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Next Generation Toyota Alphard Is Bolder than Ever

Some of the most renowned JDM minivans come from Toyota in the shapes of the Vellfire and Alphard. Made since 2002, the two sister models have now reached their third generation, bring more boldness, power and amenities. We saw the Vellfire yesterday and now it’s time to take a look at the Alphard.
2015 Toyota Alphard 18 photos
Photo: Toyota
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They are basically the same car the only thing differentiating them being the front and rear end stylings as well as some interior features. As the name suggests, the Vellfire is oriented more towards sportiness, wearing fiercer shapes, while the Alphard should be the more settled down version, inclined towards luxury and opulence.

It too comes with a strengthened body to increase rigidity, a new double-wishbone suspension at the rear to improve comfort and handling as well as more sound and vibration dampening materials spread throughout the cabin.

It’s the Japanese V Class

Visually, the 2015 Alphard comes with a gigantic grille featuring thick mesh ornaments, which gets continued into the bumper to create the impression of big and luxurious along with the big headlights flowing on the sides up to the A-pillars.

The sides feature soft and rough edged embossed shapes to create a more muscular profile while that little forward inclined fin on the B-pillar has been kept as a trademark of the brand. The tail comes with a redesigned bumper, hatch and stoplights.

As far as we can tell, the Alphard is the only production minivan out there to rival the luxury of the new Mercedes-Benz V Class. The spacious interior can be had in different seat configurations, with leather upholstery, wood accents, foldable trays, power sliding doors, different color LED illumination as well as many other driving and comfort convenience features.

The driver will stay stress free behind the wheel thanks to the Intelligent Clearance Sonar that helps avoid collisions at low-speed maneuvering, the Pre-collision System which does the same at higher speeds, the Panoramic View Monitor as well as the available Intelligent Parking Assist 2 and Radar Cruise Control.

Power and economy

A 2AR-FXE 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle combustion engine is combined with six-speed Sequential Shiftmatic and E-Four (electric four-wheel drive system) to create a hybrid system with a fuel efficiency of 19.4 km/L (5.1 l/100 km or 45.6 mpg) under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's (MLIT) JC08 test cycle.

The new 2AR-FE 2.5-liter engine is used with a seven-speed Sports Sequential Shiftmatic and Super CVT-i and the optional Stop & Start System to provide fuel efficiency of 12.8 km/L (7.8 l/100 km or 30 mpg) under Japan's MLIT JC08 Japanese test cycle.

The 2GR-FE V6, 3.5-liter engine is combined with six-speed Sequential Shiftmatic with 6 Super ECT to provide fuel efficiency of 9.5 km/L (10.5 l/100 km or 22.3 mpg) under Japan's MLIT JC08 test cycle.

Except for models with the 3.5-liter engine (four-wheel-drive models weighing 2,100 kg or less), all models exceed MLIT's 2015 fuel economy standards.

The Alphard and the Vellfire do look to be exactly what people carriers should be. Large luxurious and good looking barges with enough oomph but a decent fuel consumption. Where do we sign to test one?

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