2009 Toyota Avalon: Zen-Like Style Inside and Comfort!

Summary 

The Toyota Avalon does lots of things well, but its strength is the solace it offers those riding inside. It's harder to be aggravated by the news, the traffic or other drivers when you're cruising Zen-like in this big, comfortable sedan.

2009 Full Review

For 2009, Toyota has closed the last link in Avalon's comprehensive safety package by making skid-mitigating Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) standard on all models. Toyota's largest sedan stands out most for smoothness and quiet operation. The serenity is a function of many things, including Avalon's underlying design, vibration mitigating features and good build quality. Whatever the reasons, the Avalon is more tranquil than many sedans that cost a lot more.

The front seats are roomy and comfortable, the back seat downright spacious. Avalon also has the latest safety technology, starting with a full complement of front, side and head-protection airbags. It all makes Avalon easy to like and even easier to enjoy. Model Lineup

The 2009 Toyota Avalon is available in three trim levels distinguished by the level of standard equipment. The familiar Avalon Touring model is no longer available.

Trims and Styling 2009

The Avalon XL ($27,845) is well equipped, with a full complement of power accessories and features such as an eight-way power driver's seat, dual-zone climate control with cabin air filter and audio and climate controls on the steering wheel. The nine-speaker audio system includes a six-CD changer. Cloth upholstery and 16-inch alloy wheels are standard.

The Avalon XLS ($32,145) adds fog lamps, 17-inch wheels and leather seating. The XLS also comes standard with a power moonroof, heated outside mirrors with electrochromic auto-dimming on the driver's side, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass and Homelink universal transceiver, and an anti-theft system.

The Avalon Limited ($35,185) upgrades with a 360-watt JBL Synthesis audio system with 12 speakers and Blue Tooth connectivity, a power rear sunshade, Toyota's Smart Key proximity key system, HID headlamps, a wood-and-leather-trimmed shift knob and steering wheel, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and driver and passenger seat heaters and cooling fans.

The XLS offers heated seats ($440), an eight-way power front passenger seat with heating ($740) and the JBL Synthesis sound system ($840). Safety features on all Avalons include active front seat headrests, which are intended to cradle the head more effectively in a rear impact and limit whiplash injuries. Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) is standard. All models also have anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. Occupant protecting features include front-impact airbags, a driver's knee airbag, seat-mounted side-impact airbags for front passengers and curtain-style, head-protection airbags for outboard passengers front and rear.

Examined more closely, the Avalon almost looks French in its impressionistic impact.

Overall, the Avalon is eight inches longer than Toyota's top-selling Camry sedan. By most exterior dimensions, Avalon is roughly the same size as the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Impala, and Chrysler 300. Compared to European luxury sedans, it's larger than the mid-size Mercedes E-Class, but smaller than the full-size S-Class sedan.

Lots of the Avalon's styling features have been optimized to reduce wind noise inside the car, including the shape of the windshield pillars and side mirrors and low placement of the wipers under the hood line. The Avalon Limited upgrades with unique, sound dampening glass in the windshield.

The Avalon underwent a wheels-up overhaul for 2005.

Interior Styling and Features

The Avalon sedan offers one of Toyota's finest interior packages. A few trim pieces, such as silver-painted plastic parts and the housing around the steering column, demonstrate that Avalon is not an extra-expensive luxury car. The front seats are big, fairly flat and comfortable. The Avalon Limited features a fan in the seat cushion and seatback that blows air through the perforated leather trim to improve comfort.

The steering wheel tilts and telescopes over a substantial range, and it's wrapped with leather on all but the base Avalon XL. Avalon's dashboard layout is clean and simple, but not simplistic. It offers a wide range of information, like inside temperature settings, outside temperature, time, date and fuel range, in large, easy-to-read script.

Those most frequently adjusted, including the tuner and volume control, are bigger than the knobs in most other cars. One omission is Avalon's lack of individual reading lights for front seat passengers, and the omission glares more because the interior is generally so nice. The larger compartment has two power points and the audio jack. Avalon's door pockets have no lining material, and the hard plastic allows items such as sunglasses to slide (and potentially scratch) easily. The Limited model comes with a rear glass sunshade, operated by the driver. The sunshade lowers automatically if it's up when the driver engages reverse, then lifts it again when the driver selects drive.

Avalon's rear seatbacks recline over a limited range (still a rare feature), and the feeling of roominess carries through in back. Leg room for rear passengers surpasses that in many taxis: With the driver's seat adjusted for a 5-foot, 9-inch driver, a 5-foot, 9-inch passenger had enough room to stretch legs fully, with feet pointed under the front seat. The rear bench's width is impressive, too. Individual reading lights are provided for rear passengers, with adjustable air vents on the rear of the center console. Avalon even has less cargo space than Toyota's smaller Camry sedan (15.5).

The trunk is long but relatively narrow, with much of the available space stretching forward toward the rear seatback, under the rear glass and shelf. A locking pass-through allows longer items such as skis to slide into the cabin between the outboard rear passengers, though Avalon does not offer the folding rear seatbacks available on some competitors. Driving Impressions

2009 First Drive Impressions

Driving the Toyota Avalon is a tranquil experience. In short, the Avalon is big, quiet and easy to operate. The foundation for Avalon's smoothness is its powertrain. On paper, its 3.5-liter V6 engine might seem a bit small for a relatively large car. In fact, the Avalon is surprisingly peppy. Torque steer usually manifests itself as a slight tug on the steering wheel under hard acceleration. The six-speed automatic uses the latest electronic controls and a unique mounting system designed to minimize the transfer of shift shock into Avalon's cabin. Light-throttle upshifts are barely noticeable.

The top gear is a tall overdrive, so the Avalon cruises in relaxed fashion on the freeway, with the engine spinning quietly at relatively low speed. The softly tuned suspension means Avalon wants to lean over in faster turns. Yet the body movement is well controlled, and the Avalon doesn't feel floating or disconnected. We might call Avalon cushy but good. The Avalon's brakes are stronger than ever, thanks to an increase in the size of the brake rotors and calipers in 2008, and they stop the car with authority. In short, the Avalon is up to whatever the typical driver might encounter or dish out. The Avalon is exceptionally smooth, too, especially for its price.

There's not much we don't like about Avalon. The Toyota Avalon delivers the latest safety technology, and driving it is a pleasant, almost serene process. A test drive might leave you wondering why anyone seeking a smooth, quiet, roomy sedan would pay more than it takes to buy an Avalon.

2009 Conclusions

The Toyota Avalon delivers the latest safety technology, and driving it is a pleasant, almost serene process. ""The Avalon is a good car to go unnoticed in. The styling and the driving dynamics won't get anyone too excited, but that's okay for many folks." says Car and Driver Given its size and the space inside, it gets good fuel mileage. "Consider that the least expensive Lexus, the ES 300, starts just below $33,000, without the space, power, and even some of the amenities of the comparably priced Avalon." adds BusinessWeek A test drive might leave you wondering why anyone seeking a smooth, quiet, roomy sedan would pay more than it takes to buy an Avalon.