Review 2010 Toyota Avalon: Can an ‘old school’ ride succeed in a ‘new school’ state?

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Toyota is perhaps the most conservative automaker in the world, and the Toyota Avalon is certainly the most conservative car that Toyota makes.

It defines the terms "old school" or "your father's Buick."

On the plus side the Avalon is everything you would want a big luxurious car to be…especially if your definition of a luxury car was formed during the seventies.

It has a soft sprung and luxurious ride. It has massive amounts of room in the back seat and trunk. It has an eager and powerful 3.5 liter engine that makes 268 HP. And the interior comes covered in fine leather and wood with tasteful amounts of gleaming plastic that says you've made it to middle management or beyond.

About the only the only thing missing from the Avalon that would seem out of place in the seventies are the shinny chrome accents, the V8, and of course rear-wheel-drive.

Otherwise the Avalon is faithful Asian interpretation of an American luxury car…or at least so it seems to me writing this review from a point of view of an American who grew to appreciate cars in the seventies.

If my father were still alive today he would love the Avalon.

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I, on the other hand, have a hard time connect with it. It just seems a bit out of place in Colorado where the official car of this Rocky Mountain state is the Subaru Outback (in the mountains) or perhaps the Toyota Tundra (on the plains).

And unlike the best selling Toyota Camry (which comes in a hybrid version) the Avalon is perhaps a bit too big and a bit too expensive to create that necessary local buying buzz.

My tester's sticker was a whopping $38,534.00 and that's without the locally required or available all-wheel-drive option. For that sort of cash local Colorado car shoppers will most likely look to the new, cheaper, and more utilitarian  Toyota Venza AWD.

But let's say that you don't live in Colorado and you don't need AWD at least for half of the year.

In a place like Florida the Avalon starts to make more sense. Unlike many newer cars the Avalon is the La-Z-Boy of the car world.

It is uber easy to live with and uber comfortable to drive.

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You feel like you could pilot the Avalon forever without having to stretch. The seats envelope you like a sleep number bed that doesn't need adjustment. Inside all of the main controls are just where you'd expect them to be after years of driving experience. Except of course for the navigation system which feel like a gen .05, or to put it more bluntly like it was designed when the PS2 still ruled the roost.

I actually couldn't find half of the secondary navigation controls when I first got behind wheel of the car. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself HERE.

Of course you tend to forget all of this when you have four people (make that four big guys) in the Avalon.

You know how in most new cars you always have to apologize to the people when they are stuck in the back seat. Inevitably you end up saying things like, "hold on and I'll move my seat way up so that you can bring your legs as well." Not in the Avalon.

On my weekly guys movie night I manged to have three tallish guys actually calling the back seat option  instead of the usual shotgun position.

I have to admit that I felt a bit like chauffeur, but at least I had the power.

The power to tear the front wheels loose. The Avalon is surprisingly fast in a straight line. There is no shortage of raw power to teach the guy or gal at the stop light in the Taurus a lesson…unless of course he or she happens to be driving the new SHO. 

But than again the Taurus comes in an AWD model and in Colorado this is a priceless option.

So to sum up…the Avalon is car full of contradictions. On one hand it seems to have second helping of Toyota's famous reliability and build quality, and yet at the same time it certainly skews toward a much older and perhaps wealthier demographic.

It really depends what you want in a car.

If new school utility and taunt driving dynamics are your thing the Avalon is probably not for you. But if you are looking for a more relaxed and bullet proof car that will serve you for decades without fuss…the Avalon might just be your ride.

It really just depends on your point of view.

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2010 Toyota Avalon


Price as Tested: $38,543.00

Engine, Transmission: 3.5L V-6 WT  DOHC  VVT-i Engine with 6-speed ECT Sequential Shift

Horsepower: 268

G-Tac Test Data test at 5430 feet above sea level

1/4 Mile: 15.55 seconds at 96 mph

0-60 mph: 7.35

60-0: 111 ft

Max Acceleration: 061 g's

 EPA Fuel Economy Estimates

City: 19 mpg

Highway: 28 mpg

Combined: 23 mpg

As tested: 22.7 mpg

CO2 per year: 10,207 lbs

crashed and burst into flames.

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Roman Roman Mica is a columnist, journalist, and author, who spent his early
years driving fast on the German autobahn. When he's not reviewing cars
for the active set, you can find him training for triathlons and
writing about endurance sports for, EverymanTri.com.