2006 Toyota Avalon consumer reviews

BEEN A TOYOTA OWNER SINCE 1985 AND STILL HAVE A 1992 CAMERY RUNNING JUST FINE WENT TO PURCHASE A NEW CAMRY AFTER MY 2005 CAMRY WAS TOTALED I DROVE AN AVALON THAT DID IT JUST CAME BACK FROM A 5200 MILE TRIP AND IT WAS SO RELAXING DRIVING THE AVALON MILEAGE WAS BETWEEN 31 AND 38 ON HIWAY AND ABOUT 24 TO 27 OTHERWISE MY WIFE AND I LOVE THE CAR

I have a 2001 Prius, a 2005 Prius, a MBZ that I turned in, and went in to buy a Camry hybrid. I loved the Camry Hybrid, but on a lark, I test drove the Avalon Limited. WOW! I could not believe that the price difference was only $4,000. I was amazed that the Limited was 20% more car for only a little more money, and came back a day later to buy it. Some decisions are best slept on! Driver comfort was going to be a challenge with any car I bought. I am 6'4" and my wife is 5'3". The car had to be adaptable to both, and it certainly is. I don't know how the drivers who are 6'2 and 6'1 can complain unless they are all legs; I put the seat all the way back, lean the seat back a little, and it's PERFECT. The seats are comfortable, supportive, and almost infinately adjustable. I pleasure to ride in, short or long distance. The climate controls can be split, which is an advantage because my wife likes it warmer than I do. Ditto on the heated/cooled seats, because she doesn't like the cold air but I love it. The performance of the car is nothing short of amazing. Stomp on the gas, it has loads of torque and passes cars easily (your mileage will vary). It's not as light on the gas as my Prius but if you do a lot of highway miles, it will sip a lot slower than a Benz. The lazer controlled cruise control is hard to get used to at first, but is a feature that is quite useful (though is not fog-friendly). There were no defects on delivery (though I had to figure out the GPS package). Styling, both in and out, is very eurocar, and should please almost everyone unless you want a Ferrari. Lots of rounded edges, plenty of storage, a pass-thru to the trunk, full size spare, features through the moonroof, and a lot of car for the money. Seats 5 comfortably, and there is enough back seat legroom to qualify as a limo, or use it as a taxi (which is how I bet it's used in Japan). Reliability for Avalons has always been the best in industry, and I give this car a 9.2 on a 10 point scale. You can't go wrong with this one!

For space, value and comfort this car is unbeatable. Performance is good but handling is rather vague and mushy. My wife loves it but I preferred our BMW. Avoid the active cruise control. It's awful. Gets 24mpg in local use and 33 on highway.

Okay, so mine's not a 2006 model, it's a 2001. . . . however, we bought it brand new, it has 236,000 miles, and we have done NOTHING except replace tires and install one set of brakes. This is an amazing car. It still looks great and runs great. Whenever it decides to expire, then we'll buy a new Avalon; no doubt about it. It's comfortable to travel in and the main reason we bought it to begin with is because my husband is 6'2" tall and the car had lots of leg room. It's a quality car with quality features.

consumer reports loves this car. However, the same car with a U.S. manufacturer name would be despised by them. This is supposed to be Toyota's flagship-maybe they should have named it "Titanic." The looks are okay. Engine performance is very good. That's it. The driver's seat is atrocious-like sitting on a wood block. I'm 6'1" and have to put the seat way back but it is still not far enough. Then the steering wheel is too far away-even though it telescopes. I've driven LOTS of cars. This is by far, the worst driving position of anything - even worse than the garbage truck I drove once. The "upgraded" stereo is weak. The transmission is poor. The handling is okay but nothing to write home about. This car is very overpriced and doesn't warrant the high ratings by Consumer Reports - but they have a love affair with Toyota.

I went in for a camry, walked out with an Avalon. I test drove the only Avalon they had available, the Touring model. As described in the expert reviews it does have a gritty feel which really is what you would expect after modifications for better handling. We got a hold of a used XLS that was in negotiations and it gave a much more comfortable ride. We were pretty satisfied with the Avalon so far. I asked about the features of the limited and without even experiencing one, scary, we purchased a Limited Avalon with the features we wanted and the color we wanted. The car arrived, we completed the paper work, and drove off. I CAN NOT EXPLAIN TO YOU THE SATISFACTION OF OUR PURCHASE!! With the limited version, the added push button start, keyless entry, heated and cooled seats, JBL sound system, imitation wood grain, responsive manual shift almost duplicated by the automatic transmission in performance, we are VERY pleased with this purchase. What was once thought of as a retirement vehicle has turned into a youthful sporty luxury line with its new look.. The added push button start with keyless entry means I literally NEVER have to take the keys out of my pocket. For those who worry about the safety of this feature, stop worrying, alot of thought was put into it. Short example, the vob would have to be physically inside of the car to activate the push button start. If I open the front driver door, the alarm will shut off and only the driver door will unlock versus if I had opened any other door, the alarm would shutoff and all doors would unlock. Then there are the small things that bring comfort. Two seat memory buttons which can be associated to the vobs that you carry. Depending on which vob unsets the alarm the seat will automatically position itself for that driver. The steering mounted audio and air condition controls are especially nice features. The surround speaker design and optional setting provides a unique sound that you can�t find in most vehicles as well. As you can see in one of the comments from the expert reviews, "a slimmer LCD screen would be a better use of the space", you really have to search for something significantly wrong with this car. As far as I'm concerned, overall, Toyota comes pretty close to perfection with this Avalon when it comes to being satisfied with what you have purchased.

excellent fit and finish-rear legroom is near-limousine like. Suspension a bit too soft...but very quiet cruiser, with lots of passing power, and 31mpg

Initially I thought this was an unbeatable car. I was wrong. While the perfomance is very good, especially considering the mileage you get, it is a very uncomfortable car. I am 6'2". With the seat positioned totally down and all the way back, there is little leg room for the driver. Then the positioning of the tilt/telescope steering is much too far away to be useable. The console intrudes on the leg well. The pedals are awkwardly positioned so that your feet get cramped very quickly. The seats are rock-hard and short cushioned. They cut into your thighs and cause pain. I will be selling this car ASAP!!