Drove New '08 Toyota Avalon Limited

[Astra RL]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

Good point. Even though I wrote the post, I forgot how big the 2008 Accord is.



The Accord 4-cylinder 0-60 mph is 8.8 seconds, on par with, say, a Suburban, Expedition, or Silverado 4.8.

It's no rocket, but you won't fear for your life either.

People forget the 1980s, when it was common to get V8 family sedans with 9.5 second 0-60 mph times.

I was expecting higher times. I guess the 2.4 is better than the 2.0 in the Si 197HP 137ft/lbs oops.

[Old Dood]

I had an Avalon for my loaner last year.
It has some of the best seats that I have ever sat in.
I loved the seat extender for the driver.
That really takes the pressure off your knees while driving.

[Michael_S]

Originally Posted by Astra RL

I was expecting higher times. I guess the 2.4 is better than the 2.0 in the Si 197HP 137ft/lbs oops.

Well, 137 pound feet really isn't bad for a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter engine. But 2.0 liters is just too small.

But the SOHC 2.4 gets 161 foot pounds at 4300 RPMs. For comparison, the Malibu DOHC 2.4 gets 160 foot pounds at 4500 RPMs.

[Astra RL]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

Well, 137 pound feet really isn't bad for a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter engine. But 2.0 liters is just too small.

But the SOHC 2.4 gets 161 foot pounds at 4300 RPMs. For comparison, the Malibu DOHC 2.4 gets 160 foot pounds at 4500 RPMs.

They need a turbo on that thing badly. 137 may not be bad, but in a "sport" compact more moving power is desired.

[Neanderthal]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

Have any evidence for that?

Are they shooting union organizers? Bribing government officials? Lobbying for anti-GM laws?

All I've seen them do is manipulate public opinion by expert advertising and ride a false "green image" - and that kind of nonsense is pretty typical for automakers.

When GM cars used to get poor marks in crash test ratings, GM publicists would state, "We use our own internal safety metrics which we believe to be more useful than government tests." And statistically speaking, people who drove those models that scored poorly in government crash tests were more likely to die in crashes. Now GM models are starting to get top notch crash safety ratings in public crash tests, and death rates are declining. So that sounds to me like GM was being pretty ($*&U ()*$ unethical and totally lying about "internal safety metrics". What do you say to that?

I don't know about the person you point that question at, but for me, all I can say is that, like Jimmuh Cottah, GM would nevah laaah.

[Neanderthal]

Originally Posted by kgm777

Recently rented a 2008 Avalon Touring Sedan (with about 7500 miles) in LA for a few days. The car is very quiet, however the expansion joints on some freeways are brutal and this car did not isolate the harshness from this problem. The other Avalon models should do a little better. The Avalon has better visibility, a tight turning radius, and fewer blind spots than my '07 DTS, although the DTS has a much more substantial (expensive) driving feel and a softer ride.

I had an Avalon XLS (?) as an Alamo rental for a week. I drove mostly state highways, with a fair amount of town (pop:22,000) driving thrown in. Temperatures were in the 80s to 90s.

I did feel expansion joint thumping, but it was nothing unusual.

I hate the stupid shifter, with the gates that so conveniently always land you in neutral no matter if you're looking for D or R.

My Avalon had leather, or should I say "leather"? It was singularly unimpressive, as much modern leather is. Give me a quality cloth any time. This stuff was hard, cheap feeling, and not what I'd call luxurious in any sense of the word.

I have yet to see, feel, or smell leather that is up to the standard set by my 1966 Rover 2000.

The seat comfort was fair to middlin'. I got to drive my aunt's Honda Civic Hybrid while in town, and there is no comparing the Civic seat (excellent) and the Avalon (average). Honda IMO is the league leader in seat design, no one is close.

As a side note, the Civic was pretty cool. The hybrid feels like driving a diesel, its torque mill and CVT give loads of low end grunt. It rode hard, which I found odd and more in line with what I'd expect of their performance model than their econo model.

The gadgets are fun, my Avalon had a display for the AC controls etc. Nice, but I can live quite comfortably with the simple and direct controls as my 04 Impala, my 07 Spectra, or my wife's 01 PT have.

The dashboard light rheostat is hidden away and unlighted. Odd.

The ride was floaty, bringing back Impala memories.

MPG was pretty good. My return trip showed 34 MPG, running on state highways at 50-65 (no radar detector...won't let that happen again) with no WFO or top end runs. I think the best tank on my 04 Impala was 33.5 or thereabouts. But that was running at 80+ MPH.

In summary, it drove and felt like a very powerful, mediocre car with gadgets. If I were buying something like this from Toyoter, I'd get a Camry with cloth. But I wouldn't pay this kind of money for an average car like this. I would take the Civic hybrid or a Civic EX or LX over this car.
The gated shifter sucks, and there are no reasons that jump out at me, after living with the car for a week, that would convince me to pay over 30 grand for this car. I like the way my Spectra drives and rides better. And it cost way less.

I had reserved a Cobalt-class car, but at 11:30 PM I guess they had run out of cars.

[member12]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

The Avalon was redesigned for 2006. I'm curious, did you ride in the latest version or the previous?

The Avalon is also available in a trim level called "Touring" that has a much stiffer suspension for sportier driving. All of the other trim levels have the soft suspensions. You don't happen to remember if you rode in an Avalon Touring, do you?

It was the newer design, and it was very loaded. I didn't pay attention to the trim level.

Like the Maxima, Toyota has ruined it's flagship car (in my opinion).

I also fear that GM will do the same thing with Chevrolet since they are not bringing the RWD Impala over here.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Michael_S

The Avalon is also available in a trim level called "Touring" that has a much stiffer suspension for sportier driving. All of the other trim levels have the soft suspensions. You don't happen to remember if you rode in an Avalon Touring, do you?

The Touring trim level does have a very comfortable ride. You can barely feel the bumps on the road.
But for some odd reason, the Avalon I was in fishtailed completely randomly on the highway while it was raining...not severe or anything, but enough to make my friend scream (Yeah, my Avalon-driving friend's a girl...most of the guys I know would be all, "Whoooaaaa....sweet. Let's do that again!" if their car fishtailed). Kinda surprised me a little, since the only cars I've driven that fishtail are RWD...

[eurohazard]

I drove loaded limiter Avalon back in 2006. I was WAY unimpressed. The dash vents fit like poo, and the color was slightly off from the rest of the dash. The taillights had a huge gap from the forward lens to the 1/4 panel (huge Toyota flagship standards), hell for any car standards. Have you guys seen how tight Hyundais are now?

Quite, check. Powerful, check. Comfortable, check. But the quality was absurd IMHO. I had rented a Ford 500 early that week, and aside from engine power.....the Ford was better. Now it's the Ford "Taurus". They are stupid for re-naming a fine automobile after a rental-car-grade vehicle. But that's another story.

So to summarize, my 1993 Camry had better fit and finish than the Avalon I saw. Boooooooo Toyota for that!

[Neanderthal]

One other item regarding the trannie: Rather than slip into top gear when you let off the throttle to coast, it sticks in the current gear. I don't like that, I like to coast.

Also, the RR tire (thanks, TPM) dropped to about 24 one day. I bought a gauge and filled it to 33-34 like the other three tires. No further incidents.