Book the MPV the day your dates are fixed. For Chinese New Year car rental that's the one piece of advice that matters, because many families want the same seven-seaters for the same few days, and once a car is taken for your dates it shows as not available. At Grandpride a Toyota Vellfire starts from RM 900 a day and an Alphard from RM 1,000 a day, each with 120 km a day included, and either can come with a chauffeur instead.
The festival is three kinds of trip: the drive home, the reunion dinner and the visiting days. Each wants a different booking.
Weeks before: choose the car and book it
A seven-seat MPV carries three generations, their bags and the mandarin oranges.
| Car | Seats | Self-drive | With chauffeur |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Vellfire | 7 | From RM 900 a day | From RM 150 an hour |
| Toyota Alphard | 7 | From RM 1,000 a day | RM 200 an hour |
| Lexus LM300H | 7 | RM 3,900 a day | RM 770 an hour |
All three take three large suitcases. The MPV list shows each one's availability for your dates, and Alphard vs Vellfire explains how the two Toyotas differ.
When you book:
- Set collection a day or two before you travel and return after the visiting is done.
- Choose mileage, protection and a toll card. The price updates as you go.
- Choose delivery or pickup. Delivery is free within 10 km of the Petaling Jaya showroom and RM 100 elsewhere in the Klang Valley. Holiday hours: CHECK: Grandpride's opening hours, and delivery and return arrangements, over the Chinese New Year holidays.
- Reserve. The RM 50 booking fee is paid online and comes off your total; the rest is paid in store or in person.
Chauffeur bookings online need two days' notice at minimum, but over the festival, book weeks ahead CHECK: is there a festive surcharge or minimum rental length over Chinese New Year?.
A few days before the eve: the balik kampung drive
Get the mileage right first. Every rental includes 120 km a day, which is fine for a week in the Klang Valley and nowhere near enough for a drive to another state and back. Add 50 km or 100 km a day, or unlimited, when you book; kilometres paid for afterwards cost more each. Our guides to driving from KL to Ipoh and KL to Penang cover two of the main roads north.
Then pick your departure time. The highways are busiest in the days before the eve and again when everyone comes back. PLUS publishes a festive travel time advisory, MyPLUS-TTA, in its app, with recommended times to set off on its network. Look at it before you fix your collection time. Festive season traffic has more on the jams.
One driver does the whole drive. On a Grandpride self-drive rental only the named renter may drive, and additional drivers can't be added. If that's too many hours for one person, plan the rest stops properly, or let someone else drive.
Tolls are cashless. A Touch 'n Go card can come with the keys, loaded with anything from RM 50 to RM 500, and you pay exactly what you load. Fuel is yours: return the car at the level you collected it, so allow time to fill up on the way back.
The car stays in Peninsular Malaysia. If relatives are in Singapore, the car can't cross the causeway; taking a rental car to Singapore explains what to do instead.
The eve: reunion dinner
The whole family at one table, and usually a toast or two. A chauffeur takes everyone home afterwards, so nobody has to be the one who stays sober. Hours starting between 7 pm and 11 pm cost 30% more, and between 11 pm and 7 am 50% more; the quote shows this before you reserve. Drink-driving law in Malaysia explains what's at stake if someone drives instead.
Day one onwards: visiting
Chinese New Year is a two-day public holiday in most of Malaysia, and the visiting goes on well past it, since the celebrations traditionally run fifteen days. Drive yourself, or book a chauffeur by the hour (3 to 23 hours) and make as many stops as the day needs: grandparents, then aunts and uncles, then friends. Over 12 hours is 10% off.
For relatives flying in, a chauffeured Vellfire meets them at KLIA or KLIA2 arrivals for a flat RM 300, day or night, for trips under 80 km. Give us their flight number and the flight is monitored.
If the family already has an MPV but nobody wants the long drive, Grandpride supplies a driver for it: RM 385 for an 8-hour day, overtime from RM 40 an hour. See the driver and bodyguard page.
Things families ask
Is 120 km a day enough for balik kampung?
For another state and back, usually not. Add a mileage package when you book.
Can two of us share the driving?
No, only the named renter drives. To share the load, book a chauffeur or a driver for your own car.
Can the MPV be delivered before the eve?
Yes, anywhere in the Klang Valley, if the car is free on your dates and the timing is agreed when you reserve.
Berapa harga sewa MPV untuk Tahun Baru Cina?
Vellfire bermula RM 900 sehari dan Alphard bermula RM 1,000 sehari, termasuk 120 km sehari. Untuk balik kampung, tambah pakej perbatuan semasa menempah.
