Motortrend: The Big Test 2013/2014 Full-Size Sedans
#17
Lexus Champion
I keep seeing poor ride quality mentioned in Avalon reviews. I got an offer in the mail to test drive any Toyota and get a $50 or $75 debit card. I may drive the Avalon and see for myself.
#18
Amazingly the Avalon is deemed to offer the worst ride comfort among the testers here. Ride comfort had always been the hallmark and the whole point of the Avalon and it should not be traded off in the name of sporty handling. It's great to see the Avalon now excel in the other areas such as interior quality, performance and efficiency, but its core value should never be lost. Hopefully Toyota is listening and will restore the utmost ride comfort that the Avalon used to enjoy when the refresh comes.
Obviously people love it and they are buying it in droves.
Trying to please everybody is what gets you to Toyota's of 5-6 years back.
#19
Lead Lap
C&D said the ride sucked too. I'm sure when the Avalon gets refreshed a few years down the road they'll fix it while still maintaining the handling gains they've made.
#20
Lexus Fanatic
My grandparents who have a 2010 Limited said the same thing.
#21
Lexus Fanatic
Obviously people love it and they are buying it in droves.
Trying to please everybody is what gets you to Toyota's of 5-6 years back.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-08-13 at 08:22 AM.
#23
Lexus Fanatic
Again, with the new 6Gen ES, not really rough like a compact pick-up truck, sports-car, etc.....but noticeably firmer and noisier than the previous model, which suggests that they might have also skimped on some sound-deadening. And the previous-gen model (5Gen), was somewhat firmer-riding than the superb 4Gen model, which I thought was the best ES ever done.
#25
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (3)
One thing I'm noticing with many Toyotas in the last few years is that they tend to outperform in real world MPG, sometimes even exceeding the EPA ratings. When I was looking at the test of the Camry SE V6, Passat SE 3.8 and Sonata 2.0T, I think the Camry was averaging 23-24 MPG for Motor Trend, vs ~21 for the others.
With some manufacturers being "dinged" for cars that don't meet EPA standards, Toyota seems to be doing a pretty fair job of hitting the mark or even understating their cars a bit.
With some manufacturers being "dinged" for cars that don't meet EPA standards, Toyota seems to be doing a pretty fair job of hitting the mark or even understating their cars a bit.
#26
Lexus Fanatic
One thing I'm noticing with many Toyotas in the last few years is that they tend to outperform in real world MPG, sometimes even exceeding the EPA ratings. When I was looking at the test of the Camry SE V6, Passat SE 3.8 and Sonata 2.0T, I think the Camry was averaging 23-24 MPG for Motor Trend, vs ~21 for the others.
With some manufacturers being "dinged" for cars that don't meet EPA standards, Toyota seems to be doing a pretty fair job of hitting the mark or even understating their cars a bit.
With some manufacturers being "dinged" for cars that don't meet EPA standards, Toyota seems to be doing a pretty fair job of hitting the mark or even understating their cars a bit.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-08-13 at 05:16 PM.
#28
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
just drove a new avalon yesterday. nice car, but was noisier and stiffer than expected.
#29
My view
My own observations after 5 months with an Avalon :
- Ride is firm, and very noticeable when going over large bumps or potholes. I am talking about speedbumps sized objects. It's fine on 90% of the road surface I drive on. If this were a trade off for being a nimble large car it is, then I'd say it's worthwhile. I found myself not noticing the size of such large/long vehicle until I try to fit it into standard parking lanes. I suspect Toyota is doing this on purpose to appeal to a slightly different group of buyers (more on this later), because the original one seemed to be shrinking. Maybe on the refresh they should give a softer riding package option for those looking for one (replace the those standard 45 series tires is probably going to help a lot).
- Engine noise is only present when cold. The car is the quietest vehicle I have owned outside of a hybrid on battery mode.
- The engine and the tranmission work extremely well together.
- 20 MPG lifetime, with 90% city and lots of short trips. Regular gas helps at the pump.
I did not know I wanted an Avalon due to its previous image of being a vehicle for the older segment. I went looking for a DD in the midsize segment. I test drove the usual suspects Camry, Optima, Altima and Accord. I almost went with the TCH until the rep asked me to drive the brand new Avalon just showed up at the dealership. I came back very impressed with the ride and handling for such large a car. I also liked the new younger styling especially the front and backends. To me this feels exactly like the Camry version I wanted but was made available!
- Ride is firm, and very noticeable when going over large bumps or potholes. I am talking about speedbumps sized objects. It's fine on 90% of the road surface I drive on. If this were a trade off for being a nimble large car it is, then I'd say it's worthwhile. I found myself not noticing the size of such large/long vehicle until I try to fit it into standard parking lanes. I suspect Toyota is doing this on purpose to appeal to a slightly different group of buyers (more on this later), because the original one seemed to be shrinking. Maybe on the refresh they should give a softer riding package option for those looking for one (replace the those standard 45 series tires is probably going to help a lot).
- Engine noise is only present when cold. The car is the quietest vehicle I have owned outside of a hybrid on battery mode.
- The engine and the tranmission work extremely well together.
- 20 MPG lifetime, with 90% city and lots of short trips. Regular gas helps at the pump.
I did not know I wanted an Avalon due to its previous image of being a vehicle for the older segment. I went looking for a DD in the midsize segment. I test drove the usual suspects Camry, Optima, Altima and Accord. I almost went with the TCH until the rep asked me to drive the brand new Avalon just showed up at the dealership. I came back very impressed with the ride and handling for such large a car. I also liked the new younger styling especially the front and backends. To me this feels exactly like the Camry version I wanted but was made available!
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