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For a luxurious journey, the Toyota Hiace Super Grandia

The most opulent package your money can buy in this vehicle class

If the Commuter is for mass transport, the Super Grandia van is for individual comfort. Cozy. PHOTO FROM TOYOTA

Yusaku Maezawa is a Japanese billionaire and art collector. Last month, he announced that he had agreed to pay an undisclosed amount of money—surely in the millions (even tens of millions) of dollars—to fly himself and six to eight artists from around the world to the moon and back, on Elon Musk’s SpaceX shuttle. For a gazillionaire with money to burn and a bunch of his friends, it’s probably a small price to pay for making such a lavish travel statement.

For us mere mortals, our wish to travel in a stylish space shuttle of our own need not set us back all those millions of dollars (because we don’t have that enviable storage of wealth anyway). The Toyota Hiace Super Grandia is at your service.

The Super Grandia is a spacious lounge on wheels. PHOTOS FROM TOYOTA

The Super Grandia—at 4,840mm long, 1,880mm wide and 2,105mm tall—is the higher-end and more spacious brother of the Commuter. Not only does the Super Grandia have more inches inside and out compared to its utilitarian sibling, it also has four fewer seats than the Commuter’s 15-person capacity. Which means there’s even more elbow room for everyone. Plus, the driver can relax better in traffic as this Hiace version is equipped with a four-speed automatic transmission versus the entry-level van’s manual stick shift.

But if ultimate luxury is what you truly desire, may we recommend the Hiace Super Grandia LXV?

As far as boxy shuttle vans go, nothing is more luxurious than the relaxing Super Grandia LXV. PHOTO FROM TOYOTA

The Super Grandia LXV is as grand and as plush a ride as you can get. It transports 10 pampered people in absolute comfort. And with the seats in the third rear row folded up, you create added space for all your luggage, golf bags or camping equipment on the way to the beach or your favorite cabin getaway in Tagaytay.

The four captain seats in the passenger cabin come complete with an ottoman feature that allows you and your guests to stretch your legs like you would in your living room. They really are a luxury on those long trips or when you simply need to take the load off your feet after a stressful day at the office (or shopping at the mall). You even have rich fabric carpeting to rest your soles on if you prefer to sit upright. When you plant yourself in any one of these captain seats, you sink into it with calming pleasure as the seat embraces you with its supple leather upholstery. The seats adjust four ways—front, back, left and right—to make sure you get the sitting layout that gives you the best use of all the available space.

We all know that traveling with kids on those summer escapes can get mighty challenging. Kids will be kids and we can’t keep them in their seats for too long before their urge to run around gets the better of them. The cavernous rear cabin area gives you—and them—easy movement between seats for (just imagine) a game of tag (highly not recommended, but you get the point). You also don’t have to deal with all those embarrassing contortions as you enter the vehicle to get into your designated seat—especially if it’s at the rear. The ladies can walk in effortlessly, keeping their poise around them. The guys, on the other hand, can hop on without fear of bumping their head before plunking themselves down on one of those La-Z-Boy seats on wheels.

When you plant yourself in any one of the captain seats, you sink into it with calming pleasure as the seat embraces you with its supple leather upholstery

If space is your guilty pleasure, the Super Grandia LXV is definitely your poison of choice. Measuring 5,380mm long, 1,880mm wide and 2,285mm tall, it is a virtual mobile living room with luxe touches like leather and wood trims throughout the cabin. Additionally, it has no fewer than 10 cupholders for your hydration needs, placed within easy reach of driver and passengers. The dual-zone air-conditioning makes sure tempers don’t flare even in the worst of traffic jams. Providing listening entertainment is a remote-controlled, six-speaker audio system with a CD/DVD player, auxiliary connectors and a USB port. There’s also a GPS navigation display so you never lose your way.

While comfort pervades this cushy transporter, safety is certainly a priority in this vehicle as well. The Super Grandia LXV comes with airbags, antilock brakes, side-impact beams and a high-mount stop lamp for both passive and active safety.

Powering this luxury van is a 3.0-liter 16-valve DOHC diesel engine that produces 134hp and 300Nm. It is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission, the shifter for which is dash-mounted and of the gate type. This robust powerplant will get you to your destination without any worries.

While the Toyota Hiace Super Grandia LXV won’t take you to the moon and back, it will be a much more comfortable ride with your wheels firmly planted on the road—just the way you like it. Oh, and you don’t need millions of dollars to experience it.

This branded article was produced in partnership with Toyota Motor Philippines.



VISOR

VISOR is a Philippine-based mobility website that went online on November 6, 2017, and is published by No Glare Media. We create mobility-related content without the falsehood, without the drama, and without the bullshit.



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