DARKMAZ8

Yesterday, I was extremely bored so me and a friend went to the auto mall and test drove a bunch of cars....One of which was the newly designed 2005 Toyota Avalon......

now, when you think of the avalon, you are probably thinking about the bland boring retirement cruiser.....well, Toyota has totally redesigned the car and it starts with replacing the camry 3.0v6 4spd auto with a 3.5 v6 and a 5spd auto/tiptronic transmission......this car is fwd and now boasts 280hp with 260lbs/torque......all I have to say is wow....this car gallops and at a smige under 3500lbs I have no doubt it is a 14 second car!!! I didn't really test the handling capabilities but it definately is no slouch in the corners if you drive the touring model....I really enjoyed the drive as it drives like a lexus at heart....very refined feel with interior room that competes only with the top sedans on the market...I think Toyota may have a winner here.....one thing I like about the rear seats is that they fold 60/40 and can be adjusted for further comfort of the rear passengers....also for a 3.5l V6 you'd think that gas milage would be affected.....well your wrong...the new powertrain sucks gas through a straw and acheives 22/31 mpg....which is actually an improvement from the last 3.0L v6....all and all, if you're looking for a daily driver that packs comfort, safety, reliability, sport, practicality, refinement and Lexus luxury at a discount....I would choose the Avalon hands down.......Here are some pics....

cas2themoe

I looked inside one while I was at the Dealership the other day. I must admit, its very nice!

DreRX8

Its not a 14 second car--its still heavy--while it is a definite improvement over the last yawn (which is one of my least favorite cars of all time) its far from 'Perfection'. Overall I am not impressed with this car. 0-60 was like high 6 seconds to low 7 seconds versus like 9 seconds for the old ones.

DARKMAZ8

Sorry to clarify what I ment by perfection.....I think it is perfect for what it is trying to accomplish....It's not a sportcar by any means but a great everyday car...

maybe not quite 14 seconds but for sure low 15z...

Ike

I'd still rather have a Maxima <shrugs>

DARKMAZ8

From a performance standpoint it does offer more ...But go check out both cars in person back to back and tell me which is better quality overall.....Nissan can't hold a candle to Toyota quality...the plastics, leg room, fuel economy, refinement and I wouldn't say that the maxima out shines in performance by much.....Go test drive them both....I did and I hated the previous Avalon...

cas2themoe

The Maxima's interior is so plain, but does offer better performance. But a lot of people on here, thats all they look at.

s13lover

Just another ugly sedan. Sure it is better than the last model, but its still a Toyota Buick.

m477

I liked the old school Maximas, but other than the engine, the newer ones just don't feel that great to me.

Hotsauce

I had a 2002 Toyota Avalon that I sold to get my Rx-8. It was a nice car with plenty of room with Lexus like quality and ride. I use to refer to it as a "Poor man's Lexus". One thing I can say about that Avalon is that it did its job as a people mover and it did it well. It could haul 5 adults in comfort , I use to take it on business trips and my co-workers would tell me how comfortable it was.

We could also fit my family of 5 easily although it wasn't a good idea to have 3 kids sitting next to each other in the back seat. So we didn't take it on long trips, that was a job for the Sienna. And that's why we sold it plus it was boring to drive. But I wouldn't call that Avalon a "Toyota Buick". It definitely was better built and handled better than Buicks. If you installed stiffer springs, cat-back exhaust, intake, and bigger tires you would have a sporting sedan.
But no need to now just buy a 2005.

DreRX8

actually--Toyota prides itself at marketing the Avalon as a Buick competitor. The average age of the Avalon buyer is almost 70. I absolutely hate the old ones--this new one is decent though; interior is very nice and 280HP is always good--but front wheel drive though--yuck. My Millenia S is front wheel drive with about 210-215HP and the torque steer and understeer are horrible.

PaulieWalnuts

I rented a low mile Maxima a couple of days ago and:

Pros
- It's very quick
- Sounds great
- What a great engine overall

Cons
- Chintzy interior
- Funky exterior
- Strange A/C and radio controls
- Squirly handling at speeds over 70
- Massive torquesteer

As for the Avalon, they have perfected the Buick.

1SICKLEX

THe new Avalon has gotten runs of 0-60 in 6.6 and sub 15 second 1/4 mile times. Its pretty swift for its size and market.

Steiner

Toyota needs to put that engine in a sports car like Nissan did with the 350Z.

BTW...Buick has great build quality, reliabilty, and resale. They are very un-GM-ish in my experience. My whole family drives them.

rx8wannahave

It's better than the previous car BUT...it's no sport sadan either. The best sport sadan's out there right now are:

In the $45-30,000 range

G35
BMW 330
M45

Note: All are rwd and all look nice

Price does not matter:

Caddy CTS-V (Ohhh mama, it is a TRUE sports sadan)
BMW M5
Mercedes AMG sadans

If I needed a 4 door sport sadan I would have gotten the G35 4dr (used of course I can't afford a 30K+ car) Ha ha...in a few years...maybe the CTS-V...lol

FWD...just does not equal TRUE "Sports Sadan" in my opinion

DreRX8

Agreed--I hate the looks of the CTS though. The Avalon is fine for those in the market for a Buick--but I'll pass. Its a 100% improvement over the last one. I cannot express my disdain enough for the previous Avalons.

rx8wannahave

Yeah, the CTS is not the best looker nor is the interior good looking either...but that sweet V8, tough front (and grill), and very good handling make it one hell of an American sports sadan.

Steiner

The new RWD CTS-V is disgustingly quick and agile. By brother in law sells them for a living and took one home over Thanksgiving weekend. I didn't get to drive it but I was really blown away by the smooth ride and acceleration even from the passenger seat. It was nothing short of an M3 like ride...in fact I felt it was superior in feel and power to my sister's new convertible S4.

DreRX8

Its far more sporting than a convertible S4--while nice cars it is about 65HP shy of the CTSV. While they are unattractive inside and out, there is no denying its performance. Not impressed with the STS-V or XLR-V though. They are watered down AMG clones.

babylou

Those watered down AMG clones are at least 30% lower cost and more reliable. Not to mention many of us actually think the new Cadillac styling is nicer than soap bar German styling. Finally, German nationalism always favors buying home built products just as most other nations do, so why the hell shouldn't we?

In case you are wondering I have owned a CTS-V for quite a while now.

DreRX8

Point taken. While I definately endorse and applaud GMs assault on the Germans--however, I am not liking the styling of the STS at all--the CTS is ok--but I like the design of the Chrysler 300s more than the CTS as far as American sedans go. The XLR-V is a nice piece and I like the design but at $100,000 or $75K+ for the N/A XLR I don't know about that. While I am as patriotic as any American--for that kind of cash I'm on the fence. CTS-V is a car that I want to love. I like its performance but the styling hasn't grown on me yet.

spork

this is kinda threadjacking but i think people might find it interesting.

in a somewhat recent issue of automobile (i think) magazine they had an article about germans and their views toward car brands. they asked what brands they thought most highly of. the top answers were like bmw, mercedes, audi, vw, porsche, etc. japanese brands were randomly all over the place (from middle high to middle low). then they checked the customer satisfaction of germans for car brands. the top brands that germans were happy with? toyota, lexus, honda, subaru... BMW was fairly low and Mercedes was 2nd from last. Right above Land Rover I think.

oh yeah, i don't like the way the non suv caddys look (too boxy for me) and i won't get a caddy until they prove to me they're a good reliable brand. my dad had a caddy a long time ago. yes, i realize cadillac got much better, but the memories i have of that car bad. like... my parents taking it to the shop every other week. them being scared of red lights because if you stopped at a red light the engine may die and it may take a few minutes to start again. my dad would always slow down when lights were red to avoid stopping.

my parents used to buy american cars. we had a buick and then a cadillac. once they went japanese, that was it, with the exception of a plymouth grand voyager mini van. which also died strangely enough with similar problems as the cadillac. BUT it lasted quite a while (over 10 years).

rx8wannahave

spork...you are tainted, poor guy....lol

American cars are not as bad as people say they are, nor are they as good as American car companies make them out to be.

What ticks me off is that we invented the car (maybe not completely alone while I think I am right about that) and our quality slowly became worse than the cars we made fun of (Japan, German, etc automobiles enter here)

I really admire the Japanese for striving after quality
I really admire the Germans for their luxuary/sport cars.

But I'm truly sad about American car companies being made fun of considering they started it all. It's time, as I have said before, for the American car companies to stop trying to compete...and be the leaders again.

Care about your product, care about your customer...respect...BUT KICK THE HECK OUT OF YOUR COMPETITION so that American's have no choice but to buy American cars again because they are the leaders instead of the option when buying a car.

Ta...ta ta-ta taaaaa ta, taaaa ta ta ta ta...ta...taaaaaa....ta

DreRX8

Wasn't Mercedes the first car?

No More Oldsmobiles

Two words: Ford Maverick