Toyota Avalon

Sandi Pedersen, www.car-data.com

Before I even opened the door to this luxury automobile I felt the lonely pang of missing my dad. You see, he would love this car, however his last name is ‘Ford’ so he always buys the otherluxury sedan, if you catch my drift. Even so, it reminded me of him and it brought back many fondmemories.

First impressions, I really loved those cooled seats! I think that this would be an option Iwould always go for. It is a strange feeling to have an air conditioned backside, but it is a goodfeeling. Sticking to leather has not been a favorite of mine. Even though the Avalon screams’Lifestyle of the rich and famous’, the car is surprisingly affordable. My test car came in at justa little over $36,000, and that’s with about $7,000 of options added. This is a lot of bang foryour buck.

Aside from the obvious, Toyota did not aim this car at the Generation X folks. It has all thecomforts appreciated by the older generation and the mafia. Truck space is incredible and my firstthought was humm’ how many, I mean, how much could that hold? It had ample trunk space with a coollittle cubby to put milk and orange juice so it does not slide around. The grocery hooks were alittle awkward and it was hard to secure bags, but they were held in place.

Included were all the safety features we’ve come to expect in Toyota and this car made me feelsafe on the highway. It was not only big and sturdy it even came with driver knee air bags, which Ithink is a great idea. You can never have enough airbags, is my philosophy.

My test car also had a powered moon roof with sliding sunshade. I like this feature but havenever quite figured out how to equalize the pressure and howling sound when it is open. I tend toalso open all the windows, which seems to help but that makes for a rather breezy ride which wouldbe great in weather other than 96 degrees and 99% humidity.

Toyota’s ‘top of the line’ Avalon is smooth, sleek and a pleasure to drive.

I have come to the realization that when I get into a vehicle for the first time, I immediatelylook at the cup holder options. Call me shallow or just an avid coffee drinker who is seldomwithout a cup, but I found in talking to other people, women in particular, that this is a veryimportant aspect of how we feel about the vehicle.

On a scale of 1-10

Cup holders ‘ 9

The cup holders are one thing but this car seriously had a compartment for everything. ShockingI know, but some I could not fill, scary to think about, but lots and lots of space, which in a fewmore days I’m sure would have been full.