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"A grown up adult with a rebel child inside."
"A grown up adult with a rebel child inside."
Since 1993, Toyota's full-size sedan named the Avalon enters its fifth generation, and Toyota induces its normal expressive driving characteristics and wild styling, while giving it a huge dose of luxury.
Trim Levels
Trim Levels
Trim levels and pricing only applies to the 2020 model year Toyota Avalon.
XLE
XLE
MSRP $35,800
MSRP $35,800
Hybrid XLE
Hybrid XLE
MSRP $36,850
MSRP $36,850
XSE
XSE
MSRP $38,300
MSRP $38,300
Hybrid XSE
Hybrid XSE
MSRP $39,350
MSRP $39,350
TRD
TRD
MSRP $42,300
MSRP $42,300
Touring
Touring
MSRP $42,500
MSRP $42,500
Limited
Limited
MSRP $42,100
MSRP $42,100
Hybrid Limited
Hybrid Limited
MSRP $43,150
MSRP $43,150
Exterior Design
Exterior Design
Grilles have gotten bigger, my dudes. This Avalon is no different. Personally, the huge grille is neutral for me. It gives the impression that it is trying to gobble up a deer. About 75% of the grille is fake. On XSE trims, I believe the grille gets a tad wider, and you get different side air intakes, and a black grille. It is the best looking out of the whole trim line. I do wish Toyota added the dual-projector beam LED headlamps that come on the Touring and Limited trims, because I really want to see those sequentials!
The side of the Avalon looks extremely streamlined and aerodynamic, and Toyota did its best to make it look like the Avalon was a McLaren 720S wide skirt (Yes, I know. I compared an Avalon to a 720S.) There's not much chrome bright work though, but I would like to see different rims on the XSE trims, preferably a gloss black rim, which would look really great on a black XSE.
Around back is the most impressive part of the Avalon. It starts with the crazy insane 3D taillights. The brake lights are pushed outward and the turn signal and reverse light are pulled back. There is a non-functional pipe that connects the taillights, which should be functional. XSE trims get REAL quad exhaust tips, which is great, a subtle black trunk lid spoiler is added, and the rear faux diffuser is gloss black in the XSE trims.
Interior Design
Interior Design
Toyota gave a healthy dose of luxury into the new Avalon, and it makes a serious first impression. Everything you expect to touch is soft touch plastic. The only part that feels very cheap is the area under the touchscreen. The two columns that act like "oh crap" bars feel very tacky and cheap. Even the graining feels cheap. But the interior does feel very nice. A weird thing that I noticed is that the cover for the available wireless charger has the most padding. The armrest has LESS padding than the wireless charger cover. That's really odd. To me, the armrest is more important, not the wireless charger cover. Not sure why Toyota did that, but I'm not a designer so I shouldn't act like I'm one.
The center console is of a decent size. It's wide but a little shallow, but for sure it has enough room for a good amount of junk. There's also FIVE USB ports. FIVE!!! That's extreme overkill.
Rear seat room is plentiful. Even with a sloping roof line, I still have just about half an inch of headroom. Mind you I am six-two. Legroom is also great, and I still have about two inches of legroom with the seat adjusted the whole way back.
Trunk space is plentiful, at 16.1 cubic feet, but it's not as much space as the recently retired Ford Taurus that stood as the previous king of trunk space at just over 20 cubic foot, but now the Chevrolet Impala is the next most, at 18.8 cubic feet. To aid with longer items, Toyota put 60/40 split seats in the Avalon and in addition, added a nice release handle to fold the seats down, but I wished that the seats would have a spring in it that when you pull the handle, it would release and fold the seat down.
Safety & Technology
Safety & Technology
Toyota is huge into safety. That's why every single Avalon comes standard with LED lighting all around, and Toyota Safety Sense-P standard.
Touring and Limited trim Avalons earn the highest rating of Good for its headlights and earns the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ award. Sadly, despite the Avalon having standard LED lighting, XLE and XSE trims get Poor-rated headlights, docked because of lackluster visibility. To see more ratings on the Avalon, click on the link here.
Driving Impressions
Driving Impressions
I was not able to drive the Avalon to have a full review on it, but I did have the chance to do some rolling shots and explore some of the features of the car.
The Avalon only comes with a V6 and only comes in FWD, which I think it should actually have AWD as an option. But hey, you can do a bit of wheel spin in the Avalon! Just turn off traction control, put it in sport mode, shift into manual mode, hold the brake and floor the throttle, let go of the brake, and you get instant wheel spin for a couple seconds. It's got a lot of power, and 301 ponies is nothing to sneeze at!
The Avalon rode nicely while I was getting rolling shots, steering feel was well weighted and was connected to the road well. Overall, I believe I would make the Avalon one of the top nicest driving cars I've ever reviewed.
Performance
Performance
The Avalon is a strong performer and has always been a hallmark of Toyota. It's only option is a V6, FWD, and a buttery smooth 8-speed automatic. The Avalon is also available as a hybrid, but that's a separate model itself.
Performance Figures
Performance Figures
3.5L DOHC V6
Horsepower (hp @ RPM)
301 @ 6600
301 @ 6600
Torque (lb/ft @ RPM)
267 @ 4700
267 @ 4700
Transmission(s)
8-speed automatic
8-speed automatic
Drivetrain
FWD
FWD
EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy)
22/31
22/31
0-60 Time
6.3 seconds
6.3 seconds
1/4-mile (sec @ mph)
14.6 @ 98.5
14.6 @ 98.5
Final Verdict
Final Verdict
The Avalon is a great car that has the perfect blend of affordable luxury and spirited driving dynamics wrapped into a dynamic-looking silhouette. I can understand why Toyota is keeping the Avalon around.
The Avalon is a great car that has the perfect blend of affordable luxury and spirited driving dynamics wrapped into a dynamic-looking silhouette. I can understand why Toyota is keeping the Avalon around.
64/85 | Accumulated Score
64/85 | Accumulated Score
10 | Reliability
10 | Reliability
08 | Ergonomics
08 | Ergonomics
08 | Value
08 | Value
07 | Innovation
07 | Innovation
08 | Electronics
08 | Electronics
09 | Wow factor
09 | Wow factor
08 | Safety
08 | Safety
58/70 | Subtotal Score
58/70 | Subtotal Score
06/15 | Subjective Category
06/15 | Subjective Category
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