Johnno

Hi all, I recently started looking at buying an alphard or vellfire, and now I’m serious about it. I started looking at series 30 but decided the prices were too high. So a decent 2012+ series 20 will be just fine. This will be a daily around town driver for me, about 25 miles per day. Hence I was looking at the hybrid models, but I’ve been told the 2.4 hybrid is not reliable, but I cannot find real life evidence of this. I also read about excessive engine oil consumption on the 2.4, but again not sure if this was sorted out on later year models? can anyone with similar models share their experience with this engine? The car I’ve seen is actually a 2013 with 64,000 miles. Is this mileage ok or is it considered high and therefore a risk/more maintenance required? any info to help me decide would be much appreciated.

Good work Lester!

Ah, thanks a lot for that. Funny enough, I was thinking maybe removing middle row seats is a good idea (I just hate the thought of throwing out excellent quality seats!). do you sleep in your Alphard? If so, I presume you use the 3rd row somehow? also, does your picnic unit now slide on the runners or a fixed position unit? thanks again.

Hi lester, It’s a long shot since this is an old post, but can the runners be swapped to alternate sides, so the slide button would still work and ottoman won’t snag? So literally a 180 rotation of all parts. I realise this is pretty much a permanent modification unless one wants to go through all the hassle each time!

Hi all, im thinking of getting an ah30 that i will slowly and ultimately convert to a camper. I like that on the 3 series there is a long slide on the near side, i.e. a single rail for front two seats to slide to any position. Anyone know if this was only an option or standard on certain trim levels? also, can the front passenger seat be reversed to face backwards (not on a swivel)? This would be useful for solo camping. May as well also ask - if it can be done, is it legal for a passenger to sit in the backwards facing position whilst driving? Images show some seats have integrated seatbelts, some don’t. thank you!