Owned a CX-8 before switching over to the Alphard.

Trust me you did the right choice. Alphard is totally on another different level in terms of comfort and NVH, which is expected since they cost so much more. Hope you score the model with JBL and 360 camera (360 is dealer option at JDM land). Only thing that confuse me is why Mazda auto high beam works so much better and brighter. If you manage to score one with JBL, prepare to shop for JBL SD Card at shopee, when battery dies the headunit will reset itself and need that SD card. Or you can just borrow from people or 3rd party people with minimum cost.

And no it does not drive like a boat. Drives pretty damn good for what its intended purpose is.

Side note 3rd row seat does not comes with ISOFix as per claim got by nearly all sales agent.