Experienced by Adrian McQueen
Photography by Adrenaline Lifestyles
Over the past few months, I heard nothing but great things about the 2019 Toyota Avalon. The Avalon is Toyota’s flagship sedan and a serious threat in the full-size sedan market. The 2019 Toyota Avalon is thrown in a bunch of upscale options that I will touch on, as well as being a comfortable ride. The Avalon sedan is the step up from Toyota’s popular Camry’s sedan. Both are built at Toyota’s assembly plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, but when you line them up, you can see why the Avalon moves into “Big Brother” status.
The Toyota Avalon is Toyota’s largest front-wheel-drive sedan in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Middle East. The first production Avalon rolled off the assembly line in Georgetown, Kentucky, in September 1994. It was also produced in Australia from April 2000 until June 2005, when it was replaced in November 2006 by the Toyota Aurion. Toyota marketed the Avalon as a replacement for the Toyota Cressida. The fifth generation Avalon was debuted at the January 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and went on sale in the US in May 2018.
The Avalon was designed at Toyota’s Calty Design Research Incorporated and I must say that I love the new design. The Ruby Flare Pearl paint stands out and is an attention grabber. The redesigned grille is prominent and aggressive. It is similar to the design of the Lexus grilles. This gives the Avalon and sporty and performance style look. The Avalon features LED headlamps as well as adaptive cornering lights, that point into turns. The side view mirrors have Piano black mirror caps and a rear spoiler. The dual exhaust with quad chrome tips finished off the sporty feel that I referred to earlier. Upon each start of the Avalon, the exhaust released a vicious growl that really set the tone for the ride. Am I in a sports car or a fullsize sedan?
The 2019 Avalon comes with a 3.5L 301HP V6 engine with a direct shift 8-speed ETCI transmission. This is a great gain from the 268 horses that the 2018 Avalon had. That’s a gain of 33 horses over the 2018 model’s 268 hp. The transmission can be manually shifted, but best left in automatic. The Avalon jumps off the line pretty well and accelerates quickly to highway speeds. The Avalon estimated at 22 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway and 25 mpg combined. The Avalon Touring we tested weighed in at 3731 pounds.
The Avalon has front vented and rear solid disc brakes which made coming to a stop extremely smooth. The Adaptive Variable Suspension system and 19” black machine finished alloy wheels help in cornering this full-size sedan. Toyota’s new Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform, which helps improve handling, lowers the overall center of gravity, and reduces Noise, Vibration, and Harshness (NVH) in the cabin. This definitely is a performance improved vehicle, but it still falls in a class where comfort is king.
The 7.0-inch display in the instrument cluster, and a 10.0-inch central touchscreen at the top of the dash. For the first time, Apple CarPlay is offered but Android Auto is not. Available options on the tested model included a surround-view camera system and a 14-speaker, 1,200-watt JBL sound system. The JBL system really gives the inside cabin a studio like feel. Nothing ruins the vibe more than a terrible sound system. Toyota hit the nail on the head with this one. The interior had aluminum trim throughout the interior of cabin such as aluminum pedal covers and aluminum trim on the doors and instrument panels.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has not given the 2019 Avalon an official rating yet but safety is always at the top of the priority list for Toyota. It is equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0, which can be found in other Toyota models including the Corolla and RAV4. The Avalon comes with adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane departure mitigation, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert with an option to get rear braking.
The tested 2019 Toyota Avalon touring model comes in at $44,913.00, including delivery. The Avalon rivals against automobiles like the Buick LaCrosse, Lincoln MKZ, Chevy Impala, Lexus ES and the Nissan Maxima. I enjoyed my time in the Avalon. It is a comfortable ride, with a luxurious interior resulting in a pleasurable driving experience. Enjoy the photo gallery.
