2019 Toyota Avalon: First Drive Review – Cars.com

we’re here with the 2019 Toyota Avalon and for 2019 the Avalon sees hugechanges it doesn’t just change a few things it changes everything from theplatform to the engine to the exterior styling now for 2019 the Avalon’sexterior styling has changed drastically so much so that it will be impossible toconfuse it for the 2018 model now last year’s model had this weird kind offront two-part grille opening which Toyota has combined for 2019 into what Icall one giant front in the air and take to rule them all now the front looksreally polarizing even within our staff there’s some disagreement over whetherthe Avalon is good looking or going too far but what’s less arguable is thatfrom the sides in the rear the car definitely is improved Toyota hasstretched out the cabin so that it has a bit more of a fastback look that makesthe whole thing look a bit sleeker and in the back there’s new LED tail lightswhich stretched wide across the bumper and give the Avalon a good visualsignature especially at night one of our complaints about the old Avalon was thatthe interior didn’t really make sense especially here in the center stack thescreen was kind of in a weird position at an off angle and the storage spaceswere a bit weirdly sized for example if you had a larger smartphone like many ofthem are these days it didn’t quite fit on the wireless charging padluckily Toyota has made big updates in the interior including updates to themultimedia system and that wireless charging pad which fit an iPhone whichis among the biggest smartphones without a problem now the center stack now comesdown in this waterfall fashion it has a larger screen a nine inch touchscreen isstandard across all trim levels and it’s bright and easy to see and readthankfully it’s also flanked by physical controls which makes it easier tonavigate there’s one thing that’s weird about the screens position however it’skind of situated far from the driver so if you are driving you won’t actually beable to reach the right side of the screen without leaning forward a fewinches and that’s kind of a minor quibble it’s a trade-off that I’mwilling to make to have the screen up this high but it does mean that thesebuttons over here are hard to reach now another strength that remains forthe Avalon is its backseat other calls the Avalon a premium midsize car butdon’t let that fool you this is basically a full-size car in bitsclothing the backseat is indicative of this it’s very large and comfortableit’s got a lot of legroom and Headroom and new for 2019 the Avalon has fivestandard USB ports two which are in the back so even if you’re sitting in theback you’ll have a place to plug in and charge devices for 2019 Toyota hasupdated the powertrain on the Avalon in both the gas and hybrid versions of thecar now gas versions of the car like the onethat we’re driving now get a new 3. 5 liter v6 and that makes 301 horsepowerthat’s in 33 horsepower improvement over last year’s model there’s also a new8-speed automatic transmission on gas models and together this powertraincombination is a strength in the Avalon it has what I would call easy power bothfrom a stop and while passing the transmission steps easily when you wantto and it’s very fluid and that actually helps with the overall exerts feel ofthe car that works well together with the interior and the ride to make thingscomfortable if you’re not really strained to get the car up to speed nowfor those who are interested in hybrid versions of the 2019 Avalon we have goodnews there’s only a $1000 price difference between gas and hybridversions of the car and when you factor in the difference in fuel economybetween the two you’re looking at a very good value for the hybrid because theyget about 44 combined mpg versus only 25 combined mpg in the gas versions 2019also brings chassis updates to the Avalon and that means a new platform sonet now rides on Toyotas global architecture which is the same thingthat you find under the 2018 camry and in that car the change of thisarchitecture really changed the camry from something that was kind of sloppyand boring to drive into a car that actually has pretty crisp handling and agood ride now the changes in the Avalon aren’t as dramatic the 2018 Avalon had avery comfortable pliant ride and the same thing is definitely true of the2019 there’s a change its that it’s a bit more stable at speed and you have abit more confidence while cornering but not a whole lot still has a definitefocus on comfort and the suspension is pliant and it’s actually one of the carsthat if I had to drive or be driven in for a longperiod of time this might be the choice because you know it does a very good jobof staying smooth in most conditions now we’re in a Touring model which also seesone more big suspension update this will be actually the first Toyota car tooffer an adaptive variable suspension and it’s kind of a strange choice it’ssomething usually you’d find on more performance oriented cars but Toyotasays that the Avalon is going for now sporty as well as comfortable does itwork not really the Touring is a bit firmer than theother trim levels that I tested today so I also drove a limited model this isdefinitely a bit tighter but it still trends towards comfort and I think thatthat’s a good thing that fits this car better even when you dial the Touringall the way up to Sport S+ mode which is unique to this trim you’re still gonnaget a decent amount of body roll is still gonna focus on comfort and that isI think a better way to go in a sedan like this now those who are interestedin the 2019 Avalon won’t have to wait long it will start at 36,000 395 and hitleadership in Mayyou

source https://cardetailingphoenix.com/index.php/2018/09/23/2019-toyota-avalon-first-drive-review-cars-com-3/