It's hard to see how a box of a vehicle can induce enlightenment, but Isuzu decided to call its concept.

Part sport utility, part minivan, the Isuzu Zen is a four-seater, with a completely reconfigurable interior, which can covert into a traditional Japanese tea room, resplendent with bamboo flooring and woven mats.

Isuzu said it built the concept to appeal to the fast paced life of the inhabitants of Tokyo, where everything is all hustle and bustle. The inside of the Zen is very versatile, and can be transformed into a stationary office during traffic jams, or in the parking position.

According to the automaker, the Zen's strength comes from its flexibility, with many items in the vehicle being versatile enough to store out of the way, or folded into other compartments, to give more freedom along the interior. This includes the steering wheel, which arcs away, and the gear lever, which slides into a drawer.

Introduced at the 2001 Tokyo Motorshow, Zen incorporates the production Isuzu four-wheel-drive system, but has a higher ground clearance for smoother travel. The interior is also considerably spacious, making it a good vehicle for family getaways, with lots of packing space.

If anything, the Zen's emphasis appears to be one of pure creature comfort, with the ideal behind the vehicle being that you can make or do with the interior whatever you wish.

Isuzu said that when using the Zen as a room, the ambience is an important aspect, which is why climate controls are set to operate differently from when the Zen acts like a vehicle. For example, a driver could set the climate controls to offer "softer, gentler ambience" with the proper airflow to match the mood.

The Zen is also takes several Japanese cultural styling cues, such as the rear screen-type tailgate, which is horizontally-split, and allows for varying degrees of privacy and visibility.

Isuzu likened the tailgate to screening in a conventional Japanese home or office, where, for example passengers could peer through the window to see snow falling, but could blot out a skyscraper, helping to exclude other visual disturbances.

Other cultural styling cues include the side windows, which replicate the look of a Japanese fan. The glass folds over itself, and the pillars "radiate" outward like a fan. The fan theme is also repeated in other parts of the Zen, with symbols being repeated on the centre console and even the tires.