Recently my wife and oldest daughter abandoned me. No, they didn't leave me; they went to a craft show. So what did I do? You guessed it, car shopping. This time, however, I had my son and younger daughter with me, so I thought this might be a good way to really test a car (or two) as it will really be used.
I had been researching Toyota Avalons and found a few interesting late-model examples nearby. Now I realize that even considering an Avalon sounds like I, the California Car Guy, have given up on life, resigned to driving boring appliances for the rest of my (child-rearing) days. If this were about five or six years ago, you would be right. The first two generations of Toyota's flagship sedan were about as interesting as organic oatmeal with a Metamucil chaser. I particularly disliked the second generation, produced from 2000-2004, which looked frumpy from about every angle, less so when viewed in profile, if the lighting was just right. The car was clearly designed with comfort in mind above all else, and that explains why the cabin is huge compared to the hood and trunk, like a close-up photo taken with a wide-angle lens from above.
That said, I don't doubt that it is very comfortable and quiet and refined...and dull.
Model year 2005 changed that. Oh, it is still everything Toyota USA intended: Lexus quality at a somewhat lower price. They kept all the things that made it desirable and made it far more interesting. Maybe more interesting is overstating it. How about less dull? Starting with the exterior, the huge cabin is even bigger, but the belt line is higher and the roof is curved. The windshield and backlight are sloped more and the rear overhang is angled ever so slightly in the same direction so as prove that it actually belongs on this car. The effect echos (likely unintentionally) the Volkswagen Phaeton.
Moving to the interior, what is most obvious about the Avalon is the sheer amount of space inside, especially the back seat. With the driver's seat set for me--I am six feet tall--the space behind is HUGE. I didn't measure it, but I had lots of stretching out room when I sat in back, including in the center position, thanks in part to the low driveshaft tunnel (why does a front-wheel-drive car have a driveshaft tunnel in the back?). The seat itself is a flat bench, but I found it to be not only spacious and comfortable, but also reasonably supportive. The best part is that the rear seatbacks recline a few degrees, which should make road trips for the whole family much more tolerable. Benadryl, anyone? One drawback to this little piece of heaven is that the rear seats do not fold forward to allow access to the trunk. I almost never use this feature, so it is not a deal breaker.
The Lexus engineers clearly influenced the front seat layout of the Blizzard Pearl (that's Off White in English) 2007 model that I drove. The dashboard is a two-toned affair with a darker, mocha-colored upper region, a creamy tan lower region, and a polished maple-syrup-colored wood trim separating the two. The color scheme wraps around to the doors, creating a peaceful, harmonious horizontal line. The seats and carpet are colored-keyed to the lower dash. The center console comes up under the dash, creating the illusion of a vertical support. The big, translucent white rectangular buttons for the multi-zone air conditioning are in two groups placed on either side of a panel, which, when opened, reveal the entertainment system. I must say that I found this feature intriguing for several reasons. For one, I like the clean look that closing the panel affords, and I can use the redundant controls on the steering wheel for most of the radio functions. For another, it should also discourage prying eyes and sticky fingers. I have had five car stereos stolen (four from my dearly departed Mazda truck), and anything that can minimize theft is a good thing. There are also hidden panels on the console which house two Venti Starbucks-sized cup holders and a cubby hole. The biggest surprise can be found right where the console meets the dash. Push the shiny bar at the top and out comes another set of buttons which control the navigation system and trip computer. As gimmicky as that sounds, it works amazingly well, and it puts BMW's infuriating iDrive to shame. Close up all the panels, and even the most anal retentive among us can stay calm on a road trip.
Driving the Avalon in a combination of freeways and shopping mall access roads through San Diego's Mission Valley revealed a luxurious if somewhat uninvolved experience. The suspension kept the one-and-three-quarter ton Dadmobile perfectly composed on the shamefully neglected pavement that seems to be plaguing Southern California these days; however it was not the Novocaine numb that I was anticipating. Don't get me wrong: no one will confuse this with, for example, an Audi A6, but I must say that its ride control is far superior to that of the average Detroit Medicare Cruiser. The optional wood and leather steering wheel greatly enhanced the otherwise minimalist approach to road feel. If you have ever had a car for more than a few years, you may have experienced the top of the wheel getting that shiny yet slightly sticky surface wear. I do not know first hand, but I am guessing that having polished, hermetically sealed lacquered wood at the noon and six o'clock positions ought to alleviate that problem.
All Avalons are equipped with a four-cam 3.5L V-6 engine, good for 268 horsepower, and a six-speed automatic transmission, hooked up to the front wheels. For such a big car, that cannot possibly be enough engine, but it is. More than enough, according to my lead foot. My parents had a 1970 Chevy Bel Air that weighed roughly the same as the Avalon. It had a 350 cubic inch engine, which made a measly 250 horses, and a Powerglide two-speed automatic. I remember its being pretty fast, and passing another car at speed required only a ten minute wait for the tranny to kick down from high to low. Having 7.2% more horsepower may not make a huge difference in throttle response, but having 300% more gears does. Step on the right pedal in the Toyota, and the same maneuver is accomplished in mere seconds. Of course, with only six cylinders and tree trunk-sized muffler (maybe that's what the driveshaft tunnel is for), it lacks the deep-throated rumble of a V-8. Furthermore, the Avalon is equipped with four-wheel disc brakes that get you out of trouble in about four feet. The unassisted, all-drum-brake Chevy required an airport runway length for the same feat, and it was better if there were no witnesses. The fuel economy of the Avalon is 20 mpg city/28 highway/ 23 combined. The Bel Air got 10 city/13 highway/ who knows what combined.
OH! I almost forgot! I had the kids with me to see how it would work as a family car. They did tell me that they liked it, but, being kids, they sometimes have trouble giving me objective information. Instead, I listened to their interaction, and discovered three distinct indicators: 1) there was a good deal of laughing and joking followed by 2) silence, and at no time did I hear 3) complaining.
These are only preliminary findings, but so far the Toyota Avalon is being added to the short list.
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