In a country where most metropolitan hubs face the most severe traffic, it’s a wonder why it took a vehicle like the Vellfire to awaken the country to the virtues of the luxury MPV. The Toyota Vellfire isn’t the sort of family van you drop the kids off to for soccer practice. It’s essentially a business class lounge-on-wheels. Essentially, it’s the best place you want to be in if caught in a traffic jam. Arriving in the country around the same time as the Kia Carnival, it’s hard to determine who the true flag-bearer of the luxury MPV class is. Sure, the Carnival isn’t as prohibitively expensive as the Vellfire, but celebrity patronage, along with hybrid functionality, does make the Vellfire a more influential mascot.
Design
As can be expected from a Japanese MPV, the Vellfire is an intersection of razor-sharp lines and swooping curves – the opposite of the more stoic appearance of most European designs, which tend to be a bit more conservative. Toyota said that the last Vellfire had the face of a Samurai, and we just had to take their word for it. They’ve decided not to mine cultural lore this time. The truth is you don’t necessarily buy an MPV for sensational design, but the Vellfire certainly looks expensive and unique. The front fascia is massive, with massive vertical slates and tapering eyes that give it a fierce sense of purpose. Even if that purpose is to putter about in city or highway traffic. The new model even gets a slick vertical bar on the bumper’s lip. Not terribly practical, but very cool and aggressive to behold.
The real party, figuratively and in case of such a cavernous interior, literally, lies on the inside. Two large sofas practically call out to you, and once you’re seated you can’t help but wonder why anyone would yearn for more luxury? A Rolls-Royce is unbelievably quiet and has unmatched ride quality, but going by sheer seat comfort, there’s enough to overwhelm even the most indulgent French emperor.
Heated or cooled, an adjustable backrest, powered, retracting leg rests – it’s all one can do not to elicit a deep sigh when sinking into this masterclass of a middle-row seat. There’s decent enough legroom at the back as well, but not quite as grand as the middle-row obviously. If you’re seated behind the front passenger’s seat, a single press of a button can push it forward, creating even more legroom and diminishing your desire for the ride to end.
There isn't that much else to talk about. The interiors have received a major update in the form of a long overhead console running along the length of the roof. The screen quality makes it look a tad more contemporary and the massage functions on the middle-row seats are otherworldly. When it comes to seat massages, Lexus offers world-class ones, and it’s clearly trickled down to the Vellfire. One phone-sized touchscreen is available for each mid-row passenger, through which you can control massage, temperature and recliner settings. The centre console touchscreen is also larger and much easier to use.
Powertrain
For a car of its size, the Vellfire is modestly powered. Which makes sense since it isn’t built for speed. It gets the same 2.5-litre petrol hybrid found in the excellent Toyota Camry Hybrid but now there’s another option: a 2.4-litre petrol. The hybrid’s front-axle motor puts out roughly 148 hp working alongside a smaller 65hp rear-axle motor should more grip be required. India continues to have the detuned version of the latter, so the combined output is 250hp. The e-CVT transmission works much like it does on most Lexus cars. In fact, the Vellfire is essentially a Lexus without a badge. While there’s no adaptive air suspension (obviously), the Vellfire is an exercise in pure indulgence. It disconnects you to the outside world, so good is the improved sound-deadening of the cabin. There’s a “Pure EV” mode, but you know better than to rely on that for anything above 20kph.
Verdict
What’s not to love about the Vellfire? It’s resplendent where it needs to be (in terms of cabin comfort and driving smoothness) and eco-friendly and sustainable as well. The best kind of luxury today is the sustainable kind. In many ways, the Vellfire, even at Rs 1.22 crore (going up to Rs 1.33 crore for the top-end model), is the answer to the Indian motorists' prayer, or rather, it is a fantasy of sorts. It has all the ingredients for it to be the ultimate luxury mobility device. It’s even lighter now than its predecessor. And it’s a Toyota, so you know it is unfailingly reliable. What more could you want?
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