Launched in November 2001, the Voxy succeeded the Liteace Noah and Townace Noah lines, discontinuing the models other than wagons. The Voxy carried the tradition of the Liteace that ignited the 1-box wagon boom in Japan, but also represented a new generation of minivans. The Voxy had a twin known as the Noah, which was marketed through a different sales channel. The Voxy/Noah adopted a newly developed front-engine, front-wheel-drive (FF) platform. While the body size was kept within the limits of the small "5 number" category, the interior was spacious due to a low, flat floor. The three rows of seats could accommodate a maximum of 8 people, and rear sliding doors were adopted on both sides.

The engine was a 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve VVT-i D-4 with a 2,000 cc displacement and 152 PS, and the transmission system was a 4-speed column-shifted automatic ECT-iE. The drivetrain layout was either FF or active control 4-wheel-drive that could also operate in a 2-wheel-drive mode. Selected models came with H∞-TEMS, an electronically modulated suspension to stabilize the vehicle in three driving modes. The 4-speed automatic transmission was replaced with a Super CVT-i system in August 2004.