A Car Guy's Review of the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire 2.4 ANH20! (2008-2015). MPV over an SUV?
[Music]
[Music]
i have to start with a confession
i used to really hate driving this car
i could never imagine why people love
this car so much and i used to ask
everyone who had one how they could
tahan driving this car daily
but the truth is i finally get it and i
now really love it
this is the 2011 and h20 so it’s one
generation behind the latest alpha and
will fires but it’s actually still
pretty modern
the car belongs to a family member who’s
had it since 2013
and it’s only at about 40 000 kilometers
at the moment
i’ve been looking after it and driving
it daily for the past couple of months
so i thought i’d finally do a review on
it and admit how wrong i was
in all honesty though i never had a need
for a seven 7-seater mpv and that’s
probably the reason why i could not
appreciate it in the past
whenever i drove it i was comparing it
to what i was driving at the time
an e90 m3 mark 6 gti or audi s4 so of
course it
however i’m now in a season where i
really need a car that’s big enough for
my kids as well as my parents and i was
actually looking at other seven seater
suvs like the cx-8 santa fe and cx-9
before this
the seven-seater suvs always have the
same problem though with access to the
third row being the biggest issue unless
you went for the mid-spec cx-8
so let’s start with the power and how
the car drives
it has the two azac fe a 2.4 engine
commonly found in other toyotas paired
with a cvt gearbox
as boring as that sounds it’s actually
really pleasant to drive
just have the right expectations and by
that i mean just drive it slow and
relaxed and it’s great
there’s enough power down low and while
it struggles in the mid range just like
every other na japanese car it’s got
enough power to overtake when you need
to as long as you plan slightly ahead
i hear the 2.5 in the newer generation
alpha envelope virus is better but this
is surprisingly sufficient for what it
is the card is feel quite tall and there
is body roll
but you get used to it quite quickly and
you will then start to enjoy sitting
above everyone else
the ride is nice and comfortable
perhaps not s-class levels of comfort
but it soaks up bumps really nicely as
you would expect from its size
it’s also fine when going round corners
but the biggest thing i had to get used
to was the braking the brakes do not
really inspire confidence
but once you get used to it it’s fine
and again does the job
with that said all of these things
combined makes the car a really pleasant
relaxing drive
i can’t explain it but i just enjoy
driving slowly around in it
and i found myself taking the car out
over the f30 quite often even when i’m
by myself
how about the looks
i actually really like how it looks from
the front with the huge grille
even with all that chrome that just
seems to work with this car
but the rear does look like it’s
starting to age a bit which is
understandable of course
the newer vel fires and alphas are
pretty over the top two in terms of
looks but i’m actually starting to love
it as well
the side profile is a totally minivan
but it is what it is so just appreciate
it for what it is
the car also had a full detail and
coating done by limitless motor sports
so it actually looks pretty good
especially in this per white color
the interior is pretty decent too again
this is the previous generation so the
newer a h30 has a much better dashboard
design but it’s fine though admittedly
slightly dated
this model has the darker wood trims and
the black interior which helps
i actually really like how the optitron
kind of meter cluster looks it’s nice
and legible and i think still pretty
decent by today’s standards
the center console area is starting to
show somewhere
including the dashboard having a really
weird sticky texture when it sits under
the sun
which i understand is a common nh20
problem and maybe i’ll sold it out one
day
i also like the black alcantara type
seats it’s so nice and i think i much
prefer it to leather
another thing i like is the ambient room
likes so it unfortunately can’t be
turned on automatically each time
the food operated handbrake like in all
mercedes-benz’s is pretty weird at first
but i kind of enjoy using it these days
as it’s a toyota you can expect it to be
really reliable and i can’t think of
anything other than the usual wear and
tear stuff that needed to be done
we replaced the battery for about 300
ringgit
usual service costs about 300 to 400
ringgit and the cvt fluid service about
300 as well
this car does have the infamous steering
rack issue which i’ll be getting fixed
next so subscribe if you are interested
as i’ll be doing a video on that once
it’s sorted
i believe there are other common aircon
related issues and perhaps suspension
components that i can expect will need
changing at some point but it’s pretty
solid otherwise
safety wise the car does have curtain
airbags that go all the way to the third
row which you’ll be surprised is not
always the case on every car with a
third row
the best thing about the car is of
course how practical it is
it has a mind-blowing amount of space
that makes even tapawing food pretty
amusing because you have so many options
on where to actually put your stuff
the rear seat hooks are great too
my two boys absolutely love the car as
there is so much space and of course
having that center screen is something
they enjoy as well
the two pilot seats with the center out
makes it so convenient to get to the
back and the power doors are actually
really useful
especially with kids and older folks
the older folks will definitely
appreciate the higher right height as
they don’t have to fall into the seats
like in sports sudans and then have to
struggle to lift themselves out
if you’ve never had an mpv you really
need to experience one to be blown away
by how convenient it is
the boot is huge and can be expanded by
folding the seats when needed
but it’s pretty annoying that the auto
boot doesn’t work when you try to open
it manually from the back though i
understand that it’s a safety feature
it’s got keyless entry and auto head
likes and wipers so all the modern
convenience features you would expect
these days despite being a 10 year old
car
so in conclusion
i now get why this car is so incredibly
popular especially here in malaysia
it’s practical reliable and cheap to
maintain and pretty comfortable to go
around in it’s also relatively cheap to
purchase and you can find a used one
like this for way below 100 000 ringgit
there are also a ton of recon cars
available for the latest and h30 in
different specs depending on what you
are looking for including the lower spec
8 seaters or the luxurious executive
launch models
it’s also generally viewed as a pretty
luxurious car if that matters to you
seeing as how every family or politician
no matter how rich seems to have one in
their garage
it makes a great daily driver to pay out
with a more raw
selfish weekend car
so if you are after a seven seater or a
big family car do take a long hard look
at an alpha or well fire i know the suvs
are a lot more appealing and there are
definitely reasons as to why you would
buy an suv over an mpv
but you just might be surprised by how
much you like an alpha
i know i certainly was
so thanks for watching please like
comment and subscribe if you enjoyed
this and i’ll see you guys in the next
one
