For every car enthusiast, the birth of the first child spells doom.  It severely limits the choices for a new car, and with every new addition, the circle keeps on getting smaller.  If you’re just two, you can opt for a Mercedes SLR McLaren.  Three?  A Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.  Now, how about if you’re 7 or 8?  Unless Aston Martin comes out with a 7-seater SUV, you’re stuck with a people carrier.  Called minivans or MPVs, for most people it means upright styling, terrible road manners and poor performance.  Well, not anymore.  These days, people are getting pickier, and everyone’s expecting their cars (or MPVs) to do a lot of things.  And the Toyota Previa’s leading the charge.

Locally, Toyota’s in a pretty interesting predicament.  With 12 vehicles in its line, is there still any space for the Previa to squeeze in?  All doubts are laid to rest when you stumble upon this car.  It seems that Toyota has discovered something in this luxury people carrier market.

From the outside, the Previa generally carries the look of the previous model down to the proportions.  But that’s where the similarity ends.  A careful scrutiny reveals a much more modern, more welcoming and cohesively designed car.  The kinked headlamps for example, are nicely echoed in the rear LED lamps.  The rising belt line gives a dynamic profile too.  Designers tried hiding the Previa’s girth by adding more lines and slapping in 17-inch alloys as standard, but there’s no denying that this is one big car.  And that’s not a bad thing; remember, you’re buying a MPV for its spacious interior—looks are just a bonus.

Inside, the Previa dons a much more conventional suit with its beige/tan interior.  Toyota kept things futuristic with its sci-fi cues such as the center-mounted instrumentation (now with much better legibility and lightning), center-mounted shifter and a rather confusing climate control system.  Overall, the execution’s hard to fault: everything’s precise, tactile and pretty much indestructible.  There’s an expansive highlight of light wood, but don’t get too concerned as it’s nicely done and matches well with the cabin.

This car can easily accommodate 7 adults comfortably, with two in the middle row captain’s chairs and three in the third row.  All seats are finished in high-quality soft leather—something not out of place in a Lexus.  All rows offer excellent comfort and support, even for the longest journeys.  The captain’s chairs are not just adjustable fore and aft, but are individually movable in every direction including side-to-side.  There’s even a built-in foot rest, for those keen on reliving a First Class jet cabin experience.  Unfortunately, all this movement needs rails and the Previa’s got a whole bunch of them.  It looks ungainly and out of place in such an expensive car.

With each iternation, the Toyota Previa is getting closer and closer to looking like the starship Enterprise.  It's a looker by any man's standard.

The ownership proposition of a A 2.2 million peso Toyota may be hard to swallow these days, but the Previa does have a cabin quality close to that of Lexus. It even has a keyless entry system ala BMW or Mercedes-Benz.