Toyota Avalon

The Toyota Avalon is a fullsize car produced by Toyota in the United States and Australia, originally based on the platform of the then-current Toyota Camry. It is produced as a front wheel drive four-door sedan. For its first two generations, it competed with the Chrysler Concorde, Buick LeSabre, Mercury Grand Marquis, Nissan Maxima, & Mazda Millenia.

The Avalon filled the gap left since the cancellation of the Toyota Cressida in the American market in 1992. The new Avalon was a fullsize car, becoming Toyota's first fullsize car, whereas the Cressida was a midsize, was rear wheel drive, and had the 7M-GE I6 engine. The Avalon, however, was front wheel drive and had Toyota's 1MZ-FE V6 engine.

The first Toyota Avalon rolled off the assembly line in Georgetown, Kentucky on February 21, 1994 as a 1995 model. A second-generation model was released in the United States and Japan in 1999.

See Wikicars' comprehensive Toyota Avalon Review.

Styles and Major Options

There are currently four trims for the Toyota Avalon:

Pricing

Today's actual prices for the MAKE MODEL can be found at CarsDirect.

Avalon Trims
XL	Touring	XLS	Limited
MSRP
$26,775	$29,025	$31,225	$33,965
Invoice
$23,921	$25,932	$27,477	$29,888

Gas Mileage

As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Automatic

Trim
Trim1	Trim2	Trim3	Trim4
MPG
c/h	c/h	c/h	c/h

Generations

Third Generation (2005–present)

The 2005 Avalon is a complete redesign from the previous generations. It is Toyota's largest, most luxurious, and most expensive sedan model sold under its own nameplate. The Avalon features a 3.5L 280-hp V6 engine and a myriad of advanced technological features (2GR-FE). The engine is as in previous generation shared with Lexus ES350. The Avalon is now about the same size as its large-sedan competitors (e.g. the Buick Lucerne and Ford Crown Victoria), but continues to compete with the Nissan Maxima. The new Avalon, introduced to the public at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, offers more distinctive styling than previous generations, which were known for their conservative styling. This redesign also dropped the availabilty of a front bench seat. The current Avalon is available in XL, Touring, XLS, and Limited trim levels.

Due to new SAE specifications power has dropped to 268-hp and torque has dropped to 248 ft·lbs. for the 2006 model year. Stability control is also expanded to the XL and Touring models, and a keyless remote start is standard for Limited models.

Second generation (2000-2004)

The second generation Avalon grew larger in almost every respect. The Avalon was still based on the stretched Camry platform and had a 3.0L V6 shared with the Toyota Sienna, Lexus RX300, Lexus ES300 and the Toyota Highlander, making 210-hp and 220 ft·lbs. of torque (1MZ-FE). However, its size was similar to the Camry. This second generation US-made Avalon has been exported to Japan's domestic market where it was labelled as the Toyota Pronard. Due to poor sales, Toyota will not export the third generation Avalon to Japan and thus, the Toyota Pronard has been discontinued.

This Avalon was available in two trimlines: the basic XL and the upscale XLS.

This second generation Avalon featured a built-in 115V AC power inverter, the first car to ever offer this as standard or optional. This feature also disappeared in the third generation Avalon, yet recent Toyota Matrix and Scion cars now offer this feature.

In 2003, the Avalon went through a minor restyle. The design of the grille and taillights was altered.

First Generation/Origins (1995-1999)

The 1995 Avalon was a completely new model built in the same plant as the Camry. It was positioned higher than the Camry, making it Toyota's flagship. The Avalon was based on a stretched Camry platform and had a 3.0L V6 engine making 192-hp and 210 ft·lbs. of torque (1MZ-FE). For 1998, Toyota made minor updates to the front and rear fascias and updated the power rating to 200-hp and increased torque to 214 ft·lbs. The Avalon also offered an available front bench seat for full six passenger seating.

External Links

• Official web site
• Toyota Avalon Specifications
• Canadian Driver test drive of the 2005 Avalon