The 2018 Toyota Vellfire has leaked via brochure
images, courtesy livedoor Blog. The Toyota Alphard and Toyota Vellfire duo of
luxury minivans entered their third generation in January 2015. Both will
receive a facelift for MY2018 soon. At the front, the facelifted Toyota
Vellfire features tweaked headlamps, sharper logo, reshaped fog lamp and fog
lamp enclosure and restyled bumper. Toyota has toned down the styling of the
upper grille, and made elements look more angular than before to retain the
bold fascia.
At the rear, the 2018 Toyota Vellfire gets a new,
full-width tailgate applique that splits the tail lamps. Like the headlamps,
the tail lamps adopt squarish graphics in the new model. Interior changes,
assuming there are some, are currently unknown. With the mid-cycle refresh, the
Vellfire will gain Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P) as standard.
The Toyota Vellfire is available in Japan with the
2AR-FE 2.5-litre and 2GR-FE 3.5-litre petrol engines. The 2.5-litre engine
produces 182 PS at 6,000 rpm and 235 Nm of torque at 4,100 rpm. The 3.5-litre
engine churns out 280 PS at 6,200 rpm and 344 Nm of torque at 4,700 rpm.
In addition, there is a hybrid variant, which uses
the 2AR-FXE 2.5-litre petrol engine along with the 2JM and 2FM electric motors.
The petrol engine delivers 152 PS at 5,700 rpm and 206 Nm of torque from
4,400-4,800 rpm. The 2JM electric motor generates 143 PS and 270 Nm of torque. The
2FM electric motor develops 68 PS and 139 Nm of torque.
According to recent Japanese reports, the 280 PS 3.5-litre petrol engine will gain direct injection and witness a 20
hp bump up in power. Toyota will replace the 6-speed automatic transmission
this engine is currently coupled to with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Toyota will reportedly launch the 2018 Toyota
Vellfire and 2018 Toyota Alphard in Japan on 25 December 2017.