Introduction: The Toyota Avalon began in 1995 after Toyota discontinued the Cressida in 1992. Unlike the Cressida which was a totally different vehicle from much of Toyota's lineup the Avalon was instead a Camry platform that was stretched to hold the bigger body. As a result much of the components were Camry components unlike the Cressida which had more Supra components. Despite being longer and wider than the Cressida the Avalon has not yet grown to the size of America's full size entries it has only reached this status in 2005.
The Avalon is not exactly a car that I liked, primarily because it replaced the Cressida when that car was exactly what Toyota needed to prove it wasn't for old people. Still I was willing to give it a chance to see whether it at least can fulfill being Toyota's flagship car.
Performance: The 2004 Avalon uses a 3.0 L V6, one of Toyota's earliest efforts to use a aluminum block instead of an iron block to reduce weight. This particular V6 was used in the first Avalon back then producing 190 hp. In this car, the V6 received variable valve timing to not only increase efficiency but also increased the power to 210 hp and 222 lb.ft of torque. This allowed the Avalon to reach 0-100 in about 8.3 seconds, not necessary good in the 21st century but better than other attempts. In the Avalon this V6 is very smooth and quiet, its not exactly one that likes to play though and when pushed it quietly roars but doesn't bring an explosion of power. Its rather reserved and seems to fit the manner Toyota wanted the car to have.
My Score: 8/10 - Quiet, calm power. Not exactly an exciting engine however.
Handling: This is the big difference between a Cressida and the Avalon. One is capable of cornering the other one just flat out isn't. The Avalon is a pretty terrible car to go around corners. Much of the comfortable ride it produces has ruined its ability to take corners without understeering badly and the body roll is pretty downright poor too. The Camry components just weren't meant to take any corner well, a complete difference to the Supra designed ones on a Cressida. The steering wheel is also another matter, the Avalon has a very light wheel one that feels disconnected from the actual steering. Old people like this, but anybody young or middle aged wouldn't. This is actually very American of a car...good in a straight line...terrified of corners.
My Score: 2/10 - Downright poor at handling. The soft suspension produces such a bad experience in the corners, its embarrassing that its predecessor is superior while providing most of the comfort.
Interior: This is where the Avalon should excel, an interior that is luxurious and comfortable. Its got one thing correct the other one wrong, the Avalon is very comfortable being spacious and having a cloud-like ride. Luxuries however are missing, you get your standard power options but...there's nothing high tech or neat about the car. The materials are a mix in terms of quality, the seats are good the dash trim is not. The Avalon is built in the United States...this is not the best built Toyota having seen a few panels that don't fit or were misaligned. A pretty conventional interior, but nothing that makes me think luxurious, heck its actually pretty low tech.
My Score: 6/10 - A average interior that is comfortable but belongs to the 20th century.
Styling: This version of the Avalon tried to be something different from other Toyotas. My only problem is...its trying to look American during a time when looking American isn't exactly a great thing. Looking like 60s American cars is a great thing since they mostly all looked great with lots of expression. Looking like 90s American cars...is not, they rather boring and lost much of their sense of style. The styling actually goes right with Buick's lineup with the big grille and conservative styling, unfortunately that means it will only attract these people as customers.
My Score: 6/10 - Old people will love the look, others will look at it and think its too old looking for them.
Value for money: This it the big problem with the Avalon and why its sales are slow. Its fighting against 2 of its brothers. The Camry V6 XLE and the ES300, the Camry being the less expensive but medium sized of the bunch while the ES is the luxurious one but the smallest of the bunch. The Avalon is just the big one...its actually close in price to an ES leaving you with this decision. Do you want the best value or the bunch, the most luxurious or the biggest? If you want the best value the Camry wins, if you want the more luxurious one the ES wins and if you want the biggest one the Avalon wins. If you truly need the space you have to choose the Avalon, but if you don't...it doesn't offer that much. The competition is also much cheaper from GM and Ford, for a conventional flagship...its value is pretty high considering its not an engineering marvel.
My Score: 3/10 - Having a Toyota badge but not offering much more than a Camry and being nearly as expensive as a Lexus ES hurts the Avalon. GM and Ford also offer much less expensive full size cars and in the case of GM offers more space. Its a bit hard to justify the price of the Avalon knowing full well the Camry gets everything it gets.
Overall: 25/50 - Funny how the score is a barely pass, but then again the Avalon as a flagship does a pretty terrible job. Toyota could be doing so much more with its flagship car, this is merely just a fill in the gap car and it shows after you drive older Toyotas like the Cressida. This is not the best car Toyota could make, that's really all there is to it. The top of the line Toyota of 2004 should not be lower tech or even equal to the ones dating from 1977-1992.
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