Next-gen product in search of next-gen customers by Richard Cazeau
Square in styling with a bland interior, the outgoing Avalon offered a mediocre transportation experience for the disaffected and uninspired Baby Boomer (or older) whittling away at a middling existence. It’s no wonder so many Toyota owners preferred to stick to the ever popular Camry or moved-up past the Avalon to the sharper Lexus ES.
With the boomers now becoming seniors, Toyota has revamped its next-generation Avalon in search of the next generation of customers; those who grew up listening to Hip Hop, watching Kevin Smith movies and questioning the Gulf War: generation X.
While still delivering core large-car values to keep the faithful coming back, Toyota’s engineers also made “fun-to-drive” a priority while adding a dramatic change in style to help entice those for whom the Avalon name is entirely foreign.
MALE PATTERN BOLDNESS
When we first caught wind of the updated design back in January, we could see how the new Avalon borrowed some styling cures from the Lexus family while still maintaining a somewhat conservative Toyota presence.
Toyota’s Calty Design Studio is behind the redux. Not familiar with their work? Google the critically acclaimed Lexus LF-LC concept car that debuted at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year - it’s a thing of beauty.
A tremendous refresh in the right direction the Avalon now looks bold and unique with an impactful front fascia, a wider body, stylized wheels, HID and LED lighting and new paint colors like Moulin Rouge.
Worse styling feature: the grill. It is ugly.....depending on where you focus, it's like looking at two different cars.....the hood and top of bumper is ok...then there's this gaping hole underneath that gabs the attention.....both design features don't compliment or flow into each other...... If I were in the market for a 4th Avalon, I would pass on this one for the poor front end design alone. JMHO
No more reclining rear seats? Dang and I was hoping they would keep that feature.. hopefully Toyota figures out the grill is a no go and do a quick refresh a la Acura TL to clean it up.
Wile I like the new design i'm going to test an Avalon out to get my view's into motion. My parent's Purchased a brand new 1999 Avalon and I liked it a lot and one of the very best Toyota's todate. Tho their 3.0 v6 never had issues Toyota did have sludge issue that some paper word was presented to all effected owners.
I mentioned to my mom to check out the 2013 Avalon but she purchased a Lexus this time around. In fact in 1999 my mom almost purchased the 99 Lexus Es300 but the interior room in the backseat lacked. The Lexus to me is very much an overrated Toyota with more features but Lexus does in fact have a quiet value like interior vs the Toyota.
the outgoing Avalon offered a mediocre transportation experience
What a fucking moron.
__________________
1991 Toyota Camry 14,000 mi
1994 Toyota Pickup 64,000 mi
1998 Toyota Avalon 143,000 mi
2005 Chevrolet Silverado 54,000 mi
2006 BMW 330i Sedan 110,000 mi
2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid 79,000 mi
When I first saw the new grille design on one of the new Camry's in the parking lot at work, I first thought that he had lost the lower part of the grille, and then I went to the toyota dealer for an oil change and realized it was the design...
It seems like there's too many different design styles going on. The parking lights down near the fog lights reminds me of the Cadillac CTS, the giant "hole" under the grille reminds me of an Aston Martin, and the back kind of reminds me of a jaguar. Personally, I liked the old designs better and this one just seems like they picked the parts that they liked off of other cars and called it a "new design". And I really, really, really, REALLY hate the new "pointy" mirror style.
Even the new Camry has been a huge letdown, in my opinion. I rented a 4-cyl camry and the thing was constantly hunting for the correct gear driving the 73 toll roads in California, to the point I had to manually shift using the sportronic shifter (or whatever toyota calls it).
I'm definitely passing on any new Toyota until they fix some of these issues...
And BTW, these reviews are completely useless. They overhype on the small stuff and overlook the major issues...
__________________
Last edited by serratedauto; 11-04-2012 at 04:24 AM.
I agree with you guys. The car looks good IMO. I like it but the grill kinda kills it for me. Its like automakers can make a good looking car except the front or back. Oh well. Its certainly a step in the right direction if they want it to show up on the map. It will still be niche' of course but it should help with sales and make Avalon more relevant.
__________________ America: Divided by ideology, united by tragedy.
I agree with you guys. The car looks good IMO. I like it but the grill kinda kills it for me. Its like automakers can make a good looking car except the front or back. Oh well. Its certainly a step in the right direction if they want it to show up on the map. It will still be niche' of course but it should help with sales and make Avalon more relevant.
We'll see how well it does. The Avalon team knows this may be their final effort to finally get it right. I'm with most here thinking most of the car looks pretty good but the grille...the more understated that thing is the better. The only cars I haven't tried in this segment are the Hyundai Genesis and the Azera. The Taurus is a very competent car despite its mass bulk and weight, a very nice car to drive. The Maxima is easily the sportiest of the bunch with probably the best engine but lacks the interior room of the others. The Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger are very good despite their great weight the Pentastar seems to have fixed some of it, and unlike the previous gen they show why RWD is such a good thing. The only so-so car is the Buick LaCrosse, with its near Corolla level loose steering, a dimwitted transmission and lousy optioning(possibly a Canada thing), despite that its comfortable and has probably the best interior volume for the passenger.
__________________
1986 MX-73 Cressida 5M-GE 290,000+ kms - SOLD (1986-2013)
2004 GD-67 Impreza EJ25 230,000+ kms - new daily
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
ToyotaNation.com is an independent Toyota/Lexus enthusiast website. ToyotaNation.com is not sponsored by or in any way affiliated with Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. The Toyota, Lexus and Scion names and logos are trademarks owned by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Crapmry
1984 Toyota Cressida
1994 Toyota Pickup
1998 Toyota Avalon
Oh well. Its certainly a step in the right direction if they want it to show up on the map. It will still be niche' of course but it should help with sales and make Avalon more relevant.
Linear Mode
