Toyota Avalon

Toyota Avalon Toyota Avalon
First Drive Review

Toyota is fully aware that the first two generations of the Avalon were essentially Japanese Buicks-big sedans characterized by generic styling, a cushy ride, and an interior suitable for up to six silver-haired bingo junkies. Toyota openly admits the association: "It was a comparison we happily accepted as a compliment," said Don Esmond,Toyota Division senior V-P and general manager of Toyota Motor Sales, USA.

It's not too often an automaker willingly confesses to its product being compared with a Buick, but as the saying goes, there's a first for everything. We're not saying Buicks aren't perfectly decent vehicles; it's just that the people who tend to buy them are the same people who tend to spend Sunday afternoons cutting coupons and eating blue-plate specials at four-not exactly the demographic automakers strive to attain these days. In fact, car companies today are continually trying to lure younger and younger buyers into their vehicles, and Toyota is no exception-it did, after all, create an entirely new brand with just that goal in mind. Scion, anyone?

But the new Avalon has its crosshairs set not only on buyers whose heads are sprinkled with decidedly more pepper than salt-Toyota hopes to drop the median age from 67 to 60-but also on the previous Avalon's mainstay of "mature" customers. "These Avalon replacers will remain the core focus of our marketing efforts," uttered Esmond.

To lure younger consumers while maintaining older ones, Toyota has dropped the available front bench seat as well as the column-mounted shifter (both reminders of the "old" days) and has instead upped trim choices from two to four, adorning each with snazzier sheetmetal that shelters a revised platform, a new 3.5-liter V-6, and a bigger interior.

The Avalon's new physique is the handiwork of Toyota's Calty Design Research in California, which carved a more chiseled, albeit still conservative, body. The lines are reminiscent of those on upscale Lexuses, with the curves and shapes of the hood and headlights hinting at the LS430 and views of the profile and rear suggesting the upcoming 2006 GS. At 197.2 inches long, the new car stretches 5.3 inches past its predecessor, spanning virtually the same stretch as a Chrysler 300. Width and height are up more than an inch, too, and the 111.0-inch wheelbase is nearly four inches longer, roughly two shy of a Ford Five Hundred's.

Except for front legroom and rear headroom, which both shrink by 0.4 inch, every dimension inside has grown like a Chia Pet. Passenger volume is up a cubic foot to 107-about one more than a 300's but one less than a Five Hundred's-thanks in part to 0.8 inch more rear legroom.

Bigger inside and out, the Avalon is superior under the hood as well. Gone is the previous car's 210-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 and four-speed automatic, replaced in the new car with a 280-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 and a five-speed automatic with a manumatic feature. A manumatic in an Avalon? We told you-like Billy Joel, Toyota's going young.

Code-named 2GR-FE, the 3.5 is a destroked version of the 4.0-liter V-6 found in the 4Runner, and it features Toyota's first application of dual VVT-i, or variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust sides. In addition to producing the most ponies ever offered in a Toyota V-6, the 3.5 also churns out a healthy 260 pound-feet of torque. Surprisingly, torque steer is of the minimal variety, and estimated fuel economy is of the frugal sort: 22 city and 30 highway versus last year's 21 and 29. Better yet, Toyota predicts the Avalon will sprint from 0 to 60 in 6.6 ticks, an improvement over the previous car's 8.4-second jaunt.

Supporting the Avalon's robust output are struts front and rear backed by larger anti-roll bars, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS and electronic brake-force distribution, and light, direct rack-and-pinion steering. Bolted to a highly modified version of the current Camry platform, the Avalon's independent suspension provides a tauter, sportier ride-and-handling compromise than its forebear. Nevertheless, this is an Avalon, so whether your trip to the drive-thru is straight or curvy, expect to get soft-serve. The new Touring trim, suspended by stiffer springs and dampers, dries out some of the sponginess, but this version still feels more at home on the highway than the back road, although we did appreciate its noticeably firmer, more responsive characteristics.

In addition to the Touring, which is highlighted by graphite-finished 17-inch alloys, a rear lip spoiler, HID headlamps, and a charcoal-hued, leather-trimmed interior, the Avalon is available in XL and XLS trims-carry-over grades from last year-and the new Limited. As the flagship, the Limited is fitted with a posh, Lexus-like interior replete with a JBL stereo and a Smart Key system that unlocks the doors when the key fob is in close proximity and allows the engine to be fired up at the push of a button. The only trinkets not standard on the Limited are navigation, stability control, and laser cruise control. Regardless of trim, the Avalon's new interior is deftly executed with premium materials and myriad safety features, including curtain airbags.

Pricing opens at $26,890 for an XL, just $230 more than last year's-a modest increase considering the jumps in performance, refinement, and standard equipment. The new Touring lifts the price to $29,140, and the XLS and the flagship Limited push bottom lines to $31,340 and $34,080, respectively.

With double the choices, the Avalon should find enough grandparents-and parents who aren't grandparents-to meet its 85,000-per-year sales target. And with nearly 300 horses under the hood, Avalons may actually use the left lane to pass. Now, that's progress.