Toyota Avalon: 2019 Motor Trend Car of the Year Contender

WE LIKE Premium and spacious interior

WE DON’T LIKE Touring trim’s ride, that grille

“Sporty Avalon” is no longer an oxymoron. In pursuit of younger customers, Toyota has engineered a livelier full-size sedan. Is the automaker onto something? Whether many full-size sedan customers desire a sportier Avalon is something we wrestled with as we bumped along in a Touring V-6 model.

The Touring is nothing like Grandma’s 10-year-old base Avalon; it offers surprisingly agile handling, and the revised Darth Vader mask grille is identifiable well across the parking lot—and not in a good way. One editor called the Avalon Touring’s front end “unspeakably ugly,” but with the Camry XSE so dramatically designed, perhaps Toyota was inspired to go just as far with its top sedan.

“Toyota could have easily phoned this in and kept building pseudo-Buicks,” Christian Seabaugh said. “But instead you can tell it really tried. Say what you will about its styling, but it looks and feels special.”

Inside, the dramatically rising center stack and premium soft-touch surfaces make a positive impression, though the door handle feels flimsy. Alisa Priddle liked the black interior with industrial-looking trim but was unsure if this is what Avalon’s (traditionally older) audience wants. Also, on a flagship sedan that for years has stood for comfort, there’s too much interior noise.

“Where is the Avalon of the past that has a smooth, quite ride, is very quiet, and has a good amount of power? So confusing,” Ed Loh said. More than one editor complained about spongy brakes.

Good news for those who don’t appreciate New Avalon’s appeal: The Avalon XLE and Limited drop the sporty pretensions, coming closer to the quiet and comfortable experience some Toyota buyers still want.

READ ABOUT 2019 SUV OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS:

READ ABOUT 2019 CAR OF THE YEAR CONTENDERS:

2019 Toyota Avalon Touring
Base Price/As tested $43,120/$44,913
Power (SAE net) 301 hp @ 6,600 rpm
Torque (SAE net) 267 lb-ft @ 4,700 rpm
Accel, 0-60 mph 6.1 sec
Quarter-mile 14.6 sec @ 98.4 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph 122 ft
Lateral Acceleration 0.82 g (avg)
MT Figure Eight 26.8 sec @ 0.65 g (avg)
EPA City/Hwy/Comb 22/31/25 mpg
Vehicle Layout Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan
Engine/Transmission 3.5L DOHC 24-valve V-6/8-speed automatic
Curb Weight (F/R Dist) 3,744 lb (60/40%)
Wheelbase 113.0 in
Length x Width x Height 195.9 x 72.8 x 56.5 in
Energy Cons, City/Hwy 153/109 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 Emissions, Comb 0.77 lb/mile

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