I am young and I bought an Avalon.

[kharvel]

I'm in my mid-30s, married, with two small toddlers.

We have a 2004 Sienna XLE Limited and a 2001 Acura CL Type-S.

The Acura, purchased during our pre-kids years, was going long in tooth so we went shopping around for a replacement. From the very beginning, the Toyota Avalon was at the top of our list.

Looks was at the bottom of our purchase criteria. The criteria was:

1) SPACE.
2) MORE SPACE.
3) FUEL EFFICIENCY
4) QUALITY
5) PRE-OWNED VALUE

The only vehicles that met the first two criterion was the Toyota Avalon, Audi A8L, BMW 740-750Li, the LS460L, Lincoln Towncar, Buick Lucerne (or LaCrosse?), and the previous generation Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable.

All of the cars had one thing in common: rear legroom greater than 40 inches. I was amazed to discover that most of the sedans available in the market today have rear legroom less than 38 inches. Even the Lexus LS430 has around 38 inches of rear legroom.

People made fun of our obsession with the Toyota Avalon. They thought we were crazy to consider an "old people's" car and tried to convince us to go with one of the more conventional near-luxe choices for young adults - Infiniti, Lexus, Acura, etc.

But the bottom line was that we needed a lot of rear legroom space not only for the kids but also for guests who would be riding in the backseat with us. We didn't want any compromise on front AND rear legroom. Even when the front seats were fully extended back to accommodate my height, there must still be PLENTY of rear legroom in the back. Avalon had this in spades. Only the Town Car, LS460L, A8L, and 750-740iL have more.

But what really sold us on the Avalon was the fact that it had the HIGHEST fuel efficiency of any of the 40-inches plus rear legroom sedans. Other advantages included great pre-owned value (we didn't want to pay for brand name), Lexus-like features and ride, and excellent creature comforts in the Limited model. We were seriously considering the 2008 Mercury Sable Premier but were disappointed with its fuel economy and its rather old-school interior features (no vented seats, no laser cruise, no 8-way power seats, etc.).

In the end, we bought a 2006 Toyota Avalon Limited with laser cruise, nav, satellite, and other goodies and couldn't have been happier with it. I will never understand why the rear seats are such an afterthought for so many sedans or why families would subject their kids to such small space in the rear of popular sedans like the Camry or the Accord. In any case, I hope Toyota will continue making the Avalons for the foreseeable future as it fills an important niche for families who need extra space without sacrificing on fuel economy.

The Avalon is no longer "old people's" car. It has a new following in young families now!

[copter]

I agree with your comments. I was in a very similar situation to you a year ago when I bought my 2010 Avalon. Mid 30s, married, 2 kids, mini-van, coupe. The coup went and in came the Avalon. Loving it so far.

[okplaya]

I'm young (25) and bought an Avalon too. I don't even have a family. I've wanted one the past 2 years and finally bought one recently. Good car so far. Kind of wish it had backup sensors but so far so good.

[corolapete]

old peoples car? what is an old peoples car?

[Tom in Tacoma]

According to the link below, there's more 'youngsters' that own a 3rd Gen Avalon than does your age group.

Average Age 05+ Avalon owners

But we old farts still rule!!!

[TrailDust]

I bought my 2nd Gen Avalon for all the same reasons kharvel mentioned. As a rule I buy what I want, popular ideas and such be damned, but I'd be a liar if I said there were a few cars I wouldn't buy due to the demographics of those vehicle owners. That's all I'll say about that one....

[grandpapa]

You are not alone. I remembered I told my wife I "like" the "Avalon", her reaction was "oh, no, old man car...don't want to drive it....". Guess what? Our 1st loaded 2006 Limited, I only got to drive it from the dealer to our home and it became her daily ride". Now the 2005 Limited, (2nd one) same thing.

I go for REAR space and quality and really nothing out there. The only other car I would buy is Lexus LS but don't want to pay $$ for service.

[CISA93]

Originally Posted by grandpapa

You are not alone. I remembered I told my wife I "like" the "Avalon", her reaction was "oh, no, old man car...don't want to drive it....". Guess what? Our 1st loaded 2006 Limited, I only got to drive it from the dealer to our home and it became her daily ride". Now the 2005 Limited, (2nd one) same thing.

I go for REAR space and quality and really nothing out there. The only other car I would buy is Lexus LS but don't want to pay $$ for service.

I had the same thoughts about the Avalon, I drove the 2nd generation and a Cressida before that (assume that was the pre-Avalon) Anyway, I saw the 2005 model and I was by a Toyota dealership. I had just left the Mazda dealership because I wanted the new RX-8, but in the end. I chose the Avalon because:

1. Maintenance cost over the LS 250/350
2. Much roomer in the rear than the LS models.
3. Purchase price
4. The appearance was completely different that previous generation, I can't say it looks anything like the previous generations.

[pmesfun]

Originally Posted by CISA93

I had the same thoughts about the Avalon, I drove the 2nd generation and a Cressida before that (assume that was the pre-Avalon) Anyway, I saw the 2005 model and I was by a Toyota dealership. I had just left the Mazda dealership because I wanted the new RX-8, but in the end. I chose the Avalon because:

1. Maintenance cost over the LS 250/350
2. Much roomer in the rear than the LS models.
3. Purchase price
4. The appearance was completely different that previous generation, I can't say it looks anything like the previous generations.

Are you talking about the IS series? There was only LS400,430 and 460.

The 1st and 3rd gen Avalon look good, the 2nd gen is too plain, especially the interior.

[II Kings 9:20]

Funny, I am young too and replacing the 05 Odyssey with a family sedan. I do not find the Avalon boring at all. I do find the camry ugly though.

Re: Avalon room- I finally figured out why it is so roomy. It is not the 40.5" of rear leg room although that helps. I always said that my 04 MDX is so roomy like the Avy. other cars seem smaller with good leg room. Rear leg room: Taurus-38.5, Lacrosse 38.5, Genesis 38.5 (seems larger) Malibu 37.5 and I looked up my "roomy" MDX and was shocked to find only 37.5" of rear seat leg room. It is the flat floor in my MDX and virtually flat floor in the Avalon that gives all of the useable room. My MDX appears much roomier because it is from a cubic foot standpoint, not knee room. That driveshaft hump is huge in terms of stealing important room. Nearly every sedan I have looked at has a raised center rear seat that puts an adult's head near or on the roof- note the wide Avy seat that is not raised in the center=more room.

[grandpapa]

I don't know why FWD cars still have that hump in the center rear.
Also speaking with leg room, how do they measure it? where do they position the front seat when taking measurement?

[84Cressida]

Originally Posted by CISA93

I had the same thoughts about the Avalon, I drove the 2nd generation and a Cressida before that (assume that was the pre-Avalon) Anyway, I saw the 2005 model and I was by a Toyota dealership. I had just left the Mazda dealership because I wanted the new RX-8, but in the end. I chose the Avalon because:

1. Maintenance cost over the LS 250/350
2. Much roomer in the rear than the LS models.
3. Purchase price
4. The appearance was completely different that previous generation, I can't say it looks anything like the previous generations.

Cressida was pre-Avalon, yeah. What year Cressida did you have? Pics?!?

[Billiam]

At 42 I don't know if I qualify as "young". However, I really like the current Avalon. It's a very elegant car...both inside and out. A buttery smooth powertrain and ride quality are it's strong points. Find me a car for less than $40K that has as much rear leg room and pampers it's rear passengers any better than the Avy does...'cause I want to see it.

Too bad they don't still make the "Touring" model though.

[II Kings 9:20]

Originally Posted by grandpapa

I don't know why FWD cars still have that hump in the center rear.
Also speaking with leg room, how do they measure it? where do they position the front seat when taking measurement?

The hump does provide some structural rigidity (e.g. sheet metal is relatively flimsy compared to the exact same sheet that has been corrugated). Avy does have a mini hump which serves this purpose- some FWD have ultra high humps- of course Taurus, VW, LaCrosse must have this for AWD applications but that is rare still among all FWDs. Honda civic has a flat floor too.

Edit- Great question on the position of the front seat- and i imagine there is a standard but I don't know for sure. The Genesis seemed to have much more room than the Taurus as I sat behind myself in the cars but both cars "measure: 38.5". You really can't go by wheel base either- the Avy WB is only 111 and is huge while the chrysler 300 WB is 120 and is suprisingly smaller than expected (smaller than the Avy) in the rear- not tight but to be so big like the Taurus, I expect more- both have massive trunks which cheats rear seat passengers. I like the numbers for data eval but the real and best test is the sit behind test- also sit in the middle rear- I have 3 kids and the Avy is the only sedan that will be an adequate minivan replacement. I am testing the others just for giggles.

[II Kings 9:20]

Originally Posted by Billiam

At 42 I don't know if I qualify as "young". However, I really like the current Avalon. It's a very elegant car...both inside and out. A buttery smooth powertrain and ride quality are it's strong points. Find me a car for less than $40K that has as much rear leg room and pampers it's rear passengers any better than the Avy does...'cause I want to see it.

Too bad they don't still make the "Touring" model though.

Yes you are young, I am 49 and young so you must be at only 42. Elegant and buttery smooth are my exact words- I love the current car and expect the 13 to be even better which I will pull the trigger on. I hope people are not paying full sticker- 3 weeks ago, I had a deal to get an 11 Limited for $33.9K with mats, rear spoiler, bumper applique, and the $500 price increase on it's sticker. They offered me the price on this model which was the same as one without the spoiler and price increase (one was shipped before the price went up and had a different MSRP). That $33.9 price was over $4K off sticker-Yes, I walked away as great as this car is. I am patient when spending money. To quote Warren Buffet- "The market will reward patient knowledgable investors with diamonds on a gold platter"- The current avalon is a diamond on a silver platter, I expect the 13 to be gold.