![\"Avalon](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2018\/11\/12\/PDTN\/c41645f5-35df-424b-b4fe-1a982e1077db-avalon_fr3-4.JPG?crop=3372,2073,x375,y132&width=534&height=401&fit=bounds&auto=webp\")
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Toyota and its luxury-brand\u00a0Lexus dominated\u00a0Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings again this year, and it\u2019s easy to see why. While brands like Tesla (third to last) and Volvo (last) innovate with new but glitchy technology,\u00a0the Japanese brands beaver along with proven, dependable hardware.<\/p>\n
Take the big Toyota Avalon that I\u2019ve been driving with its dependable gated shifter, dependable infotainment display and\u00a0dependable V-6 engine. They should call it the Toyota Dependable.<\/p>\n
But for all their metronomic reliability, the Tokyo titans are hardly vanilla. Bucking design tradition, they\u2019ve reached into the Hollywood wardrobe and assembled some of the most radical designs in autodom.<\/p>\n
Lexus in particular has walked off the deep end, wearing costumes with more angles than Dr. Strange\u2019s cape and a face that only Darth Vader could love.<\/p>\n
It’s even more bonkers inside.\u00a0I was recently in a\u00a0Lexus LX 570 ute with the infotainment system from hell. The remote dash screen is operated by a sort of mouse on the console that is impossible to operate standing still, much less when the car is moving. One wonders how reliable it would be if Consumer Reports tested it after frustrated owners have beaten it silly with a tire iron.<\/p>\n
All of which is why I recommend Toyota over Lexus these days.<\/p>\n
As regular readers of this column know, the electronic revolution has brought a conversion of mainstream and luxury-car features. Features like adaptive cruise-control \u2014 a gee-whiz luxury item just 15 years ago that’s now commonplace on even compact cars like the $20,000 Toyota Corolla hatchback.<\/p>\n
Speaking of which, the Corolla has gone from one of the most disappointing cars in the market (tell me\u00a0again why this numb wallflower was a best-selling compact?) to my favorite Toyota product. And it\u2019s not just that the rousing Corolla\u00a0hatch is loaded with features and has all the\u00a0utility of a Toyota RAV4 without the compromised handling.<\/p>\n
The hatch is a looker. From its aggressive haunches to its good c-pillar visibility to its coherent grille, the Corolla is evidence that not all Toyota designers are crayon-wielding teens that believe every grille should be made to resemble comic-book supervillains.<\/p>\n
The Avalon looks like a humpback whale ingesting a school of krill. The Tasmanian Devil\u2019s kisser isn\u2019t this big. It rivals Lexus for most outrageous face. Which is how CEO Akio Toyoda wants it. Like the best-selling Camry sedan, Akio wanted his new generation of cars to inspire buzz, not ZZZZs.<\/p>\n
Look up \u201cpolarizing\u201d in the dictionary and it reads \u201c1. Lexus 2. Toyota.\u201d Happily for those of us not named Vader, the rest of the Avalon is more tasteful.<\/p>\n
The horizontal tail lights are conventionally fashionable \u2014 following Dodge, Lincoln, Audi, et al \u2014 and help\u00a0tie together the big sedan\u2019s rump. Speaking of big, Avalon is typically roomy for a Toyota, expanding its wheelbase two inches over the previous model. You don\u2019t get to be a best-selling brand in the USA without listening to your triple-extra-large clientele.<\/p>\n
The front door was apparently taken off a Delta Airlines hangar. I have arms like an orangutan, but I needed an umbrella handle to reach the handle to shut the door once inside. The interior is tomb-quiet, my Touring model\u2019s leather and suede appointments swallowing my big frame. I could easily sit behind myself in back.<\/p>\n
The interior dials back the exterior\u2019s craziness. Whereas the Camry gives the console an (admittedly inspired) S-curve design, the Avalon falls back on a conventional, upright look \u2014 replacing the previous floating console shaped like a artist\u2019s palette. An artist myself, I rather liked the old look \u2014\u00a0but the new design is businesslike and easy to use.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s why I\u2019d recommend this up-market-targeted sedan over its Lexus peer.<\/p>\n
The interface is easy to use, while providing standard \u201cSafety Sense\u201d and infotainment features\u00a0\u2014\u00a0backup camera, digital radio, blind-spot assist, even Apple CarPlay (finally) \u2014\u00a0that customers have come to expect from a premium car. Heck, these items are standard on a $23,000\u00a0Corolla.<\/p>\n
But perhaps the most critical piece of my upsell of the Avalon to you, dear Lexus customer, is its handling. Previous-generation Avalons were boats. But on the company\u2019s new Toyota New Global Architecture \u2014\u00a0which undergirds the excellent Camry as well as the Avalon and Corolla \u2014\u00a0the Avalon is surprisingly athletic.<\/p>\n
Carving through my favorite Metro Detroit ess-curves, Avalon is planted,\u00a0allowing me to get into the 3.5-liter\u2019s growly V-6 throttle early off the turn. Mated to a quick-shifting eight-speed tranny, the big sled is a worthy dance partner.<\/p>\n
Love that six-holer. While automakers have fled to turbo-4s to meet both emissions controls and customers\u2019 need for speed, Toyota has stuck with its loyal six. It’s dependable as a collie.<\/p>\n
Dependability also rhymes with affordability in Toyota\u2019s case. My Touring tester came in at $44,913 \u2014 $8,000\u00a0cheaper than a comparable Lexus GS with the same V-6, but without that maddening mouse controller. My only reservation is Toyota starves the Avalon of an all-wheel drive option for Michigan winters,\u00a0a feature that the GS (and every SUV) options.<\/p>\n
The Avalon is not deprived of a Toyota-Lexus signature hybrid model, however, and here again value is impressive. With its electric-assisted, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, the 3,718-pound sedan gets a remarkable 43 mpg for just a grand more than the V-6 model. That\u2019s not much of a hybrid premium \u2014 and in just a year\u2019s driving you\u2019ll make it all back in gas savings. Helpless motorhead that I am, I would still opt for the visceral satisfaction of the V-6.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tough slog these days for sedans, especially big sedans like the Avalon. Without all-wheel drive, they are easily passed over for large utes. But for traditionalists who still value a sleek, punchy sedan with fuss-free ergonomics, the old-school Avalon\u2019s new-school architecture is a contender.<\/p>\n
Just be sure and park it nose-first into the garage so its humpback whale mug doesn\u2019t scare the neighborhood kids.<\/p>\n
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne. Catch \u201cCar Radio with Henry Payne\u201d from noon-2 p.m. Saturdays on 910 AM Superstation.<\/em><\/p>\n 2019 Toyota Avalon<\/strong><\/p>\n Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel drive, five-passenger sedan<\/p>\n Price: $32,000 base including $920\u00a0destination fee ($44,913 Touring as tested)<\/p>\n Powerplant: 3.5-liter\u00a0V-6; 2.4-liter inline-4 cylinder with nickel-metal hydride\u00a0battery assist<\/p>\n Power: 310 horsepower, 267\u00a0pound-feet torque (V-6); 215 horsepower (hybrid)<\/p>\n Transmission: 8-speed automatic (V-6) or continuously variable automatic (hybrid)<\/p>\n Performance: 0-60 mph, 6.0 seconds (Motor Trend)<\/p>\n Weight: 3,704 pounds (V-6)<\/p>\n Fuel economy: EPA fuel economy: 22\u00a0city\/31\u00a0highway\/25 combined (V-6);\u00a043 city\/43 highway\/43 combined (hybrid)<\/p>\n Report card<\/p>\n Highs: Roomy, athletic sedan; screen controls with nice knobs<\/p>\n Lows: Oh, that face; AWD, please<\/p>\n Overall: 3\u00a0stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Toyota and its luxury-brand\u00a0Lexus dominated\u00a0Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings again this year, and it\u2019s easy to see why. While brands like Tesla (third to last) and Volvo (last) innovate with new but glitchy technology,\u00a0the Japanese brands beaver along with proven, dependable hardware. Take the big Toyota Avalon that I\u2019ve been driving with its dependable gated shifter, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23080"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}