Toyota’s flagship car has been completely redesigned for a more youthful appeal and for the first time can now be ordered as a hybrid taking a car that’s long been considered the preferred ride of the senior set and broadening its audience isn’t an easy proposition the avalon is the next purchase for the camry owner looking to graduate to toyota’s premium car
And what’s happened here is mostly very positive particularly on the design side where this us penned body is a unanimous winner i’ve already driven an xle premium with the super strong v6 and now i’m in the hybrid of the same trim level a car price from 36,000 350 there is one trim below this car into above it spanning a total dollar range of over 8,500 the
Hybridization of the avalon follows typical toyota form by utilizing a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder gas engine running the atkinson cycle that’s where the intake valve closing is for improved efficiency and pairing it with a transaxle which houses two electric motor generators one acting as a starter and charging the hybrid battery and the second boosting the effectiveness
Of the gas engine and providing electric power for propulsion on its own the latter can only happen at speeds up to 20 miles per hour for about one mile sticking with the old-school nickel metal hydride battery toyota buries it as close to the rear seat as possible to preserve trunk space most hybrids lose considerable cargo room due to the space requirements of
The battery but the avalon retains all but two cubic feet still leaving an ample trunk the hybrid power control unit is located up here and converts the high voltage to usable levels while also coordinating all the system’s functions regenerative braking and the use of a cvt transmission round out the hybrid traits helping this avalon hybrid achieve an epa rating
Of 40 mpg city 39 highway while my weekly average with lots on hybrid like driving for the purpose of testing was about 37 miles per gallon total system output is 200 horsepower which spawns a 0 to 60 time of about 8 seconds the hybrid offers three selectable driving modes one for short distance low-speed electric operation an eco mode for improved efficiency
And my favorite a transformative sport mode which really brings the avalon to life toyota’s experience with hybrid shines through as this car drives with a fluidness that’ll have you forgetting it even is a hybrid if it weren’t for the electric whirring noises and the gauges which show energy flow you might not even realize from the outside the hybrid is marked
By blue trimmed emblems hybrid badges and it’s hidden exhaust outlet the same discussion points i posed in my initial avalon test i revisit here it doesn’t clearly distinguish itself from the camry anymore from a size standpoint and in redefining the cars handling abilities the ride has become much too firm for this class of car and a flagship should not at any
Trim level have such a clunky looking do-nothing screen as this that said this is one instance where i prefer the hybrid over the gas model the price premium is about $2,300 950 of which you’ll likely get back in gas savings during year one plus it drives so transparently to its hybrid powertrain that i never lamented its presence msrp of my tester with a couple
Of nominal options is 37,000 169 toyota’s bigger car goes green in a very good way for drive time i’m steve hammes
Transcribed from video
2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review By CARSCRAZYS
