Click above for a gallery of the new Toyota Alphard and Vellfire
Six years after Toyota's luxury minivan, the Alphard, hit Japanese (and a few SE Asian) showrooms, the company has given its flagship people mover a facelift, and a twin brother. Noting that one in four family cars in Japan are minivans but that the outgoing Alphard appealed more to grandfathers than fathers, the second-gen model remains conservatively styled, while a meaner, more aggressive-looking stablemate, the Vellfire (above), is hoped to grab the attention of Japanese family men in their 30s who have erstwhile bought Nissan Elgrands and Honda Elysions.
The new Alphard (shown at right) is longer, wider and roomier than the outgoing version. Its slightly lower roofline (by 45mm) is offset by a cabin floor that's been lowered 55 mm, so the new van actually boasts more cabin height even though it's not quite as tall as its predecessor. Power comes from either a 170 PS (167 hp) 2.4L four or a 280 PS (276 hp) 3.5L V6 driving the front wheels. In August, a 4WD variant will join the lineup.
While Toyota's press release acknowledges that the new models are a bit spacier and safer than the old one, it neatly ignores the fact that the Alphard Hybrid has been quietly dropped. This could well be the first such occurrence for the company and given the number of eggs Toyota currently has in the hybrid basket, its no surprise that its PR department is doing its best to gloss over the retirement.
So, how long until Modellista cooks up an ultra-snazzy Royal Lounge package for the new vans?
Hit the jump for a video of the Alphard in action. Thanks for the tip, Paul!
[Source: Toyota]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
SPF @ May 13th 2008 1:42PM
Holy s***! That headlamp freaked me out.
compy386 @ May 13th 2008 1:42PM
Toyota just remade the Aztek...
David @ May 13th 2008 3:27PM
No they didn't just remake the Aztek.. It's a beautiful van when you see it in person and quite luxurious on the inside. It's hugely successful in Hong Kong - I've those things everywhere there.
AMcA @ May 13th 2008 1:43PM
Maybe they could use some new names to go with the sleek new styling?
Alphard and Vellfire?
They really don't translate well.
Doug @ May 13th 2008 4:34PM
I don't think they care if it translates well or not. They only sell them in Asia.
Disgruntled Goat @ May 13th 2008 6:58PM
Alphard, r/tard, whatever...
Torrent @ May 13th 2008 1:44PM
errrrrm..... weird exterior on the Vellfire.... With a nice interior.....No actually it's really nice. They should give that interior design to the Toyota's here in America. You know, with Left hand drive..and stuff.
TriShield @ May 13th 2008 1:45PM
JDM always cars look a bit more distinctive than the coldly bland stuff they sell here.
Eek @ May 13th 2008 1:46PM
I can't imagine why someone would take the Vellfire over the Alphard. Wow, both those names suck. But the Alphard is leaps and bounds better looking than the Vellfire no matter what age you are.
Rick @ May 13th 2008 1:49PM
Man that's so ugly. The interior is nice, but the outside, ick.
SPG @ May 13th 2008 1:49PM
That's a pretty sweet van, I want to take it on a camping road trip now.
I have taken a Previa a few times and this would be an awesome update to that.
Not somthing I'd want to drive everyday, just a road trip van.
TBlueMax @ May 13th 2008 1:50PM
The Vellfire has a raunchy, aggressive, industrial, alien look to it... and I'm loving it, as extroverted as a Toyota-designed minivan can get. Fits well with the Japanese ideal of being different, yet the same.
Brad2CV @ May 13th 2008 1:51PM
A Chevy Silverado, Ford Aerostar and Lexus sedan got into an accident and.....presto!
Will @ May 13th 2008 1:58PM
Vellfire- most badass minivan name ever.
Kotse @ May 13th 2008 2:09PM
It appears like a someone slapped on a pair of Camry headlights on this wicked, mutant looking van...gives new meaning to the geeky term "four-eyes".
Guenther @ May 13th 2008 2:40PM
Am I the only one who sees Joan Rivers here?
tanooki2003 @ May 13th 2008 2:45PM
Aren't most of you, especially in NA, sick and tired of seeing just the average ordinary blandifying boring automobiles on the US & Canadian market? Ex 08 Dodge/Chrysler minivans.
Well this to me is a much pleasant change from the god awful ordinary. Seriously some of you should try to learn to adapt to new designs like what is seen here and also sold in Europe & Asia or cars in NA will always look like cars of the 90's with either a nip and tuck job, added lipstick (more chrome) or going on the American Micky Dees diet (Gaining weight and having notable size increases)
We all complain about wanting change but when it happens it becomes way too scary for some or feel like they need to go back to that "safety zone". It's no wonder why Europe, Australia, and Asia always have more cooler stuff than we do in NA. Of course I know you can't convince everyone, especially those cronies that still either cry over the loss of boxy ugly 60's, 70's, and 80's cars, still drive Crown Vics, older Buicks, and Town Cars and love them, or just plain hard headed and that's fine. The rest of you who still like to use both sides of your mind should learn to try and accept and possibly even adapt to newer (or unfamiliar) auto designs. If that was to happen then maybe we would not have such design disasters like the 2008 Focus or the Ford Taurus/500.
Agent47 @ May 13th 2008 6:00PM
You've go to be kidding. These are the ugliest examples of mini vans that I've ever seen. True that the new Chrysler van sucks, but this is not the answer. I will say that I like the Alphard better than other. That purple van looks like its trying to do it's best impression of good 'ol Ronald Mcdonald's buddy Grimace. You all remember that big purple bastard don't you? You can't tell me it doesn't look like angry Grimace.
willyjsimmons @ May 13th 2008 2:47PM
I like them both.
Vellfire > Caravan all day.
That Alphard interior is swanky.
Benfolio @ May 13th 2008 2:50PM
What's with all the van posts lately? One of you autobloggers a closet new age Hippie or something?
Soccor mom in training?
Gay?