2025 Toyota Vellfire review: Better than the luxurious Germans?

Celebrities and top-tier business moguls have been spotted cruising in the Toyota Vellfire, a luxury car that’s sparking a trend. Since its launch two years ago, Toyota’s been swamped with orders, struggling to keep up with the frenzy for this bold new take on opulence. So popular has been it’s uptake that it has been months since it’s launch and only now have finally gotten our hands on a car for a review! The question is: will this trend fade like so many others, or can it stand its ground against established German rivals like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series?

2025 Toyota Vellfire design

Let’s be clear: the Vellfire is a van. Vans are typically chosen for their practicality, space, and comfort, with aesthetics often an afterthought. Toyota thought differently. They’ve infused the Vellfire with a bold, distinctive, characterful design. The front end is… all grille — loud, unmissable, and guaranteed to turn heads. Pass one on the road, and you’ll likely do a double-take. The side profile reveals its true scale. At 5-metres long, it’s about 300mm shorter than an S-Class, but its 1,950mm height — 112mm taller than a Mercedes-Benz GLS — makes it feel imposing. Fun fact: its 3-metre wheelbase is longer than an entire MG Comet. Very noticeable are the stylised chrome lines and the dual tone 19-inch alloy wheels that add more character. To top it all off, Vellfire also gets its own insignia, placed on the front door. The rear sports a roof spoiler and sporty looking bumpers to add appeal to a flat back design. I love the design. Toyota has succeeded in making a van very desirable.

2025 Toyota Vellfire second-row comfort and tech

The Vellfire’s second row is its trump card, setting it apart from anything else on the road. Toyota offers seven different ways to open the sliding rear doors, practically begging you to step inside and experience what I believe is the finest standard second-row setup in India (perhaps only surpassed by its pricier twin, the Lexus LM).

It begins with a step up into the cabin and onto the two ottoman-style seats that feel like thrones — or perhaps luxurious recliners. These large, individual chairs boast long armrests and memory foam padding, delivering exceptional comfort. But that’s just the start of their party tricks. The backrest reclines to an almost horizontal position, the leg rest extends, and the seats slide forwards or backwards. Each seat comes with a detachable tablet controlling every electrical function in the rear: electric sun blinds, individual glass sunroofs above each of the two seats, ambient lighting colours, movable reading lights, cabin lights, seat massage functions, and seat ventilation. Also equipped is a fold-down 14-inch screen that supports phone casting, HDMI input, or music playback through Bluetooth, CarPlay or Android Auto. A 15-speaker JBL audio system is at hand to play your music, which too has an interesting trick up its sleeve. Cleverly, the system allows front and rear passengers to enjoy separate audio, with speakers tuned to keep sound isolated to each row — your chauffeur can now play his own playlist, which you catch up on your favourite show. Did I mention the 2-zone AC for the rear passengers? There is just so much to talk about here that this just seemed obvious. For those who prefer tactile controls, buttons on the roof or seats replicate the tablet’s functions. The only feature not using electricity is the foldable table which can be accessed from under the armrest, much like on the business class of an airline.

This happens to be the first car where I found myself walking in and out instead of sliding my back. That tells you all you need to know about the amount of space available.

2025 Toyota Vellfire third row and boot

The third row deserves its own spotlight. Accessing it is fairly straightforward: slide the second-row seat forward using side buttons, tilt the backrest, and walk through. Once the seat is back in place, there’s space for three passengers, with reclining seats and the best legroom I’ve encountered in any third row. The seats also slide forwards or backwards for added flexibility. Sliding the seats back reduces the already limited boot space. To create a usable luggage room, you can fold the third-row seats and secure them to the sides. This also reveals the boot floor, under which is a space saver spare tyre.

2025 Toyota Vellfire front row and driving impressions

The absence of ambient lighting in the front row hints at the Vellfire’s target audience: owners who rarely, if ever, sit up front. That said, the driver’s seat is still a pleasant place to be. The dash is covered with leather padded surface and wood like detailing which adds to the premiumness visually and haptically. The centre screen is another 14-inch unit which has a crisp display and the instrument cluster is digital as well. Physical buttons and knobs are provided for controlling the air con, volume, and drive modes. Separate buttons are on the roof to control the doors, boot, roof and side shades in the rear. You do get a sense that you command nearly every function from almost anywhere. The seats here too are really comfortable and supportive.

Press the prominent starter button above the instrument cluster, and the 2.5-litre hybrid-petrol engine hums to life — though you can barely notice it. It can run in pure electric mode for short periods under light loads. Producing 190bhp and 240Nm of torque, the engine pairs with a CVT gearbox driving the front wheels. It’s immediately clear that the sole purpose of the driver’s seat in this car is to ensure a smooth and comfortable travel for its rear passengers. Initially, driving the Vellfire can take getting used to, especially with the long dash making it tricky to judge its size.

Performance is adequate, with 0-100kmph taking 10.54 seconds in our tests. However, flooring the throttle unleashes a loud engine roar, which feels out of place in the otherwise refined cabin, even though the vibrations are negligible. Notably, the engine sits directly under the front dashboard due to the compact bonnet. This is a car best driven gently, where the ride remains smooth, noise levels stay low, and it seamlessly switches in and out of EV mode for better efficiency.

2025 Toyota Vellfire ride comfort and handling

The Vellfire is based on the TNGA-K platform which uses a monocoque construction. This platform is stiffer in construction yet quieter and more comfortable than its preceding generation. And immediately I can tell you that the ride is plush and it absorbs bumps well. However, there is a noticeable vertical movement when driven over potholes or speed breakers that can be felt particularly in the second and third row. Its high profile passengers might want to avoid filling their coffee cups to the brim. Also the road and wind noise creep into the cabin as the speed builds up. Given that a car like this prioritises comfort above all, I’d have expected these aspects to be handled with greater finesse.

When I was approaching a corner at speed, I confess being nervous — vans aren’t built for spirited driving. Curiosity prevailed, and while the Vellfire isn’t a sedan, it handled better than I expected – not getting out of shape at the sight of a corner. Body roll and understeer are present, reminding you to moderate your speed, but that is to be expected out of a 2-metre tall van. The steering, however, is excellent, making this long, tall van surprisingly easy to manoeuvre. U-turns become straightforward once you’re accustomed to its dimensions. Toyota definitely excels at making large vehicles shrink around you and feel manageable to handle.

 2025 Toyota Vellfire price and verdict

The Vellfire starts at ₹1.22 crore for the Hi variant, with the Executive Lounge version we tested priced at ₹1.32 crore — that’s roughly ₹40 lakh more than the previous generation, which was also a CBU import. While I thoroughly enjoyed the Vellfire, its price gives me pause. At similar price points the German luxury sedans or SUVs offer far more appeal to your senses. The materials and buttons in German luxury cars feel more exquisite to the touch, and their NVH levels are in a class of their own.

The Vellfire however offers things no German luxury car does. The Lazy Boy chair experience, the oodles of space in every row, the space that also adds privacy to the second row, and a different take to high-end luxury. These factors paired with Toyota’s renowned reliability for peace of mind have resulted in the Vellfire riding a unique wave of popularity.

As for me, I am so smitten by the second row that I am sneaking back for a few more minutes in those seats before the car is whisked away.