Toyota wrote a love letter to the AARP and called it Avalon. A stretched
Camry, the Avalon replicated the classic American car with a vast rear seat, a column
shifter, and a front bench seat. Even the name served up a warm bowl of
nostalgia, simultaneously conjuring up the old movie house on Main Street, Hugh
Downs, and a backrub from Jessica Tandy. Soft, comfortable, and spacious, the
Avalon chased the Big Three right down the big-car rabbit hole.
Toyota is now maintaining
that the new, redesigned 2013 Avalon is
a car for those who have yet to notice their first liver spot. It’s worth
noting that Toyota made that same claim in 2005 after slipping a 3.5-liter V-6
into the contemporary Avalon; we welcomed the extra power, but the car’s soft
suspension and casual roll control failed to connect. That didn’t stop us from
giving the ’05 Avalon a comparison-test win against some admittedly ineffectual
competition. But the recycled claim that this new Avalon isn’t just for old
folks may actually hold water: Its chassis has been slipped a Viagra, there’s
an emphasis on driver involvement, and the styling marks a clean break from
yesteryear’s examples.
The exterior design seems to borrow from a number of sources, including
Hyundai, Lexus, and Infiniti—and its grille placement and shape recalls that of
the second-gen Chrysler Sebring—but the net effect is a sedan that doesn’t
immediately conjure images of applesauce and cribbage. That’s a good thing. On
the driving front, the stiffened suspension keeps body roll in check, and the
previous car’s acceleration squat and earth-plowing dive under hard braking are
things of the past. The steering now requires effort, and even more weight can
be dialed in by hitting the Sport button located between the seats. Jack
LaLanne himself would be pleased by the Avalon’s transformation from flabby and
sloppy to tight and athletic.
Power remains
the same at 268 hp, but muscle was never the Avalon’s problem. The familiar
3.5-liter V-6 and six-speed automatic are standard and carry over from the
outgoing car. Paddle shifters are fitted to the top two trims, the Avalon
Touring and Limited. The previous car hit 60 mph in 6.6 seconds when we
tested it a couple of summers ago, and the new Avalon
should easily match or beat that time despite having a taller final-drive ratio
because weight is down by approximately 100 pounds, according to Toyota. The
structure is stiffer than that of the previous version, too, which has helped
make powertrain, suspension, and road noise even more hushed than before—and
decidedly Lexus-like. We had a chance to sample new and old models
back-to-back, and the latest Avalon feels more modern, more solid, quieter, and
more expensive.
