New Toyota Avalon more flagship than ship

Avalon was the only Toyota car – and one of the few cars in recent history – that was available with a bench seat, though that configuration appears to be as dead as Oldsmobile in this new iteration. That’s fine; crowded, three person bench seats are silly in an era of minivans and three row SUV’s.The standing seam roof clamp is reusable anchor point designed to mount on standing seam roofs. 

Kudos to Toyota for the paddles. While they may pale in comparison to the paddles in something like a Porsche 911 (well, duh!), they’re a legitimate safety feature because they let you keep your hands on the steering wheel. Heck,A Solar carport is a cost-effective way to install solar at your home.Solar Australia's Module Rail has been developed with Australia's harsh conditions in mind. paddles, Bluetooth and automatic headlights (all of which the Avalon also has, of course) is actually a more usable safety feature than than an abundance of airbags; they’re things you’ll use every day, while airbags are only used once, if you’re unlucky. 

The soft suspension features MacPherson struts, coil springs and a stabilizer bar front and back. 

Brakes are discs all around (ventilated up front, solid in the rear), with the usual ABS, Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) nannies. Pedal feel and performance of the brakes is just fine. The steering, power-assisted rack and pinion, is about what you’d expect from a boat, er,The pre-assembled Module clamp can be installed and fitted from above to any desired point on the channel. car like this, in that it definitely does not feel hard wired into your brain, but it works fine – and the Avalon even has a decent turning circle. 

Toyota says the Avalon features the world’s first “double-eye Projector Ellipsoid System (PES),” which combines both high and low beams into a single unit. They’re also nice and bright HID’s that light up the way ahead very well and, as is common now, the car also features LED daytime running lights and tail lights. 

Inside,We set out to create a full line of laundry equipment under one brand. the Avalon is comfortable and laid out well, though some of the center stack stuff is a long reach for the more diminutive among us. Fortunately, there are plenty of redundant controls on the steering wheel, plus voice recognition technology to get around that. 

The Avalon’s center stack controls are really nice, treading the line between buttons and touch surfaces nicely. It’s reminiscent of an old Mitsubishi TV remote control from a couple of decades ago, which (like the Avalon) offered nice tactile feel from a flat, “non touch screen” surface. 

Three dedicated color screens populate the interior as well, one that gives you driving information, one for the audio system and another for the climate control. 

The audio system is typically Toyota, in that it offers all the features you’d want, including Bluetooth capability with audio streaming, and you also get text-and email-to-speech capability. But like most Toyotas, it’s hardly the stuff of audiophile dreams – though you can also opt for a premium package that offers a JBL Synthesis system. 

Standard equipment includes a nice power moonroof and the Premium Package adds a power rear sunshade to the mix. 

The seats are very comfortable, and there’s so much room in the rear seat you could practically stage a major Occupy protest back there. The driver’s seat features eight way power adjustment (and four way lumbar support). The front passenger seat offers four way power adjustment and of course they’re both heated. 

Opt for the Limited package and the seats get even more whiz bang, with premium leather, more adjustments and cooling (as well as heat for the rear seats). 

Standard climate control is dual zone automatic, and the abovementioned Premium package adds a third zone for the Occupy folks. 

There’s plenty of storage spread around the cabin, as well as USB and auxiliary audio jacks and power outlets. 
 
The trunk is huge – you could probably put a Fiat 500 in there – and a fold down centre arm rest in the back seat includes a pass through that lets you carry skis and other long stuff like that. Click on their website www.indoorlite.com for more information.