The best (and only) Hybrid Full Size Sedan
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| Toyota Avalon |
Whereas hybrid powertrains are relatively common among mid-size family sedans (including the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, and even the latest Chevrolet Malibu), go up one level and they’re suddenly very hard to find. There’s no hybrid version of the Ford Taurus, the Dodge Charger, the Chevrolet Impala, or the Nissan Maxima. The Buick LaCrosse offers the “eAssist” mild-hybrid powertrain (for now—a new LaCrosse is on its way for 2017), but only the Toyota Avalon comes as a full hybrid version. Other large hybrid sedans are restricted to luxury nameplates.
Leave it to Toyota to offer a hybrid where other automakers do not. After all, the company’s Hybrid Synergy Drive is available in 14 different U.S. models (six with Lexus nameplates, eight badged as Toyotas) and 40 different vehicles worldwide. The technology in the Avalon is standard Toyota hybrid fare: a gasoline engine—in this case a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder—augmented by an electric motor, which makes the car capable of traveling short distances (very short distances) at low speeds (under 20 mph) using only electric power. The nickel-metal-hydride battery pack resides behind the rear seats, which reduces trunk space from 16 to 14 cubic feet. The battery pack is replenished by regenerative braking and by the smaller of the two electric motors, which also acts as the starter motor for the gas engine and sets the drive ratio between the engine and the wheels. The engine has an auto stop-start feature, too.
The net result is 40 mpg city and 39 mpg highway, according to the EPA—not bad for a 3635-pound sedan. You will probably not be surprised to learn that in our test, fuel economy didn’t quite measure up to the agency’s forecast. We logged 30 mpg in mostly freeway driving—brisk freeway driving—that included a 500-mile round trip to Chicago.
XLE Plus
The only visual distinction between the 2015 and 2016 Avalon is a new grille and new headlights. Then again, the Avalon didn’t really need much refreshing; its edgy good looks still stand out in the relatively conservative full-size-car corral. For 2016, the Avalon also adds a new trim level—XLE Plus—between XLE and XLE Premium. Basically it brings a little more standard feature content, and it becomes the new base model for the hybrid version.
Among other standard features, our test car included 17-inch wheels, heated side mirrors with turn-signal repeaters, a sunroof, heated front seats, leather upholstery, an eight-speaker Entune audio system, a 7.0-inch touchscreen, voice command, and Bluetooth—all equipment you’d expect in a $37,485 car.
For this money, you might reasonably expect some high-tech safety features such as blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert to be part of the deal, but no dice. You might also expect adaptive cruise control, premium audio, and navigation. To be fair, the Entune audio system allows the driver to link navigation from a smartphone to the car’s touchscreen display.
“Hushed and Plush”
Toyota’s description of the Avalon interior as it cruises through the vicissitudes of daily traffic-“hushed and plush”-is an accurate characterization. Although it is in no way ostentatious, the Avalon’s roomy interior is handsomely appointed, the seats-front and rear-are long-haul comfortable, the electronic instrumentation is attractively legible, the understated décor is enhanced by excellent materials, and interior noise levels are Lexus low.
Assessed as a tasteful living room on wheels, the Avalon measures up well. It’s comfy, quiet, and capable of impressive fuel economy-presuming an owner would drive in such a way as to exploit its hybrid powertrain. In the Touring model, with its conventional V-6 powertrain, Toyota offers “sporty suspension tuning” that emphasizes the Avalon’s structural rigidity. But the Hybrid’s three trim levels don’t include the Touring spec, and the suspension is tuned to the soft side of the hush-and-plush equation. As a consequence, there’s a fair amount of body roll in vigorous cornering, the car refuses to be hurried when changing direction, and understeer progresses from mild to mulish-albeit with absolute predictability. The steering is vague and overassisted at low speeds, and the powertrain’s Sport mode-a near-oxymoron in this application-doesn’t produce a tangible difference. Considered in terms of driver engagement, the hybrid is a ho-hum experience.
Rolling on a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4 all-season tires, the Avalon posted so-so skidpad performance (0.79 g), and the same can be said for its braking distance: 178 feet from 70 mph. However, that sort of stopping distance is not uncommon among large sedans, and the brakes were fade-free.
This isn’t a performance hybrid, conceived to deliver grunt that tops the standard model. Whereas the V-6 car produces 268 horsepower, total power of the hybrid system is 200 (Toyota doesn’t rate peak system torque). Output is funneled to the front wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission consisting of a planetary gearset. With the system giving all it’s got to give, the hybrid sprints to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds—1.3 seconds behind the zero-to-60-mph run we recorded in our test of a 2013 Avalon model with the standard 3.5-liter V-6.
Hybrid Motivation
But calling for all the ponies is the antithesis of exploiting the hybrid system. The fun-to-drive element in this car comes from monitoring the various elements of the Hybrid Synergy Drive—mpg, battery state, regeneration, etc.—all tracked on a display in the space normally occupied by a tachometer.
The price premium for the hybrid versus the regular XLE Plus is $2250. How long it would take to recoup that amount in terms of fuel saved would obviously depend on how effectively the owner utilizes the hybrid capabilities. Not to mention the (likely volatile) price of gasoline over the years of ownership. But if a hybrid makes sense for you—or even just appeals to your greener tendencies—and you’re looking for a sedan that’s a cut (and size) above the Camry but not too extravagant, the Avalon is your one and only choice. Source By caranddriver.com
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