Toyota Majesty / GranAce: Moving people at the fraction of the price of an Alphard

If the salvo of multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) launched in Malaysia last year was not spacious enough for you, you might want to hang in there for a bit and wait for this, the Toyota Majesty / Toyota GranAce.

With dimensions coming in at 5,265 mm by 1,950 mm by 1,990 mm, the Toyota Majesty / GranAce is an absolute behemoth. These dimensions even dwarves the Kia Carnival.

So, what exactly is the Toyota Majesty / GranAce?

What is the Toyota Majesty / GranAce?

The short and simple answer is that the Toyota Majesty / GranAce is a more luxurious version of the sixth-generation Toyota Hiace. The sixth-generation Toyota Hiace, codenamed H300, is not officially sold here.

While official Toyota distributor UMW Toyota Motor does not offer the Majesty / GranAce (at least not yet), parallel importers have been offering the MPV here, priced between RM 330k to RM 400k.

With that being said, the Malaysian Armed Forces recently took delivery of 50 units of the H300 Toyota Hiace Ambulance, which are brought via a special custom order.

Also Read: 50 unit Toyota Hiace H300 CBU Jepun sebagai ambulans ATM - van baru belum masuk pasaran Malaysia!

Depending on market, Toyota also offers different versions of the van. It is called the Grandia and Grandia Tourer (Philippines), Hiace Commuter (Thailand, Philippines), and Hiace Premio (Indonesia).

How different is the Toyota GranAce / Majesty compared to the Alphard?

The biggest difference from the Alphard is that the Toyota GranAce / Majesty is derived from a commercial van, in this case, the Toyota Hiace. As such, it sits on a ladder frame platform and features a rear-wheel drive (RWD) layout.

As for the Toyota Alphard, it is designed from the ground-up as a people-mover and is developed on a monocoque platform. Unlike the GranAce / Majesty's rear-wheel drive layout, the Alphard is a front-wheel drive (FWD) model. Some variants of the Alphard (which also includes the Vellfire) also include a 4-wheel drive (4WD) layout.

What about engine options?

The differences between its origins also carry over to the powertrain department.

Whereas the Alphard gets the choices of petrol engines and petrol-electric hybrid systems, the GranAce / Majesty gets more utilitarian powertrains.

Yes, the GranAce / Majesty gets the same engine found in the Toyota Hilux – itself a remarkable unit of a diesel engine, one that’s surprisingly refined for an oil burner. Depending on market, the Majesty can offer up to a 163 PS, 420 Nm turbodiesel engine.

If and when the Toyota Majesty / GranAce comes to Malaysia, we reckon that the diesel engine would be the engine that would be offered here – on par with some of its rivals, which we will explain below.

What does the Toyota Majesty / GranAce compete against?

In Malaysia, the Toyota Majesty / GranAce would compete against several commercial van-based people movers, including some from Mercedes-Benz.

Yes, the Toyota Majesty / GranAce even competes with the likes of the Mercedes Benz Vito Tourer. Recall that the Vito Tourer is similar to the Majesty and Hiace, as it too, is based on a commercial van. The commercial van version is called the Vito.

Also Read: Is the RM 342k 10-seater Mercedes-Benz Vito Tourer a better Alphard / Staria?

At the same time, the Toyota Majesty / GranAce also competes against the Hyundai Staria. Like the Vito Tourer and Majesty, the Staria also has roots as a commercial van. The people mover version is based on the commercial van.

To a lesser extent, the Toyota Majesty / GranAce also competes against the Kia Carnival. Like the Alphard, the Kia Carnival also features a unibody construction and front-wheel drive layout, which could potentially offer a better ride comfort than the Majesty / GranAce.

Also Read: MPVs launching in Malaysia in 2023 - From Hyundai Stargazer to Toyota Majesty

How much does the Toyota Majesty cost compared to the Alphard?

In Thailand, the Toyota Majesty is priced between THB 1.71 million (~RM 220k) to THB 2.2 million (~RM 282k), significantly cheaper than the Alphard, which goes for THB 3.889 million (~RM 499k). The outgoing, rear-wheel drive Toyota Innova is priced at THB 1.209 million (~RM 155k).

Therefore, the Thai-spec Majesty slots nicely between the Alphard and Innova.

Also Read: More expensive than the Alphard, here's all you need to know about the Toyota GranAce

Could the Toyota Majesty come to Malaysia?

At this point of time, it’s hard to say if UMW Toyota Motor will launch the Toyota Majesty here. But seeing that over in Thailand the Majesty bridges the gap between the Innova and Alphard, we believe the same arrangement could be mirrored here.

Also Read: The majestic Toyota Majesty is the 11-seater RWD Alphard that’s on sale in Thailand