 |
| Mine |
When someone would mention the Toyota Avalon, it used
to be that you thought of retirees driving slowly with their turn signal
flashing. Then came the launch of the
total redesign in 2013, which gave the older skewed Avalon an all-around aggressive
new look, a look that caught my eye immediately. It wasn’t only the sharp new exterior styling,
the most noticeable change was Toyota’s tightening of the suspension for better
handling and improved feedback to the driver.
The former stodgy, floating chassis of the traditional Avalon could now
move with confidence, regardless of what the driver handed it. Some older drivers complained. I drove it and loved it!
So the Avalon was redesigned, and in my opinion
improved, delivering the best of both worlds: it could handle with spirit
around town, as well as provide hours of comfort on the open road. It impressed me enough to turn my test drive
into a purchase. Fast forward from 2013
to earlier this week. All cars at one time
or another are named for a recall, even a Toyota, even my Avalon. Reluctantly, I took my car in for a recall to
replace both seat backs, an all-day repair.
My dealer set me up with a rental from our friends at Enterprise
Rent-A-Car. Minutes later, as chance
would have it, I was driving a brand new, gray, 2015 Avalon.
 |
| Theirs |
It was an easy transition for me to go from driving
mine to theirs (a great customer service move by Enterprise, giving a customer
a car they are familiar and comfortable with).
But I noticed immediately that the 2015 Avalon was essentially the same,
but noticeably different. Something was
not quite right. The rental Avalon was
Toyota’s high-end Sport model, with paddle shifters and their variable control suspension
tuning and engine performance controls, sporting its Norm/Sport/Eco modes. Being the top of the line, it should have
impressed. Instead, it left me anxious
to get my Avalon back.
The more I drove it, the more I wondered, could it be
that Toyota launched the new Avalon to a whole lot of fanfare, delivering the
quality its customer expected, then scaled back to save money? Something had changed from 2013 and 2015 that
seemed to lessen the thrill of the Avalon.
It seemed cheaper!
For example:
-
The dash on the rental seemed to have more
shiny reflective surfaces, giving it a plastic, cheaper look.
-
The trolley mechanism for the sunroof seemed
noisier, closing with a weak clink instead of the confident thunk of my car’s
roof.
-
The back-up camera had more complex
graphics, making it harder to read and accurately interpret distances.
-
The display of the high-end sound system in
the rental, with Sirius Satellite Radio, made no sense. They ruined the logical presentation of my
Avalon’s system.
I was so happy when I finally climbed back into my
beautiful white Avalon. The moral of my
story: don’t hesitate to buy a redesigned vehicle the first year it’s offered,
when the manufacturer has their best foot forward. Don’t worry about them getting the bugs out
of a new design run. Get your dream car
before cost overruns erode the little things that made the car special. Love the Avalon, I just love mine more.
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