The Toyota Avalon is a car that we normally wouldn’t write about because it’s ugly, boring, not luxurious enough, and mainly because it’s driven by people who are over 100 years old. Toyota is trying to change the Avalon’s image by introducing a sportier new model for 2013.
The 2013 Toyota Avalon does look like it will appeal to younger buyers, buyers who are in their 60’s, which is a big step forward ;). But seriously, it doesn’t look too bad and is a major improvement over the previous bland models. I like the side view and the rear end is pretty sexy (as sexy as an Avalon can get), it has a luxury car look to it, maybe a bit like the Jaguar XJ?? The car’s size has been reduced for 2013 but it’s still a big car measuring 195.3” in length, 72.2” in width, and it has a wheelbase of 111”.
The interior has a clean and simple look to it with soft-touch surfaces by the looks of it. The center console is very cleanly laid out with just a few buttons and knobs, most of the magic should happen on the large touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard.
The base Avalon is powered by a 3.5 liter V6 engine producing 268 horsepower connected to a 6-speed automatic transmission. EPA fuel numbers are 21 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and a combined mpg of 25. The Avalon Hybrid is powered by the same engine as the Camry and Lexus ES300h hybrids, a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine with a CVT transmission that has two electric motors. The system is powered by a 244.8 volt battery pack and the combined total output is 200 horsepower. EPA fuel numbers are 40 mpg city, 39 highway, and 40 mpg combined.
The 2013 Toyota Avalon will be available at dealerships in December and will have a lower starting price than the 2012 model with the base model priced at $30,990 and the top of the line hybrid model is priced at $41,400.