Toyota Alphard MZ/MZG Model

The MZ/MZG are high specification model of the 1st Gen Toyota Alphard and both are 3.0L engine model.


The MZ has cloth seats while the MZG comes standard with leather seats. The cloth in the MZ has a slightly different texture from those cloth used in the AX and MX model. The photo below shows the cloth used in the MZ (left) compared those used on the AX/MX model (right)

The MZ model comes in either 7-seaters or 8-seaters arrangement. It has wood panel on the centre console, the left and right side of the dashboard, and the top/bottom of the steering wheel. Shown below is the interior of a PFL MZ.

The interior of a NFL MZ is shown below Again the difference between the PFL and the new NFL model are in the HU and the lighter colour of the wood panel.

Electric driver seat is a standard feature on MZ and MZG.

The MZG is the top of the range model. It has all the features of an MZ with the following additions:

• Beige-colour Leather seats
• Auto curtain
• Cruise control
• Mini-table in 2nd row on 7 seaters
• Footrest (odoman) on 7 seaters
• Heated Driver and Passenger Seats

Also most owners of MZG would normal specify the option of 5.1 theatre sounds system, power boot, VSC and TRC when they purchase the car. Therefore most of the MZG landed here would have the most complete specification of a Toyota Alphard. It is therefore not surprising that the MZG is the most expensive of all the Toyota Alphard model.

Toyota Alphard AS/MS Model

The AS/MS is the sporty version of the 1st Gen Toyota Alphard. It is differentiated from the AX-L/MX-L in the exterior as well as the colour of the interior. The AS/MS model comes in 7-seaters arrangement only. The exterior difference was covered in this post previously.

The AS/MS have all the following features:

• Head Unit with CD/MD - PFL only
• Head Unit with DVD, MD, MP3, Bluetooth and 30GB Harddisk (HDD) - NFL only
• Smart door lock system
• Front and rear camera
• Black-wood panel centre console
• Black interior colour
• Black colour seats
• 17-inch wheels
• Aero bumpers and side skirt
• Larger diameter tail pipe
• armrest and back pocket on middle seats of 7-seaters
• Round-shape front fog lamp

The AS/MS also comes in Alcantara package where the seats are fitted with Alcantara cloth. Shown below is the interior of a PFL AS/MS model.

The interior of a NFL AS/MS model is shown belowLi

The NFL model comes with a larger HU with LD display.

Since the AS/MS has a sporty exterior, a lot of buyers would like to go for this model but unfortunately the supply of these models are quite low. Hence once a unit is available in any of the dealer it will get taken very fast by those eager buyers.

In the next post, I will cover the MZ/MZG model.

Toyota Alphard AX/MX model

The Toyota Alphard AX/MX edition is the most basic trim available. It comes with minimum features fitted and has beige-colour interior and beige-colour cloth seats. It is only available in 8-seaters trim only. It has orange-wood panel centre console.

Shown below is the interior of a PFL AX/MX model.

The NFL AX/MX interior is shown below

The main difference between the PFL and NFL interior are that the wood panel colour in the central console is lighter on the NFL, and the NFL comes with a large HU with DVD/HD/LCD display while the PFL model has a standard CD player fitted.

The AX-L and MX-L is considered the Luxury edition. They are available in either 7 or 8-seaters arrangement. The 7-seaters arrangement is also specifically fitted to cater for those owner who need a side lift seat (or what is called a wellcab).

The AX-L and MX-L have all the following features:

• CD Player - PFL only
• Head Unit with DVD, MD, MP3, Bluetooth and 30GB Harddisk (HDD) - NFL only
• Roof mounted LCD - NFL only
• smart door lock system
• sonar sensor
• Front and rear camera
• Orange-wood panel centre console
• Beige interior colour
• Beige colour Seats
• 16-inch wheels
• No body kit
• armrest and back pocket on middle seats of 7-seaters
• Tray table on the back of the middle row of 8-seaters
• Left Power Sliding door (standard)

If the AX/MX has any of the above options fitted, then it is an option that the original owner has chosen when he/she purchased the car in Japan.

In the next post, I will cover the AS/MS model.

What is a Toyota Alphard AX/AS/MX/MS/MZ/MZG Model?

Now that we have covered the different grade of the 1st Gen Toyota Alphard. Let look at what are those model type mean.

Let starts with the engine variant. The 1st generation Toyota Alphard is offered in either the 2.4L or 3.0L engine specification.

2.4L	3.0L
AX	MX
AX-L	MX-L
AS	MS
	MZ
	MZG

To denote whether the model is a 2.4L or 3.0L, Toyota uses the alphabet A in it model type to signify this is a 2.4L engine variant and the alphabet M for 3.0L engine variant. Next is the different edition available for each engine variant. The table below summarizes the available editions.

For each edition above, they are available in either 7-seaters or 8-seaters and 2-WD or 4-WD variant. This is the reason why it is so confusing for some buyers!

The 2nd alphabet in the table above represent the trims configurations available each of the edition. For example, the X indicates basic trims while the S indicates sport trims. The trimming is for both in the interior as well as the exterior. The 3rd alphabet L indicates that it is a Luxury version. The 3.0L has the MZ and MZG edition where the difference is in mainly the interior fittings.

From the exterior look perspective, the AX/MX/MZ are considered as the standard grade. The AS/MS has it own grade. Pricing wise, the AS/MS grade will definitely has a higher price than it sibling due to the sportier configuration.

In the next post, I will talk about the AX/MX model.

Three Grade of 1st Gen Toyota Alphard

I have been comtemplating to write a post on the different grade and type of 1st gen Toyota Alphard but has been stucked because there are just so many combinations to list out based on my research on this subject. I have been putting this on hold for quite a while now as I was not really sure how to put it in a way that make sense for most potential buyers. Then I read a book on another subject and it talks about keeping it simple. So it just dawn on me that why not just write on what's relevant from a reader viewpoint.

So this is a (hopefully) the first of the many posts on the different specification on 1st Gen Toyota Alphard. This post start with the different grades available for the 1st Gen Toyota Alphard.

From the exterior perspective, there are really 3 different grades which are the standard grade, MS/AS and Hybrid.

The standard grade consists of MZ, MX and AX model. For these 3 grades, the design are boxy conventional minivan look and come with standard 16-inch rims. The photo below shows a pre-facelifted standard grade (on the left) and a face-lifted standard grade.

The MS/AS grade come with aerokit in the form of a sportier bumper and larger rim to emphasize the sportier design. The photo below shows a prefacelifted MS/AS grade (on the left) and a face-lifted MS/AS grade.
The Hybrid is very similar to the standard grade except the grille and the bumper design. Of course the Hybrid sports the Toyota Hybrid System-CVT including a 2.4-litre gasoline engine, front and rear electric motors, a continuously variable transmission (CVT), high-output hybrid battery pack and an E-Four electric four-wheel drive system. The photo below shows a pre-facelifted Hybrid grade (on the left) and a face-lifted Hybrid grade.

I have previously covered the different between pre-facelift and face-lifted model in this post. Basically the difference are in the front headlight, rear tail lamp and the grille.

Some additional notes on 1st Gen Toyota Alphard are:

- MZ/MZ/MS comes with 3.0L engine (1MZ-FE)
- AX/AS comes with 2.4L engine (2AZ-FE)

The V and G model are supply by two different dealers. Toyota Netz supply V model while ToyoPet supply G model. I have cover the different between V and G grille in this post.

In the next several posts, I will try to explore what is offered in each of these grades.