By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(January 6, 2018) I was somewhat surprised when looking at the window sticker for the Toyota Avalon Limited Hybrid to note that it was a 2018 model, not a 2017. The change in model years for the Avalon had slipped past unnoticed, with a new Avalon — based on the modular TNGA structure shared with the latest Prius and Camry — set to debut at the Detroit show in a week.

Not much has changed with the current car for 2018. In fact, I’m not sure anything has changed for 2018 other than shortening the names of the trim levels. After all, why would you make significant changes to a car that you’re about to replace? Especially when that car isn’t lagging the rest of the market in terms of refinement or equipment.

The Limited is the top trim level, building upon the lower levels and adding (or replacing) equipment on that list. Unlike the lower spec versions, you get navigation with turn-by-turn directions shown on the information display in the instrument cluster, a three-zone climate control unit with air filter and rear seat outlets, upgraded leather trim on the steering wheel and perforated premium leather on the seats, an eight-way power adjustable passenger front seat and 10-way adjustable driver seat, heating and ventilation for the front seats, heated rear seats, and instrumentation specific to the hybrid powertrain.

It’s a nice package, and one that makes you wonder why — other than the nameplate — folks buy the Lexus ES350. The Avalon is subtly handsome, roomy, and — believe it or not — has slightly more personality. Yeah, the ES350 may have more stuff, but the Avalon has a less challenging front fascia. It’s much easier to look at.

The hybrid powertrain combines a 2.5-liter inline four running an Atkinson combustion cycle with a permanent magnet AC synchronous motor, and a sealed nickel-metal hydride battery pack.  The gasoline engine produces 156 horsepower and 156 lb.-ft. of torque, while the electric motor pumps out 105 kW and 199 lb.-ft. Being a hybrid, however, you can’t just add the numbers together and come up with an overall number. So the 105 kW (141 hp) from the electric motor and the 156 hp from the gas engine only add up to 200 overall horsepower, not 297. The same is true of the torque output, where the two systems hand off to each other with minimal overlap.

Acceleration is brisk but not exciting, with 0-60 mph taking a bit less than eight seconds. Handling is more of what you’d expect of a large car, with a plush ride and more than a hint of understeer that doesn’t veer into the pillowy ride/lifeless steering/barge-like acceleration combination found on a mid-70s American full-size sedan. A well-driven Avalon can make relaxed work of a winding back road, but it won’t ever come close to the textbook definition of “involving.” It also won’t leave you wishing you were driving something — anything — else.

And now to the reason for the Avalon Hybrid, fuel economy. The EPA rates the car at 40 city/39 highway/40 combined, great numbers for so large and luxurious a vehicle. In the real world, our test car returned a solid 38 mpg in combined driving, with 41 mpg highway possible.

Fuel economy is a big plus for the Avalon Hybrid as it returns mileage real world numbers more expected of a vehicle one to two classes smaller in size. And it does so without giving up any of the size, quietness or luxury of a full-size car. The biggest mark against it at this time is the fact that it is about to be replaced by a sleeker version with even better economy.

Then again, if you don’t have to own the latest and greatest version, this might just be the leverage you need to get a good deal from your local Toyota store before the 2018 model, like the 2017, quietly slips away.

The Virtual Driver