The other day, my husband got to drive my younger brother’s Alphard, and he wrote an article sharing his impressions from the test drive. I couldn’t ride along since I was back at my parents’ house for childbirth, but I really wanted to experience the rear seats myself. So, if you’re interested, please take a look below.
My younger brother, who occasionally appears on this blog, apparently bought another car following his recent purchase of a Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T.
This time, it’s a Toyota Alphard. The grade is the 4WD 3.5L Executive Lounge. When I asked him, “Why choose an Alphard this time?” he said they were looking for an SUV for the family and considered the GLS, Defender, Cayenne, and others, but ultimately settled on the Alphard for its great cost performance and spacious comfort.
Many of my brother’s friends own supercars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, but after much deliberation, it seems more and more people are choosing the Alphard as their family car these days. Apparently, owning a supercar makes you want something completely opposite for family use.
A few days after delivery, my brother came over to show me the car. The width doesn’t feel that large, but the height is definitely impressive. As someone who usually drives low cars, I was quite surprised.
We got in right away and took it for a test drive on the Royu Driveway. I doubt many people test an Alphard there, but it’s a must to understand its driving performance.
Right from the start, what struck me was how incredibly quiet it is. The Alphard seems to thoroughly suppress outside noise. At the same time, the engine sound is noticeable when you press the pedal, and the dry, compressed explosion sound typical of a Toyota engine is actually quite pleasant.
You hardly hear the exhaust, but the engine’s low rumble is impressively bold.
When I asked my brother why he chose the 3.5L, he said, “I’ve driven acquaintances’ 2.5L and 2.5L hybrid models, but on hills the engine seemed to struggle, and the ride comfort was much better with the 3.5L. Since I’m the one driving, I wanted the better engine feel and power of the 3.5L.”
I haven’t driven the 2.5L versions, so I can’t really compare, but the 3.5L engine’s feel is certainly not bad and perfectly fine for normal driving.
On the other hand, what caught my attention was the AT’s control. On a slightly steep hill, even when the engine clearly seemed to be struggling, the transmission tried hard to keep the revs between 2000 and 3000 rpm, which felt sluggish.
Of course, if you press harder, the gear will drop, but I’d prefer it to downshift earlier and use a higher rev range from the start.
Looking at the engine specs, the maximum torque is 361Nm (36.8kgf·m) at 4,600–4,700rpm, which is unusually high rev for a modern engine. So it makes sense to use a higher rev range more often.
I know this isn’t a car to talk about handling, but my impression was that, with a large lock-to-lock steering angle, the car feels like it responds with a slight delay to every input.
But that’s perfectly fine for this car.
It’s kinder to the passengers, and the driver can relax completely. The car never pressures the driver to hurry—its handling is very forgiving.
It naturally tends to understeer. When cornering on the Royu Driveway, you have to brake well before the curve and gently increase steering input mid-corner. So you can’t really push it hard, which leads to smooth driving with low lateral G, a gentle style considerate of the passengers.
As for ride comfort, I think it’s remarkable. Especially at low speeds around 60–70 km/h, it’s fantastic. It feels like the car is inside a large balloon, with soft suspension and tires gently gripping the road, using the vehicle’s weight to glide smoothly.
I used to drive an S63 Coupe, which also had a nice ride, but honestly, in town, the Alphard feels more refined. It’s different from the silky smoothness and flatness you get from the perfect roundness of European luxury car tires. It’s hard to describe, but it feels like there’s a high-quality rubber or air layer between the road and the car.
What impressed me most was passing over the bumpy speed reduction strips designed to prevent speeding. The way it suppresses noise and vibration is incredible. Since I drive over those strips regularly, the difference was especially clear. I think it ranks among the top one or two quietest and smoothest experiences I’ve had.
That’s the pride of Japanese cars, that’s Toyota for you. This is something they can truly boast about worldwide.
However, when you press the accelerator and try to be a bit more agile, the character changes drastically. The body roll and sway become quite noticeable, and you can feel the body’s softness. When I pointed this out to my brother, he said, “I feel the same, so I plan to install a full set of TRD reinforcement parts.”
I wonder what my brother is aiming for with this Alphard (laughs).
Another impressive point is that the pitch motion front to back feels very minimal. This might be partly because this grade is 4WD and finely controls front-to-rear torque distribution during driving, but the front-to-rear sway is very low.
Many SUVs and minivans have stiff rear suspensions to carry loads, which often makes the rear unsettled and bouncy. But this Alphard behaves very calmly.
| Next page→How the Alphard behaves on the highway…!? |
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