Business class
Hong Kong's multipurpose vehicle scene is pretty much a two-horse race. One contender is Nissan's grandiose Elgrand, and the other is Toyota's carriage for the discerning peripatetic, the Alphard.
At first glance, the Alphard is almost indistinguishable from its rival - both are leviathan people-movers with industrial-sized cheese-grater grilles and an unsexy absence of curves on the outside. Neither is likely to win a beauty pageant, but there's more to the blinged-up Hiaces than you might think.
They're all about comfort, space and luxury - and the Alphard has these qualities in spades. With a spec list that's more Maybach than Meriva, the 2,000kg Alphard truly lives up to the 'fully-loaded' cliche.
Keyless entry and electric side doors usher you into a spacious cabin. The Alphard is a full six-seater, with two 'captain's chairs' taking much of the space. The aircraft-style seats are adjustable, reclinable and have pop-up ottoman foot and headrests, making them comfy, if not over-the-top.
Front passengers get a dash-mounted entertainment system for watching DVDs, so to get even comfier, flick a couple of switches and a 10-inch LCD monitor drops down while the three-zone climate control system (with pollen filter and air purifier) kicks in.
Sound from the entertainment system fills the interior via an eight-speaker audio system and twin 'moon roofs' give the cabin an airy feel. There are a dozen storage compartments in the Alphard's walk-through layout, and the rear seats have an easy-stow function to make space for extra luggage.
Funky LED ceiling lights add to the plane-like feel of the interior, as do retractable, armrest-mounted tables in the middle row of seats.
With an interior plush to the point of excess, one might expect the Alphard to drive like a sofa with a steering wheel. But Toyota has given the 2008 model a new transmission and steering system, and a 3.5-litre V6 engine that produces a healthy 274 brake horsepower. As a result, the Alphard is pretty swift on the straights (unladen, at least) and not half as sluggish as I had anticipated uphill or when pushed hard. Its suspension is firmer than one might have expected, too.
Toyota's active safety and stability features promise to take care of the business end of things and the vehicle stability system attends to the finer points of keeping the two-tonner on the tarmac.
A straight-line braking feature, for instance, corrects differences in left-right braking forces that cause the vehicle to pull towards the higher friction side. The power steering and stability control also supplement the standard anti-lock braking system to provide torque to offset the left-right vehicle pull you get when braking hard. You feel the benefit of all this hi-tech wizardry when you stop the MPV in its tracks.
The Alphard has 11 airbags (front, side, driver's knee and side-curtains), and active front headrests help to prevent whiplash in the event of a crash. There are also rain-sensitive wipers, a rear parking camera (a must for a bus like the Alphard in Hong Kong), automatic headlights and rear under-view mirrors to overcome blind spots.
Largely overlooked in Europe but popular in the US, 600 or so Alphards rolled onto Hong Kong's roads last year. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the van is right for you. Alphards can be swish suites or offices on wheels, but you'll have to evaluate for yourself whether you need all those seats, and if you or your chauffeur can comfortably park and manoeuvre the thing through Causeway Bay, say, into a car park. If you're in doubt, it probably makes more sense to buy a smaller car.
But is the Alphard the king of minivans? It's anyone's guess whether it'll wipe the floor with the Elgrand. Yet no matter what anyone says about big, overblown vehicles being driven around half-empty, Toyota's latest luxury creation suggests that the future of jumbos on wheels has never looked so bright in Hong Kong.
