Toyota Avalon Hybrid

[DeeCee]

After owning two Toyota's, other than the Avalon, I wouldnt want another one. Now that I have a good functioning Fusion Hybrid, I wouldn't want an Avalon either. Other than forgetting to press the seat position 1 after my wife drives it, and finding I cant get in the car, it has been the best car I have owned in 30 years. My 1992 Crown Vic was the best up until now, it now holds 3rd place behind my 2013 Flex. Funny how out of all the cars I have owned, the top 5 are all Fords. Fusion, Flex, Crown Vic, Fusion, F350. I do miss driving that big MF truck, but dont miss the maintenance or fuel costs!

Why don't you activate the option that moves the seat all the way back whenever the car is shut off? Makes getting in and out a lot easier.

[acdii]

Why don't you activate the option that moves the seat all the way back whenever the car is shut off? Makes getting in and out a lot easier.

If my wife was driving, I would be crushed when the seat moved forward! :) I found you either have to unlock with your fob, or press your memory position, or it goes to the last used position. That and when a kid in the back seat in a car seat his feet would be pinned when the seat moves back. Happened once already, thats why I disabled it.

[tr7driver]

For what it’s worth, I had a 2014 Avalon Limited hybrid for the weekend. Compared to my 2010 Merc Milan HY Premiere, it was as good or better in every area. The front seats – heated and cooled -- are extremely comfortable with a wide range of adjustments. It is a much bigger car with a much larger trunk and huge rear seat. (The rear seat was heated and had its own climate controls, nice when you have 4 adults traveling in the winter, but it won’t fold.) I think the engine was much more responsive and the interior was dead quiet. In the Sport mode, it accelerated like my Mustang GT but the engine was very quiet. The ICE EV transition was seamless. I abused it and still got 40 mpg over 140 miles mixed driving. I think the sticker price on it was north of $45K, but I'll definitely consider one when I trade out of the Merc. Fit and finish was excellent, better than the Merc.

 

The Merc is definitely suffering (bleeding) in the resale area since Ford shut the brand down, but I’ll be happy to drive it a few more years. (If I stumble into a low mileage used one, I’d buy it as it may be cheaper than dirt.) It is a great car and the fuel economy is very close to the real word reports I see here on the current generation of Ford Hybrids.

 

We rented a 2014 4 cyl ICE Fusion TY a few weeks ago. The center stack appeared overly wide to me (compared with the 2010) making the seats feel narrow, and the A and B pillars were a little wider and obstructed my vision. Trunk space was better than the 2010. We got over 34 MPG over 250 miles, mostly highway.

 

We have owned two ICE Avalon’s in the past, the first one (98) was totaled on the interstate at 70K miles and saved our lives. The second one (00) went over 200K miles trouble free and I still sold it for $4K, so I do have a bias towards them. Like the Fusion, you have to go with the higher trim on the Avalon to get a bigger screen and a lot of the electronic and safety goodies, but the option packages seem more flexible on the Avalon. It comes with a spare tire.

[lolder]

The Avalons are full size cars and 10-15K more than the fusion. They are excellent luxury cars.

[GrampaTim]

I fit in the old guy category, and until Thursday, I was driving a 2006 Avalon. The car was well built, had no problems, and would last a very long time. However, after driving it over 8 years, I was ready for a new vehicle. I selected it because the rear seat room was exceptional. Whoever buys the car will certainly be happy with the decision.

 

I looked at all the options, including the new Avalon Hybrid. I selected a Fusion Hybrid Titanium for the following reasons:

 

• The new Avalon is actually a step backward. The ride is not nearly as smooth as the older models, and the rear seat space was compromised.
• The price is significantly higher, and the available selection is very limited.
• Any car can have issues, so the quality of service available from the local dealer is important. Toyota rates at a 3 on this measure, and Ford at a 9, with our local dealers.
• The technology features on the Fusion are advanced over the Avalon.
• While Ford seems to be improving their overall customer relations, Toyota has slid in this category ( from my experience ), and corporate seems more distant.

I'm looking forward to the more spirited Fusion.