and reduction options depend on the rented unit. For Jucy Chaser, Condo, and EV, the bond/excess amounts to $5000. You have two options to reduce such amount to $0, either Stress Free at $40 or Stress Free Plus at $55. Both choices also cover glass, tyre, as well as front/back/side panel. But if you want to include damage for single vehicle rollover, roof, and rooftop pod, opt for the latter. 

If you are renting a Cabana, the bond required or excess is $3000. You can also limit this to $0 by availing the reduction options at $30 for Stress Free and $45 for Stress Free Plus. The differences in the reduction options are the same as mentioned above. 

Reputation

While Jucy Campervans isn’t the only campervan rental company looking to capture the youth market, they work a lot harder than most of their competition to provide some real value to rope those customers in. All their units are NZ owned and operated that can be driven by anyone 18+. Over the years, the younger driving age really sets this popular company apart from other campervan hires. Further, the vehicle age of their fleet will not be too far gone as they have relatively recent additions. But, of course, you are going to start getting some campervan models approaching 3 years that may have visible wear and tear. In terms of customer service and vehicle maintenance, the company is struggling, especially that these negative reviews are piling up the good reputation of the business. 

Summary

Known to be a young, fun and funky campervan hire, not just in NZ but around the world, Jucy is, no doubt, a popular pick among younger travellers who wouldn't mind renting a bright, attention-seeker unit with unassuming facilities. 

From the Agency

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Pros

  • Unique campers and camper colors
  • First-ever NZ's electric campervan
  • Reasonable rates
  • Rents to 18+
  • Multiple excess reduction options

Cons

  • The budget models are not as roomy as a budget van
  • Everyone knows your renting - no hiding the brand
  • Some models will be getting age wear
  • Mixed reputation

Facilities

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Write Your Own Review

Tell the world about your experience renting from this company
A. Maggi - avatar not loaded
, Italy
1 Review

"WORS EXPERIENCE EVER"

  • Reviewed 1 year ago

I rented a Chaser in Auckland for 15 days.
After 40 km the red oil light poped up and we had to go and check the oil level loosing a morning.
After 7 days the engine brokedown and we needed to be towed away( They cover just 200 NZ for this and is not written in the contract.If it cost more it is at your own expenses. Luckly wasn't the case) . At the phone during the night they are not able to help you for the organization so we had to call back the next morning and sleep in a random parking lot and be towed again the next day.
We were almost in Wellington ready to go to the souther island but we had to go to Auckland by plane to take the replace vehicle because they don't have anything in the south.
We took the other van. This one was quiet dirty, the pans and the kitchen stuff a bit smelly, no tabs for the wc, no dishes soap and the tank wasn't full even if we had the option full-to-full. The first night we discovered that the domestic battery was dead.
We couldn't use the water, the fridge and anything else unless the engine was on or attached to the power.
We couldn't do our holiday because of that.
They refounded us some expenses and some days with no problems but still not enough to cover the stess, the loss of time and all the activities we couldn't do because of the issues... I can understand the breakdown... Can happen if cars are old or badly kept but the domestic battery should have been checked out before every rental and changed time by time.
At the end. If you can, don't rent from them... There are so many other valid options and companies... If you have to hire a van from them check everything out really carefully because they don't do it and ask for the missing things.
Worst experience ever.
Really TOO expensive for what they offer.
I'll never repeat the mistake to use JUCY as a rental company.

2Service 1Mechanical 1Interior 1Value
D. Ferreira - avatar not loaded
, Portugal
1 Review

"Review of my Jucy-New-Zealand hire"

  • Reviewed 3 years ago

In terms of mechanical quality we had no big problems with the vehicle. However the leflt dors and window did not open, but after turning off and on the car it started working.
The interior of the car was in overall good condition. It was not really very clean, with a bad smell, and had to clean my self.
The plates, cups and all the kitchen stuff were well preserved. The curtains were a bit damaged (specially the back ones) but mo big deal.
Staff and pick up and drop off were very nice, the only thing I would recommend is to explain a bit more carefully the functioning of the car, as it was our first time with a campervan, and the all explanation took less than 1 minute.
Overall nice staff, quality of the car ok, but if you compare with most of the cars you see on the road, I think it is in better conditions.

4Service 4Mechanical 3Interior 3Value
K. Fitzgerald - avatar not loaded
, Ireland
1 Review

"Terrible pick up experience and dirty toilet!"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

We rented the Jucy compass van for our 2 week trip around the South Island of New Zealand. We collected the van from Christchurch airport. The overall collection process of the van was very unprofessional. After waiting over an hour we were shown to our van. The girl who showed us around the van lacked professionalism and provided us with a undetailed tour. After leaving the depot, we had a closer look of the van and facilities to ensure all was right. Unfortunately we found sand all over the fold up camp chairs which we could have got over. However when we checked the portaloo it was not clean and there was faeces on and around the portaloo. We were very unhappy with this obviously so returned to the depot. We spoke with a manager who apologized and stated they had a thorough cleaning process but yet missed this. We were provided with half a day refund for the time missed traveling however no compensation for the dirty toilet and facilities. In the moment we agreed to this as we just wanted to get on our trip, but did not feel it was sufficient and were just overly unhappy with the whole collection process.

The van itself was sufficient for what we needed but very overpriced. I would be reluctant to hire from this depot again.

Our drop off process in queenstown was pleasant and the lady we dealt with was helpful.

1Service 3Mechanical 3Interior 1Value
C. Carson - avatar not loaded
, Canada
1 Review

"Review of my Jucy-New-Zealand hire"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

Fantastic rental! The staff at Jucy was amazing from start to finish. The campervan itself was very reliable. I would recommend JUCY to anyone looking to do a road trip in New Zealand. Thanks JUCY!

5Service 5Mechanical 4Interior 4Value
N. B. - avatar not loaded
, Austria
1 Review

"Worst customer support experience ever!"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

We had a problem while on the road and the jucy customer support left us completely hanging and on our own, leaving us stuck at one place for 5 days and losing almost 1/3 of our trip while ultimately charging us an estimated amount for solving the problem without being able to present any prove for those costs! This company apparently doesn’t know that they are renting to people on their holiday, they just want to get your money and don’t care about your experience. Even if we wouldn't have had these problems on the road I would not recommend renting at their company. Because of our problems we experienced two different models of their fleet. The compass and the cabana. To be honest, the compass looks great but is rather impractible and not really thought-through - it is, in fact, quite small for how big it is. The cabana is a great vehicle and offers lots of space although it looks so small. Nevertheless both vehicles were overdue their service-dates and the cabana had a major damage on the rear fender (it started "blowing away" while driving) so we had to fix this also while already being short on time due to the incompetence of Jucy. The staff at pick-up and drop-off was unwelcoming and not motivated. There wasn't enough staff there to keep up with the customers and we had to wait at both occasions. We got a different compass from the one we booked (one with a tent on the roof instead of a pod), were only shown a short video to describe the features of the van and sent off without the GPS device we had reserved - so we had to get back. I have rented at another rental company in 2017 therefore I know good service and how much time other companies invest before sending you off with a vehicle on difficult NZ-roads. So, please don’t rent at Jucy.

1Service 1Mechanical 1Interior 1Value
Honest Truth - avatar not loaded
, New Zealand
1 Review

"Don’t Book with Jucy"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

Growing up in New Zealand I always thought Jucy Campervans would be amazing, the bright green vans are everywhere and everyone seems to enjoy them. For us, camping with a Jucy Compass Campervan was not this case. When we arrived to pick up our van we weren’t greeted, 3 employees continued to chat amongst themselves about their personal life and one stood up and announced he was going for a “durrie” (cigarette). One of the employees finally decided to look up our reservation. After a good 20 minutes we sat there waiting for her to work out how to do her job. The lady mentioned that because we had booked “Stress Free Insurance” we would get the camping chairs for free! Lovely we thought, until she had seen we already pre-paid so the free add on chairs were out of the question now... it took her a further 20 minutes to work out if we had paid in full for the whole campervan or if we had a remaining balance, in which she had to ask another 2 employees to help her. We were then asked to wait outside for another 20 minutes until the lady drove our campervan around from the back and began to give us a very uneducated, uninformative description about how the campervan worked and it’s features - none of which she had any idea about what she was talking about. If English was my second language I would struggle to understand this process with Jucy and the way their employees act. After a near 1.5 hour delay we were finally on the road to begin our road trip. A 7 hour drive later we arrived and figured our how the features of the van worked by ourselves. We discovered 1 camping chair broken, the van speakers were blown and the secondary battery didn’t work so we had no refrigeration. On return of the vehicle no form of a sorry or discount was even offered to amend this annoying and last time experience with Jucy. On top of that, the social media manager of Jucy “Lucy” replies to questions online but is rude and unhelpful.

1Service 3Mechanical 3Interior 1Value
C. Barlow - avatar not loaded
, United Kingdom
1 Review

"A good time but could have been ALOT better"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

All round we had a great time in the JUCY chaser but there are definite aspects of the campervan that need to be looked at. Firstly as soon as we got into the van, still in the JUCY car park at the airport the glass on top of the cooker smashed from being lightly touched and appeared to be popping and breaking itself, the JUCY staff were apologetic and did their best in the situation (one of them said that this had happened a few times before) and they did their best to clear the glass but in subsequent days we continued to find smashed glass on the floor. Our radio didn’t work which was SUPER annoying, the table was wonky and not stable which led to regular spillages. We didn’t use the loo but did use the shower a few times even though it only seemed to emit cold water which was also disappointing, we mainly used it as a storage area for our bags as there was little space for 3 people. The storage below the sofa was awkward to use as the wooden slat falls into the storage area most times that you try to open it. The fridge, even when locked often flew open whilst driving which was very frustrating. The beds are quite easy to assemble each night once you work out how to do it. In terms of driving, the campervan works well considering it’s weight and limited power. Although there was quite a bit to complain about we still had a great time.

5Service 3Mechanical 3Interior 4Value
Tara - avatar not loaded
, United States
1 Review

"Just Say “No” to Jucy"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

The short version - There are lots of campervan companies in New Zealand. Don’t use Jucy. I saw a lot of Britz campervan vans on the road. Maybe they’re worth a look.

Pro - The Condo campervan didn’t break down on us.

Cons - 1) It wasn’t equipped with its “standard” space heater. Jucy’s call service was worthless. They couldn’t even tell me if the heater was a stand alone unit (it was). When I e-nailed, Jucy’s recommendation was for us to “buy one.” (I made a pit stop by a different Jucy location, and forced them to give me one.). 2) We paid for Jucy to request and pay for the interisland ferry between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. We then received a lecture from a ferry terminal employee, because the Condo’s dimensions were submitted to them wrong (vehicle length impacts how many vehicles they can carry). The Jucy employee had indicated that the campervan was 2 meters long (the Condo is about 5 meters long). 3) It was not clearly communicated to me that Jucy only receives campervans during regular business hours (e.g., 8 am to 5 pm). I had an early morning international flight. Without after hours checkin - I had to return it a day early. Good news - Jucy charged me for the last day, wouldn’t allow me to transfer that night to one of their Snooze locations, AND I still had to pay for a hotel. 4) Jucy’s fleet is old, and maintenance is mediocre at best. (Our breaks sounded gravely, which made us uncomfortable on some New Zealand roads. It took the kitchen sink over night to drain about an inch of water, so we couldn’t cook in the camper.)

2Service 3Mechanical 3Interior 1Value
F. Landuci - avatar not loaded
, Brazil
1 Review

"Just dont go with Jucy - WORST EXPERIENCE EVER"

  • Reviewed 5 years ago

JUST DONT GO WITH JUCY! We booked and paied for a campervan weeks in advance. We got the car in Auckland today before 9am. After a 2h drive, the car just broke. Now it’s 9pm, we are still stucked, with no car and no solution. We lost the whole day and are about to lose another one because nobody in the 24h jucy service knows anything. They put us in a hotel and did not tell us what to do or what to expect. Honestly they could not care less about their costumers.

1Service 1Mechanical 1Interior 1Value
S. Laforgue - avatar not loaded
, Australia
1 Review

"Review Of My Rental With Jucy-New-Zealand"

  • Reviewed 5 years ago

I think the problem doesn't come from JUCY but from HIT THE ROAD. Be careful if you decide to rent a Campervan from this website. I had a huge problem, when we arrived the first day to take the Campervan, there was no booking at all !!! Even if Hit the road had already taken all my payment...!!
So we lost one day of driving and we had to bring forward a lot of activities... And you can imagine that the time is precious in NZ because you can't drive very fast....

Soyez vigilant si vous réservez avec HIT THE ROAD, Ils m'ont débités la totalité de la réservation et la mauvaise surprise quand nous sommes arrivés, c'est qu'il n'y avait aucune réservation à notre nom !!!! Donc obligés de rebrousser chemin avec nos bagages, prendre une nuit d'hôtel et attendre le lendemain pour avoir notre van.... Bref une journée de perdue et sur 11 jours en NZ, ça fait beaucoup car vous ne pouvez pas rouler à 100km/h !!!

3Service 3Mechanical 2Interior 1Value
L. Vanderhoek - avatar not loaded
, Canada
1 Review

"Horrible customer service"

  • Reviewed 7 years ago

Arrive to pick up our van on time and we were there for almost 3 hours. Roof rack we had pre-booked was not installed and they had no staff available to do it. We ended up installing it ourselves. No vehicle walk through. I asked how to use the stove and when they went to show me they found out it was broken. So had to wait to have it replaced. Then even after we prebooked with GPS and wifi tablet they tried to give us just the GPS. No instruction on how to use it. 3/4 of the snaps for the curtains were broken so not very private and no sleeping in. Key fab to lock doors was broken so we had to lock doors every time from drivers side. Van was dirty inside especially on ceiling. When we returned the van we complained and were told they couldn't do anything for us because we picked up the van in Auckland and were dropping it off in Christchurch. So they submitted a complaint through their system. It's now been almost 3 weeks since we left NZ and haven't heard anything from them. I even emailed 3 more times. Do not rent from Jucy. I heard so many other customers complaining about things when we dropped off the van. At least we were not the only ones!

1Service 4Mechanical 3Interior 1Value
C. Chris - avatar not loaded
, New Zealand
2 Review

"Jucy Good"

  • Reviewed 7 years ago

We chose JUCY as it was the most cost effective for what we were looking for (self-contained with shower and toilet) The campervan was everything we needed and it drove really well. We had a few issues with the GPS and WIFI along the way but their customer service was good and they gave us a refund on that part of our rental. I am giving them an 8 instead of a 10 because the look of the campervan is really tacky.

5Service 4Mechanical 4Interior 5Value
A. HitTheRoad avatar
, Australia
6 Review

"Editors Vote Jucy New Zealand"

  • Reviewed 7 years ago

Jucy is definitely an Editor's Choice brand. They have been so successful in their march to world domination for a reason - customer satisfaction. The campervans are unique and so is their brand. Keep them in mind when you are comparing companies and quotes.

5Service 5Mechanical 5Interior 5Value
R. wilson - avatar not loaded
, Australia
1 Review

"It's ok, it's a rental"

  • Reviewed

My partner and I hired a Jucy Van in New Zealand from Christchurch. We got the comprehensive insurance on the van, so our attitude to any challenge we faced was "It's ok, it's a rental." We were covered for just about anything as long as long as we didn't roll the van. We highly recommend getting this 'all smiles' coverage because it also protects you from some of the hidden fees you won't know about unless you read the fine print.

The van got us where we needed to go, but it was sluggish. There was something wrong with the transmission as it wouldn't stay in a low gear to climb hills, which are plentiful in the land of the long white cloud. Despite our problems with the ol' girl, she got better with age, and by the end of the trip she was roaring up hills. We don't know why it was so poor at the beginning of the trip.

The inside of the van has everything for you to be self contained, but all the items take up space. There wasn't much room to store our skis, so they ended up sitting in the shower and toilet area, which we didn't use much as they're everywhere in NZ! Not much room to swing a cat around in the van, but for the price, it was fine. It get's a thumbs up from me.

Overall, the van did the job. Maybe hire something if you have more than two people, or you're planning to sit in the van heaps. We were always out and about, so it didn't phase us too much. The best thing about the van was seeing other jucy vans with people just as excited as we were to be driving around having the time of our lives. The apollo folk were not as fun.

5Service 2Mechanical 3Interior 5Value