Toyota Alphard

Step inside the cabin, and the Toyota Alphard hugely impresses with the quality and huge list of features it has on offer. Creating new benchmarks in opulence for MUVs, the Toyota Alphard has brilliant fit and finish levels showcased by dual-tone black and beige upholstery with chrome and satin silver inserts at places.

The dashboard looks wide and huge, and the conventionally styled multifunctional steering wheel and instrument console with coloured MID makes up for a sober-looking driver’s cockpit. The slanting design for the centre console of the dashboard, which houses the touchscreen infotainment system and panel for automatic climate control placed in an angular manner, gets nice satin silver finish surrounds. The central transmission tunnel is mounted high and broad, with nice faux wood and piano black finish enhancing its premium appeal even more.

Packed with an abundance of features including powered front seats, fully adjustable captain seats in the second row, electric sunroof, multi-zone automatic climate control, theatre-like reading lamps and many more, there is no dearth of luxury and comfort in the cabin of the Alphard, which only gets better with the amount of space on offer in all the three rows.

While the Toyota Alphard is a vehicle that looks very unique and is none of a kind on the roads, the fact that it has a boxy silhouette and van-like profile might not be to everyone’s taste. In addition, the extrovert design language might put off those who like subtlety. However, the Toyota Alphard does guarantee second glances with its unique design.

The front fascia of the Toyota Alphard looks huge with the vertically laid huge trapezoidal grille, which houses the unique logo and comes with a mix of horizontal and vertical cross chrome slats. The wrapped around theme for the LED headlamps along with daytime running LEDs and chrome garnish looks nice, while the triangular housings for the fog lamps make it look aggressive.

While the usage of chrome is abundant at the front, it is used more subtly on the side profile. The Toyota Alphard has large side windows and comes with a sliding theme for the rear doors. The wraparound theme for the chrome garnish on the windows and offset design for the middle passenger window looks unique. The additional use of chrome on the door handles and machined alloy wheels add in more premium appeal.

At the rear, the Toyota Alphard has S-shaped tail lamps with nice LED inserts extending towards the sides, with the large rear windshield and roof spoiler making it look large.

The Toyota Alphard has gained a solid reputation for the magic carpet-like ride quality on offer, courtesy the softly sprung and nicely planted feel from the suspension setup comprising of Macpherson struts with stabilizer at the front and double wishbone at the rear. However, the boxy design does call out for a slight body roll on offer.

The Toyota Alphard sources its power from a 3.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine under its hood, which is coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission and is the only engine option for the MUV. Here in the Alphard, this engine makes a maximum power output of 296 PS, while the peak torque output is rated at 361 Nm.

There are a number of safety features on offer in the Toyota Alphard, the list of which includes a total of nine airbags, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, vehicle dynamics integrated management, vehicle stability control, traction control, hill start assist, cruise control, pre-collision system, lane departure warning, lane tracing assist, vehicle sway warning, front and rear parking sensors with camera and tire pressure monitoring system.

With fine opulence and magnificent road presence, the Toyota Alphard surely has managed to rewrite the rules of luxury and premium appeal among the MUVs in the market. And like a true fine MUV, it does not compromise on features, space, and comfort, with a refined petrol powertrain aiding in a fine compliment.