The 2013 Toyota Avalon: What the critics say

Car and Driver

Toyota apparently has a new target audience in mind for its Avalon—“those who have yet to notice their first liver spot.” A quality car since its 1994 introduction, this AARP-friendly full-size sedan got a more powerful engine in 2005 yet still had the soft comportment of a cruise ship. But the all-new 2013 Avalon is a very different craft. “Its chassis has been slipped a Viagra, there’s an emphasis on driver involvement, and the styling marks a clean break from yesteryear’s examples.”

Motor Trend

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The new Avalon actually outperforms Toyota’s own Lexus ES in most measures, particularly handling. Designed, engineered, and built on these shores, this is “one beautiful American sedan.” Exterior styling still follows the Camry’s lead, but the body is curvier and sportier, and the “modern, tech-laden” interior might be the vehicle’s strongest asset.

Automobile

“There’s yet another surprise with the Avalon, and it is found on the window sticker.” At $30,990, the entry-level XLE costs $2,200 less than last year’s model. “For modest souls” who never would have wanted to be seen driving a Lexus anyway, the Avalon could embody the best of all worlds—a terrifically capable Toyota whose features and styling “encroach on Lexus territory.”