2018 Toyota Avalon Touring

2018 Toyota Avalon Touring

Test Drive

Written by Marco Carvajal

Photographs by Toyota

Driving the 2018 Toyota Avalon through Florida is a pleasure…Fresh design and a beautiful interior. Value price for a Premium car, priced at less than $40K.

Introduction

The Avalon is Toyota’s flagship midsize sedan. According to Toyota, the Avalon is a premium sedan at a lower price, “2018 Toyota Avalon: Premium Sedan Without the Premium Price”

I am test driving the 2018 Toyota Avalon, Touring model, through the roads of Florida and it feels good to drive.  For a midsize 268 horse power is more than enough power for the 3.5-liter gasoline V6 engine included in the Avalon. The 6 speed automatic transmission has very smooth soft shift changes that you can almost no feel. 5 seats capacity to enjoy trip with friends and children.  The touring has a price above the $37K, what is a low price if we consider it a premium car.

Distinctive features of the 2018 Toyota Avalon are a wide air intake in the front bumper with chrome ribs, a grille in the style of the new Toyota Camry V50 for the U.S. market, more embossed sidewalls, a modified design of wheel rims and LED tail lights. In addition, the body of the new Toyota Avalon received a heavily tilted rear rack, in which additional windows appeared. The interior of the sedan was developed anew and has no common parts with the car of the previous generation.

The Avalon is available as a Fuel Efficient V6 and also with Hybrid Powertrains. The Avalon Hybrid has an EPA-Estimated 40-MPG Combined Fuel Economy. The V6 non-hybrid that I am driving comes with a 24 MPG.

Several interior features make this mid-size a pleasure to drive, like navigation system and a driver’s seat memory function among many others extras.

The Avalon uses higher quality materials, and even more interior space for passengers, despite the mid-size of this car.

Pricing & Versions

For the 2018 Toyota Avalon there are five levels of trim: XLE, XLE Plus, XLE Premium, Limited and Touring. The Touring is available with a sports suspension.  The Avalon is also available in 3 Hybrid versions.

Exterior

The elegant design and expressive forms of the 2018 Toyota Avalon were developed by Toyota’s Toyota Calty design studio in California, C-shaped roof racks and sloping roof configurations similar to those of a coupe. It’s hard to believe, The new design helps to increase the amount of space behind. The headlights provide a pair of stylish square projection lenses, which Toyota calls “Quadrabeams”. The modern styling of the car comes with standard 18-inch discs, LED headlights and dual and chrome exhaust pipes.

Exterior Features

• LED (light-emitting diode) headlights with auto on/off feature and LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL) with on/off feature
• Smoked LED taillights
• Chrome front grille surround with piano-black insert
• Color-keyed heated power outside mirrors with turn signal indicators and manual folding feature
• Power tilt/slide moonroof with sliding sunshade
• 18-in. dark gray painted alloy wheels with machined finish and P225/45R18 tires
• Washer-linked variable intermittent windshield wipers
• Acoustic noise-reducing windshield and driver and front passenger side window
• Dual chrome-tipped integrated exhaust with chrome-accented cover

Interior

The 2018 Toyota Avalon offers a very nice class interior with high quality materials, clear buttons and switches. A set of the latest infotainment options like voice recognition, adaptation phone applications and navigation hard drive designed to attract the attention of shoppers focused on new technologies. Touch-sensitive audio switches are easy to use.

Black wood-grain-style interior trim with smoked-chrome interior accents and door handles

Features

• Dual zone automatic climate control with air filter and rear-seat vents
• Intelligent Touch controls for climate control and audio system
• Entun Premium Audio with Integrated Navigation and App Suite — includes the Entune Multimedia Bundle (7-in. high-resolution touch-screen with split-screen display, AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability, nine speakers, auxiliary audio jack, USB 2.0 port with iPod connectivity and control, advanced voice recognition, hands-free phone capability, phone book access and music streaming via Bluetooth wireless technology), SiriEyes Free, Entune App Suite, HD RadioTechnology, HD RadioPredictive Traffic and Doppler Weather overlay, AM/FM cache radio, SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 3-month complimentary SiriusXM All Access trial, Gracenote album cover art, and integrated backup camera Access to Entune services is subscription-free.
• Entune App Suite — includes Destination Searches, iHeartRadio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable, Pandora, Facebook Places, Yelp and Slacker Radio; real-time info including traffic, weather, fuel prices, sports and stocks. Access to Entune™ services is subscription-free.
• Cruise control
• Premium leather-trimmed tilt/telescopic steering wheel with paddle shifters and audio controls, Multi-Information Display, Bluetooth hands-free phone and voice command controls
• Optitron instrumentation with speedometer, tachometer, coolant temperature, fuel gauges; TFT Multi-Information Display with customizable settings, odometer, tripmeter, current/average fuel economy, distance to empty, speed, shift-position indicator, navigation with turn-by-turn directions (Limited only), ECO and Sport Mode indicator, ECO Drive Level Indicator and warning messages
• Leather-trimmed multi-stage heated front seats; 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with power lumbar support; 4-way power-adjustable front passenger seat
• Driver’s seat and outside mirrors memory systems
• Rear seat with center armrest cup holders and trunk pass-through
• Smart Key System on front doors and trunk with Push Button Start and remote illuminated entry
• Power door locks with shift-linked automatic lock/unlock feature and anti-lockout feature
• Power windows with auto up/down and jam protection in all positions and retained-power features
• Rear window defogger with timer
• Auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass, maplights and HomeLink universal transceiver
• Covered center console with sliding cover and armrest, storage compartment and two front cupholders
• Illuminated glove compartment
• eBi sliding electronic device holder with wire management feature and illuminated interior storage with one 12V auxiliary power outlet, auxiliary audio jack and USB port
• Qi-compatible wireless smartphone charging with full-charge-indicator light device
• Resin scuff plate doorsills
• Touring badge
• Two 12V auxiliary power outlets (one in eBi and one behind the center-console storage compartment)

Safety

The Avalon comes with 10 air bags and a set of electronic devices. Front seats are designed in such a way that in the event of a collision, it will reduce the power of the impact.

3-point seatbelts for all seating positions, driver-side Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) and Automatic/Emergency Locking Retractor (ALR/ELR) on all passenger belts. LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) includes lower anchors and tether anchors on outboard rear seats

The standard Safety Sense-P of 2018 Toyota Avalon Touring combines many safety features, including automatic high-speed, adaptive cruise control, lane change warning function and management assistance.

Using smartphone technology, Toyota Avalon’s capacitive, touch-sensitive switches do not require anything more easy than touch.

Features

• Star Safety System- includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRAC), Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and Smart Stop Technology (SST).
• ToyotaCare featuring a no cost maintenance plan with roadside assistance
• Ten airbags – includes driver and front passenger Advanced Airbag System, driver and front passenger seat-mounted side airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, rear seat-mounted side airbags, and front and rear side curtain airbags
• Driver and front passenger Whiplash-Injury-Lessening (WIL) seats
• Child-protector rear door locks
• Energy-absorbing collapsible steering column
• Front and rear energy-absorbing crumple zones
• Side-impact door beams
• Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) with direct pressure readout and individual tire location alert
• Toyota Safety Sens P (TSS-P) — Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection (PCS w/PD), Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist (LDA w/SA), Automatic High Beams (AHB), Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC)
• Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA)
• Anti-theft system with engine immobilizer

Conclusion

The Avalon is a good sedan that anyone can trust, a car with a reputation, reliable, productive, safe and efficient.

The Avalon used to be a more general model for everyone, now after a few years it has become a premium midsize, special for a more limited and demanding market segment. However, priced above 30,000, it is a bargain compared to many other sedans in the market.

I love all the safety features included in the Avalon, like the available Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA) that helps identify vehicles that we may not see when changing lanes or backing out of a parking space. The system will warn the driver by illuminating a signal on the corresponding outside mirror.  More features like Eco Mode makes the Avalon more attractive, prioritizing fuel efficiency by balancing driving dynamics and climate control functionality. Normal mode and Eco Mode help you find the best balance between performance and fuel consuption.

As a nice bonus all 2018 Avalon and Avalon Hybrid models come standard with Toyota Care, a complimentary plan covering normal factory-scheduled maintenance and 24-hour roadside assistance for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first.  Toyota’s 36-month/36,000 mile basic new-vehicle warranty applies to all components other than normal wear and maintenance. Additional 60-month warranties cover the powertrain for 60,000 miles and against corrosion with no mileage limitation. The hybrid-related components, including the HV battery, battery control module, hybrid control module and inverter with converter, are covered for eight years/100,000 miles.

This Toyota is an excellent value and mix between money and quality. Avalon “Let’s Go Places”