Seems like this car is less talkable here in forum but saw many on the road.

Planning to get a MPV which can carry 5-7 adults

Budget below 200k
Grand Carnival & Maxus can get brand new. But worry about reliability and service centre availability.
This ends up only from Toyota.

Any owners here would like to share their experience owning this car?

Many here might recommend SUV. Driving a Xtrail now.
So planning to change to a MPV
At least more comfortable for my children n in-laws at the back

Best to hire a driver, not nice to drive because too big and sitting position very high like van

I dont own one, but my neighbor has same current gen Alphard, one in white, one in black...

Anyway... when max passenger, you lose all luggage space (if that is one of your needs). Alternatively would be Estima.

There is also Toyota Voxy, but might be a bit small and less powerful for you

Grand Carnival can sit 6-8 adults comfortably with space for luggage, on highway no problem, got sufficient torque to overtake and feels steady on highway. Many ex stocks available.

Vellfire high on car theft list...2 of my friends' Vellfires were stolen, 1 in shopping mall, another 1 right in front of the office carpark.

Honda Stepwagon is good for everyday drive. It also have extra storage under the third row when fully occupied like estima. And the fridge like rear hatch is some what more convenient than normal hatch.

The third row seat also can be fully folded under the floor unlike vellfire or voxy or serena with two huge seat hanging to the side.

This post has been edited by Kendall: Oct 11 2021, 10:56 PM

If care only passenger comfort & premium feel, i would recommend Alphad.
Vellfire for me is kinda 50:50 want to be sporty and premium feel but stuck in between.

If want more stable drivability, get Estima or Honda Odyssey.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Oct 12 2021, 08:49 AM

alphard or velfire ..
just installed anti roll bars and spring buffer .
enchance the car body roll and stablity.

Estima is nice too. But heard it has been discontinued in Japan.
Will be driving at least 5yrs ++. Worry no spareparts in future


Kia SC is like 80km from my place. Toyota SC is just a stonethrow away..


Saw a few. Nice looking. But too small for my liking.
With that size n price, would prefer brand new Serena with full warranty


Oh..Didnt know there's difference in comfort for both.
I thought A and V differences are the outlook


Yet to own the car. Any good n reliable Sales Assistant to recommend?

only 1 trip 80km for regular maintenance...unless you own a BMW then different story.

Every minutes count my friend.
When hand stop, mouth stops too!
It might takes 2hours driving to n fro
Plus service time will take the whole day!

Normally I'll just drop my car at SC and go to work.
Dont like sitting at SC lounge doing nothing n wasting time
And Kia still available in Malaysia?

RECOND ? can try find D concept dealer. they provide service is auction and direct import car . the price will be cheaper and car condition record is transparent
u can view thier video live from FB..
Local dealer , many recond car are touched up body paint. and adjusted the odometer.

This post has been edited by danielisme: Oct 12 2021, 12:43 PM

Unlike Alphard, some Vellfire generation does not come with Rear Independent Suspension offering no adjustment of Rear Camber and/or Toe.

Alphard's one are very flexible and easy to make adjustment.

For Alphard/Vellfire AGH30

Pros:
1) Lots of space, even with 2nd row pushed quite further back, there's still plenty of space on the 3rd row. While the boot space may not be huge when you push 2nd and 3rd row far back, there's a lot still a lot of space in the 2nd row floor for hand carry baggage etc. Not many car can sit 6-7 so comfortably, especially the 3rd row.

2) Very comfortable for 2nd row passengers

3) Relatively cheap to run for a 'luxury' car. Lots of mechanics know their common problems and lots of spare parts available

4) Both the 2.5 and 3.5 engines are very smooth

5) Good highway cruiser, comfortable, and have somewhat decent fuel economy in highways. Great for highway cruising at 80-120kph.

Cons:
1) Poor driving dynamics. The car have a very soft setup, lots of body roll.

2) Wind sound can be quite loud for driver's side, 2nd and 3rd row are a lot better. Get a unit with better sound system to counter this issue.

3) Road noise are loud if you have the larger wheels, certain specs have the smaller wheels, those are slightly better in terms of noise level, however, most likely at 200k you'll get the ZG which comes with the larger wheels, so make sure you have good comfort tyres equipped

4) Poor camera quality and tech in general, however, there are many 3rd party option for you to customize as you wish.



Additional note: 2.5 engine is good enough to bring you around, even with full passengers, however, if you are trying to overtake at high speed, you can feel that it lacks power. Going up hills or some slope, you can certainly feel the lack of power as well. Not an issue if you don't drive fast, however, if you want to drive fast, definitely go for 3.5.

LOL don't make it sound like a hassle. Family car deserves some quality maintenance for the long run.
Time is up to you to manage, same for everyone else.
Yes, Kia is readily available in Malaysia.

welcome to the family bus club

You can say poor driving dynamics BUT I always see people driving these cars at high speed, ie 150kmh and above.

I used to own the previous gen alphard and I myself am not confident to drive it above 120kmh.

Coming back to the user experience, I agree with this statement above. Alphard IS A highway cruiser. Very comfortable for passengers. Driver on the other hand... We'll, just enjoy the cruise.

However, if you were to purchase Alphard or Vellfire, take note of your parking spaces. DONT GO into basements below 1.9m in height. A number of places that have these 'height' restrictions... Ie PJ hilton, PUDU central, etc. If you go in, good luck to you!

Also, as mentioned, it's a great highway cruiser but in the city its a different story. Imagine having a nice drive to Penang but in Penang Island, you tend to be more stress because of the size.

I drove at Cameron and to make matters worst, I drove to BOH plantations. Seriously a nightmare till today I remember... Haha

If you want to stand out from the crowd, bring in a Toyota Majesty.

It is not easy to drive this large mpv. Drove it before
Good for big space , open area and etc just like any large vehicles

I dare to say it is even harder to drive than any of big vehicles such as a 4x4 , pickup truck or 7 seater suv. At least we get good ground clearance

The ground clearance is barely acceptable. It is like driving a modded street car with the body of a raised pickup truck