Vehicle: 2009 Toyota Alphard 350 V6 Super Deluxe
Price as tested: HK$588750

Performance: In the Alphard family, there is a more luxurious version which called an Alphard. On the other hand, the sportier silibing is called Vellfire with stiffer shocks and springs for more spirited driving experience. Vellfire to Alphard is as much as Highway Star is as to Elgrand.

The subject to our test drive is the luxury-oriented Alphard, which is powered by Toyota’s proven 3.5 liter DOHC V6 engine which, once again, share with anything from Camry to Sienna. In Alphard’s case, it has 274 horses and 285 lb/ft of torque to move 2030kg of leather-lined luxury. Given this is one of the world’s finest V6 engines available, it doesn’t come as a surprise that its level of refinement, quietness and NVH standards are well-above any Toyotas I have ever driven. Its so quiet that I thought I was driving a Lexus during engine idle. The single biggest contributing factor of such an engine quietness is the additional isolation and double laminated glass seperating the cabin. The result is a minivan that is as quiet as any Lexus I have ever driven, almost on par with V8 LS460 and way above those of ES350 and GS350. The throttle response is decent enough for such a heavy vehicle when pushed. What really shines through is the engine and transmission combination. Its 6-speed manumatic is better leave on full auto instead of going to manual side due to Alphard’s status as a comfortable minivan. Toyota engineers have done a marvelous job on setting a low enough gear ratio for Alphard’s peppy acceleration. On the other hand, 5th and 6th gears are so tall that it creates a truly relaxing highway ride. Gearing up at 3000 rpm while driving 100 km/h is nothing short of amazing. It really does making an Alphard stands out in this class of luxury minivan.

Handling: Once I began to enjoy the level of luxury and comfort Alphard provides, I started to appreciate Alphard’s softness. First, given Alphard’s heavy curb weight, high center-of-gravity and soft suspension combinations. You won’t expect Alphard to handle like an Elise. What is really seperating Alphard from the rest of the crowd is the soft riding quality which make every passengers feel like riding a Lexus LS with Ottoman seats. It has the exact “ride on a cloud” riding quality which mirrors those of Lexus ES and LS. Once pushed it into a corner, Alphard exhibits plenty of body rolls and pronounced understeer. In comparison, its arch-rival, Nissan’s Elgrand, have a more confidence-inspiring stance when driver really nails it into a curve. Toyota’s Vehicle Stability Control acts as a helping hand whenever a driver starts to lost in a corner. This system is a godsent give Alphard’s status as a comfortable minivan because its an active safety feature, which absolutely needed. Steering feels vague and not much road feel. You also have to get used to slight torque steer when accelerating off the traffic light due to its 270+ ponies go through the front wheels.

Brakes: Although Alphard comes standard with all 4-wheel discs and ABS, its brake pedal feel is barely average while modulation is acceptable. The contributing factor is Alphard’s 2030kg curb weight. After a couple of hard stops, there are brake fades. The saving grace is ABS doesn’t have any unwanted intervention when driver starts to nail the pedal. My piece of advice. Upgrade its brake discs and pads after you take delivery of your new Alphard.

Interior: The biggest highlight of Alphard’s luxurious interior is the powered Ottaman leather seats in the 2nd row, which is simply amazing. The only drawback is the location of those buttons that aren’t exactly user-friendly.

The rest of the cabin is covered with world-class plastic and leather materials. There are plenty of soft plastic on the dashboard, center console and door panels. On the other hand, the leather hides are equally high-quality and well-made. The rest of the dashboard is impressive with effective automatic climate control and clear instrumentation gauges. In short, an wonderful combination of luxury and quality which haven’t seen in latest generation of Toyotas for a long time.

Conclusion: The Alphard is, indeed, a very nice car. What makes it seperates from the rest of the minivan crowd is the amout of luxury features and superb ride quality you won’t find anywhere else. That’s especially when you consider its price has significant advantage over any of those luxury sedans with similar ambience.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2009 Toyota Alphard V6
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 4/5

Overall rating: 4/5