Toyota Vellfire – One Year Ownership Review

About a year ago me and my family decided that it was time to replace the old car with a new car. Hence the Vellfire – a 280ps 7-seater with a TV. We couldn’t afford a new one so a used one would do. But how well did it fare you might ask. How well did a 2-tonne barge deal with the school runs, the twisties and the highways. Here’s a report on what’s happened in the last year.

I’ll start with the positives, and there are many of them. Chief among which is how comfortable it is. Of course it is essentially a minivan so comfort is the priority, but this thing does it better than any other car I’ve rode in. From the tyres it’s wearing, to the suspension, floor mats up to the sponge in the seat, it did an awesome job of insulating you and the road surface – bumpy or not. The TRD suspension I put on were the only modification I put on and they were comfort-oriented too, there was just enough stiffness to not make the ride feel like it’s a boat, but there’s also enough stroke to not make it roll like a pig. Sure it might not be Rolls Royce comfy, but it’s comfy enough for anything. Anything.

The practicality too is a big plus point. When you look at it, you would think that it’s a posher van – which it is – and that would mean loads of space in the back. In normal cars you can fold them down, but this thing has a party trick, which involves lifting the entire third-row up and hanging it off of the side of the car. And lo and behold, you’ve got yourself a van. It’s especially handy if you’ve got to move a house or something like that, you can fit it in no problem.

The equipment you get as standard is also absolutely remarkable. You get the usual touch-screen, bluetooth, cruise control and so on, but how many cars would give you two screens, one being a TV? In 2012! Yes I know the S-class Mercedes does it far earlier, but the Toyota is half of what you pay to get an S-Class. Half. You also get captain seats in the middle row, which means you can relax and lie down whenever need be, and the seat would support every part of the body. There’s even a leg cushion which lifts electronically with the push of a button. It’s just a boss’ car.

MPVs often get critized in the car community, because of their lack of soul, lack of excitement or any sort of handling characteristics. And that is true with our car in most parts, because this car has a lot of characteristics from the get-go. In the power department, there is a 3.5L V6, which is essentially an Evora engine without the forced induction, and that propells a 2-tonne car from 0-100kph in under 8 seconds. The most impressive thing though, is the torque, you can be at 1500 rpm and put your foot hard down and it’ll go…I mean shift. It’s not like a turbo car which has lag, this thing just goes. Then again, the rest of it is rather lacking. The handling is nonexistent, since the mass is rather large, and the weight is just there. The steering feel is the worst part of it, you can feel none of the road. This is the part where it gets interesting, because I don’t understand why Toyota would swap out the old hydralic part for this electric one, which lacks feel, is extremely unreliable, and doesn’t save that much fuel. The brakes as well are just plain bad. Single pot calipers front and back, which you can imagine, is simply not enough for a barge. The stopping distance is bad but the pedal feel is exceptionally bad – you can press a quarter of the pedal and it won’t do anything. It’s not like it’s the brake lines’ fault too, because once you press hard enough, it does the job alright. However there’s just something you have to get used to.

The fuel consumption too is rather bad. With 70% city-driving, I’m averaging 7.1km/L, which is, according to Google, 16.7mpg. That is absurdly low. Oh well…high displacement NA with 7 people onboard…that’s what you got to pay for.

Overall though, if you ask me if it’s worth getting, I’d say yes. For the amount you’re paying for, it’s unlike anyrhing else on the market. Yes you might argue that the Nissan Elgrand which has a VQ in it, or the Mercedes V-class might be a better option. But you have to realise that neither of those offer anything close to the luxurious equipment that this thing has. Also, the Elgrand has a CVT, which is horrible knowing Nissan CVTs, and the V-class is essentially a van body. So it doesn’t have the presence of the Toyota. Comment below if you have anything to ask, I’ll answer ASAP.