2019 Toyota Avalon Hybrid

January 1, 2019

Lindsay Brooke

After ample time behind the wheel of the all-new Avalon, this one hybrid-powered, I’m beginning to think that I’ve finally become my father.

My late dad loved solid, dependable, comfortable sedans. Cars with seamless gearchanges, low-revving quiet engines, and plenty of shoulder, leg, and trunk room. And styling that verges on the sporty. Our family’s beloved Plymouth Fury fit that criteria in the 1960s. Likewise the new Avalon, Toyota’s most “American” car. This is a car that feels larger inside than it is. It’s stable and feels planted on the road. It’s a great highway cruiser. Not a hint of buzz, squeaks or rattles.

As my dad would say, “Man, I could drive this baby to Alaska and back!”

Recently I ran into Randy Stevens, the Avalon’s veteran chief engineer. I gushed over how much I like the latest Hybrid model. He reminded me that it’s literally a clean-sheet program. Virtually no carryover. Randy asked if my test car was delivering the EPA-estimated 43-mpg-combined fuel economy. No, only 42 mpg, I replied. But it delivers that like clockwork. Maybe the secret’s in Toyota’s “old school” battery chemistry — 204 nickel-metal hydride cells still crank out the electrons reliably — and efficiently for this nearly 3,700-lb (1,678-kg) vehicle.

Avalon should have been a finalist for the 2019 North American Car of the Year award. I voted for it, among my three top car picks. Unfortunately, the other 56 jurors thought differently. I apologized to Randy for them, but he and I both know this car is a winner.