2019 Toyota Avalon review: Smooth operator with acquired-taste looks

When you concentrate on nice trip automobiles, the 2019 Toyota Avalon in all probability would not come to thoughts. However maybe it ought to. Most folk headed to the seashore, massive metropolis or a mountain getaway in all probability envision getting there in SUV or a minivan loaded to the sills with gear, particularly if they’ve children. Solo vacationers and would possibly image a sun-seeking convertible or GT coupe.

Honest sufficient.

Because it seems, although, Toyota’s all-new fifth-generation Avalon sedan makes for a wonderful and ultra-relaxing vacation companion. I ought to know — I road-tripped tons of of miles to the shores of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, an annual pilgrimage I’ve made for many years in precisely these varieties of autos. Maybe extra importantly, the exact same attributes I found on trip will assist make the Avalon a wonderful on a regular basis companion.

I am going to admit that clapping eyes on the 2019 Avalon’s controversial face — let’s name it “grille-forward” — is not precisely a recipe for Serenity Now. In reality, it is a startlingly aggressive look, one prone to postpone some individuals even earlier than a take a look at drive.

Whereas I am not a fan of the brand new nostril, I do not fairly share my colleague Antuan Goodwin’s stage of disdain for this midsize Toyota’s possessed-vacuum-cleaner countenance (take a look at his soak up our video). If nothing else, the Avalon’s nostril makes a press release, and it will possibly’t be accused of being milquetoast. Fortuitously, critiques editor Goodwin and I are in concord in relation to nearly the whole lot else in regards to the 2019 Toyota Avalon.

Lengthy story brief? We agree that it is a rattling superb vehicle.

This new technology now shares the Japanese automaker’s TNGA-Ok scalable platform with the present Camry, forthcoming 2019 RAV4 and, after all, the likewise-new-for-2019 Lexus ES, this automotive’s under-the-skin twin. That is excellent news, as a result of Toyota’s newest modular platform is a really inflexible structure. Constructing on this sound basis yields a brand new Avalon that is not simply extra formidable in look, it is streets forward of its outdated self when it comes to cabin and security tech, inside refinement and dynamic chops.

When you get previous that polarizing proboscis, you may’t assist however notice that the remainder of the Avalon appears to be like way more sculpted and trendy than ever. It additionally appears to be like greater. That is partially an optical phantasm owing to the design’s extra steeply raked rear window, and partially as a result of it is true: The 2019 Avalon rides atop a 2-inch longer wheelbase and spans Zero.6-inches longer general. It is also a smidge wider (Zero.6 inches) and it sits an inch decrease.

These beneficiant dimensions result in a really roomy cabin, with loads of area to stretch out entrance and rear. Even in a category the place that is the norm for rivals just like the Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Impala, Kia Cadenza and Nissan Maxima, the Avalon’s inside comes off as capacious, effectively screwed collectively and — within the case of my Restricted trim — surprisingly luxurious.

Rolling right down to the barrier island chain that’s the Outer Banks within the wilting warmth of peak summer time, a handful of vehicular qualities actually assist make life simpler: 1) A supple journey. 2) A giant trunk for one’s baggage and seashore litter. three) A boatload of superior driver-assist options to cope with the hoards of motorists whose brains go on trip effectively earlier than their flip flops hit the sand. four) Meat-locker-spec air-con.

The Avalon Restricted nails all 4.

Effectively-balanced journey

Whether or not muffling freeway growth joints or tracing arcs round lengthy, sweeping corners, the Avalon’s journey and dealing with was all the time assured and effectively managed. Regardless of being a comfort-first proposition, the automotive by no means wallowed. I am certain if I pushed this Toyota onerous down a canyon highway and tried to nook on its door handles, it’d shortly betray that it is not a sport sedan. However that is not what this automotive is about — it is about coddling and reducing blood pressures. Extra importantly, not like in a few of the Avalon’s early iterations, you needn’t be a septuagenarian to succumb to its many charms. This four-door is probably not a purebred athlete, however neither is it an overstuffed highway couch — it handles the way in which it ought to.

And it is not simply the suspension that is on level. A lot of the credit score for the Avalon’s nice demeanor goes to the three.5-liter V6 and well-matched eight-speed computerized transmission. This naturally aspirated engine places out 301 horsepower (a rise of 33 over final 12 months) and 267 pound-feet of torque (+19). Except for barely lazy preliminary throttle tip-in that is most noticeable when pulling out at T-junctions and from parking tons onto major thoroughfares from a cease, this engine has loads of energy. It even sounds fairly good once you lay into the throttle.

Although I’ve by no means golfed a gap in my life, I can think about that vacationing duffers would admire the Avalon’s 16.1 cubic toes of trunk area — and in contrast to final 12 months’s mannequin, the capacious rear seat now folds conveniently in a 60/40 break up. 

Chilly entrance

Regardless that one thing like 80 % of the Avalon’s large grille is blocked off, you might’ve fooled me into believing that the whole lot of this sedan’s gaping maw was utterly practical, a vital aesthetic resolution to accommodate a 60,00Zero-BTU HVAC system swiped from the shadows of some McMansion.

This factor goes from zero to Sub-Zero in minutes, faster than any automotive with a cabin of this measurement that I can keep in mind. Should you’re somebody who consistently runs heat or somebody who lives in inhospitably scorching climes, give the Avalon a protracted look.

And there are wicked-cold seat coolers, too. 

Class-above cabin with improved tech

The remainder of the inside isn’t any much less, effectively, cool. It is within the cabin the place this front-wheel-drive Avalon makes its largest strides. That is significantly true in my tester’s high-end Restricted spec, which regarded and felt sensational. A lot of the credit score goes to the eye-popping cognac leather-based trim, which boasted painstakingly customary sew strains, set off properly by actual wooden trim sourced from piano and violin-maker Yamaha. An enormous, 10-inch head-up show is beneficial and provides to the upscale really feel. In reality, the Restricted’s inside is so premium as to surprise why anybody however badge-snob sorts would ever select to go along with its costlier Lexus kin.

That is much more true as a result of the Toyota has the far superior infotainment system. Its easier interface and crisp 9-inch touchscreen are leagues forward of the frustratingly convoluted Enform system and mouse-like multicontroller in Lexus’ (in any other case very good) ES four-door.

Whereas Toyota’s Entune system has by no means been a favourite at Roadshow, this third-generation structure is massively improved, with snappier efficiency, smarter group and crisper graphics. It additionally consists of Apple CarPlay for the primary time (sorry, Android Auto hopefuls), no fewer than 5 USB ports, in addition to a brand new suite of Linked Providers that embrace smartphone and smartwatch integration for issues like distant entry and monitoring. Amazon Alexa connectivity can also be included, additional proof that Toyota is in search of a youthful purchaser for the Avalon as conventional large-sedan gross sales proceed to erode.

It is also price stating that along with energetic noise management and an engine-sound enhancement function, Touring and Restricted fashions additionally embrace a 1,200-watt, 14-speaker JBL Clari-Fi audio system, with glorious dynamic vary and a transparent soundstage. For my cash, the stereo alone can be price contemplating splurging for one of many Avalon’s upper-end fashions, but it surely’s additionally out there as a $680 standalone choice on decrease trims.

But there’s extra separating top-shelf Avalons than simply sonorous audio. Touring and Restricted fashions additionally profit from extra subtle adaptive dampers (a primary for Toyota) which nonetheless ship a fairly compliant journey, even when the drive mode selector is in Sport+, its most excessive setting. (Just like the Sport mode just below it, Sport+ additionally provides steering heft, quickens throttle response and alters the shift schedule to permit for extra revs.)

Solidly environment friendly, plus a hybrid choice

Gas financial system has improved, too. Relying on trim, 2019 Avalon fashions verify in with strong EPA estimates of 22 miles per gallon within the metropolis, and 31 or 32 mpg on the freeway (mixed cycle scores are between 25 and 26 mpg). I averaged a simple 30 mpg in principally freeway driving.

For the parsimonious cruisers on the market, the Avalon Hybrid mannequin has returned, too. For a modest $1,00Zero greater than a gas-only mannequin, you may web very spectacular rankings of 43 mpg metropolis, and between 43 and 44 mpg freeway. The draw back? Along with having to cope with a constantly variable transmission, you may solely be capable of wring 176 horsepower and 163 pound-feet out of the two.5-liter Atkinson-cycle engine.

When matched with the pair of electrical motors yielding 118 horsepower and 149 pound-feet, mixed whole system output is rated at a modest 215 horsepower, that means that you will hand over a lot of the gas-powered Avalon’s spectacular quickness in change for passing up the pump extra steadily. That stated, you will not must sacrifice extra aggressive appears to be like or a firmer suspension — there is a new Hybrid XSE mannequin that makes an attempt to bridge the seemingly contradictory worlds of frugality and sportiness.

Security and the underside line

Toyota has been an business chief in relation to the democratization of energetic security options, and the 2019 Avalon isn’t any completely different. All fashions are handled to blind-spot monitoring, forward-collision warning with auto emergency brake, adaptive cruise management and energetic lane management. Plus, there’s an emergency help telematics system with stolen car monitoring, computerized crash response and emergency roadside help. An Superior Security Package deal choice pack ($1,150) features a birds-eye digital camera system with sonar parking sensors and rear cross-traffic braking assist.

Pricing for the Georgetown, Kentucky-built 2019 Avalon begins at a superbly affordable $35,550 plus $920 for supply of the bottom XLE trim. High-flight Restricted fashions like my tester command $41,800 (add $1,00Zero for Hybrid powertrain), and the latter is basically an all-boxes-checked proposition. The one factory-installed choice is the aforementioned Superior Security Package deal, which brings pricing to $43,870 earlier than freight.

That is not an insignificant amount of cash, however neither is this an insignificant quantity of automotive. No matter trim, this car looks like an excellent worth, particularly when in comparison with equally sized luxury-badged choices. Whether or not you are headed out on a trip highway journey, a Sunday drive, or simply motoring to the nook retailer, the 2019 Toyota Avalon is a superb journey companion.