The other day.My husband got to drive my brother's Alphard.Yes, and he wrote an article about his impressions of that test ride. I was unable to ride it because I was back home for the birth of my baby, but I would have loved to experience the back seat! So, please take a look at the following if you like.

Why Alphard?

My brother, who pops up on the blog from time to time, the other day.Ferrari GTC4 Lusso TThey bought another car following the

What a Toyota Alphard this time.The grade is 4WD 3.5L, Executive Lounge. It is equipped with a "3.5L" engine with a "3.5L" engine.Why did you choose Alphard again in the first place?When we asked him about the "Alphard," he told us that he was looking for an SUV for his family and considered the GLS, Defender, and Cayenne, but settled on the Alphard for its cosy and spacious ride.

Many of my brother's friends are supercar owners, like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, butAfter much consideration, many people are finally buying an Alphard for their family car these days.It seems. After all, they seem to seek the counterpoint of driving a car such as a supercar.

Try Alphard

A few days after taking delivery, my brother came to my house to show me the car.The width is not so large, but the height is huge.As someone who always drives low cars, I am amazed.

Soon after, we got in and went for a test drive in Ashiu. Well, I don't think there are many people who test Alphard in Ashiari, but it is inevitable to know the driving performance.

The first thing you think when you start driving is that it is very quiet.In the case of the Alphard, there is a strong sense that the sound from the outside has been thoroughly suppressed. On the other hand, the sound of the engine can be heard to a certain extent when the driver steps on it, and the dry sound of compression and explosion, which is typical of Toyota engines, is rather pleasant.

The exhaust note is barely audible, but the sound of the engine's "Quorn! sound from the engine is quite brave.

Why did you choose the 3.5L for your brother? I asked him.I have driven 2.5L and 2.5L hybrids of my acquaintances, but the 3.5L seemed to have a harder engine on hills, and the 3.5L was definitely better in terms of ride comfort, and since I am the one who drives the car, I chose the 3.5L with a better engine feel and power.He said.

I have never driven the 2.5L series, so I can't say anything about it, but certainly the feeling of this 3.5L engine is not bad, and it is perfectly fine for normal driving.

On the other hand.What I was interested in was the control of the AT.On a slightly steep hill, even though the engine is clearly struggling, there is a strong sense of trying to somehow keep the revs between 2000 and 3000 rpm, and a feeling of cutthroatness.

Of course, if you step on it a little more, the gear will drop, but if that is the case, you should drop down a gear earlier from the beginning and use a little higher rpm range.

Looking at the engine specifications, maximum torque is 361Nm (36.8kgf-m)/4,600-4,700rpm.This is an unusually high RPM range for a modern engine. If that were the case, I would think that a slightly higher rpm range should be used as an afterthought.

I'm well aware that this is not a car that talks about handling, but to give you my impressions, the steering lock-to-lock is also large.The impression is that the car moves with a one-beat delay in everything.It is.

Of course, this is what this car is good for.

This is kinder to the passengers and allows the driver to relax very much. The handling does not require the car to rush the driver in any way.

Naturally, the characteristic is an under-trend.When driving around a curve in Ashiu, the driver must brake sufficiently in front of the curve, and then gradually turn the steering wheel to the right in the middle of the curve. This naturally results in smooth driving with little lateral G-force, which is a gentle driving style that takes the occupants into consideration.

As for the ride quality, I think it is remarkable.It is especially great at low speeds up to about 60-70 km/h.The soft suspension and soft tires catch the road surface gently, and the weight of the car is well utilized to drive the car smoothly.

I liked the ride of my previous S63 coupe, but I honestly feel that the Alphard rides better in town.It is different from the smoothness and flatness of the tires of European luxury cars, where you can feel the roundness of the tires. It is hard to describe, but it feels as if there is a layer of high-quality rubber or air between the road surface and the car.

Particularly impressive was when passing through an uneven deceleration zone to prevent excessive speed.The sound and vibration suppression is not half bad.I can see the difference even more because it is a deceleration zone that I run in all the time. I think it is one of the quietest and least vibration I have ever experienced.

As expected of a domestic car, as expected of Toyota.This is something to be proud of in the world.

However, theSuch a ride changes its appearance at once when the driver steps on the accelerator pedal and tries to move a little more agilely.I have to admit that there is a lot of left to right roll, or swaying, and I start to feel a kind of looseness in the body. When I pointed this out to my brother, he said, "That's what I think too, which is why I'm going to put in a full set of TRD enhancement parts.He said.

What is my brother trying to achieve with this Alphard (laughs)?

A further point that impresses me is that the front/rear pitch seems very low. This may be due to the fact that this grade is a four-wheel drive vehicle and the front/rear torque distribution is finely controlled during driving.In any case, there is little sway in the front-back direction.Many SUVs and minivans are designed to carry luggage, so they have a hardened rear suspension, and the rear end inevitably becomes unsettled, causing the car to bounce around, but this Alphard behaved very calmly.