2021 Avalon Hybrid

This page describes one person's impressions of the many aspects of owning a 2021 Toyota Avalon Limited Hybrid. I think it is the 4th of this kind of "review" I have done and is informed by my experiences and that of others whose online opinions I have read.

It is as honest as I can make it. Warts and all.

My wife bought a 2021 Toyota Avalon Limited Hybrid with the Advanced Safety Package in January of 2021. Her 2011 Avalon Limited had been a great car but she said it was time. She had driven my Prius v, my current 2019 Rav4 hybrid, a Venza hybrid, a Highlander hybrid and this car. I think she made the choice largely on similarity to her current car. The seats had a big influence as she has a bad back. 7.7k miles, 8 months, no issues. One service visit (free) for Toyota-care oil change and tire rotation.

Likes

1. Drivers seats are comfortable and move back when exiting the car and reposition when entering. Likewise the steering wheel moves to allow easy entry and exit. Never had that before.

2. The safety important functions of turn signals, light and wipers are all on familiar steering column stalks.

3. The under the center armrest storage is deeper than her previous Avalon.

4. Obviously MPG. She has been getting mid 30s on short trips during the winter. On an interstate trip at 70 MPH, she exceeded 43.

5. Our local dealer's service. 4th Toyota we have taken there.

6. That tire pressures can be monitored from the app on her phone. Also an option on the front of driver screen when stopped.

7. That it has a spare tire.

8. Head Up Display. Love that it displays speed and navigation info. (And yes it is "head up" and not "heads up". Keep your head up. You only have one.)

9. It has a digital speedometer in addition to the worthless 160 MPH pseudo-analog one. Really, who is going to drive this car that fast and using that scale makes the analog speedometer very hard to read. Waste of display real estate

10. It has a brilliant MPG readout that simultaneously shows you your historical MPG, your this trip MPG and your instantaneous MPG. Great for training your right foot.

Dislikes

1. The GPS built in does not consistently allow you to input the city when entering an address. The sequence state, city, street number in multiple inputs (as in my Rav4) seems so much more logical and is what a 2019 Rav4 Limited Hybrid uses.

2. The punch the lock button on the drivers and front passenger's door handle are not as obvious as her prior '11 Avalon. Works the same, just took RTFM to find that it had it.

3. The Owner's Manuals are for all trim levels and all English speaking countries so some sections don't match this car's trim level or options.

4. The case the Owner's Manuals come in is cheap vinyl and the corners rip easily enough that the car was delivered that way. 2 years earlier and they were leather (perhaps simulated) and more sturdy. On a $46,600+ list price car!

5. Delivery quality. Dent in trunk top. Fixed via paintless dent pull out at next trip to dealer. Tire PSI 2 PSI variance between tires per TPMS. Otherwise good.

6. Wind noise. Seems louder than her 2011 Avalon V6. I wonder if there is sound deadening in the doors.

7. I find it easier to get in and out of a Rav4 than the Avalon, she doesn't.

8. The dealer's walk-through was intense. Instructor really knew the features of this particular car. My wife is "interface challenged". She uses a 'droid in crude mode. The instructor was much younger and used an iPhone. My wife ended up with a headache. Two days later I went over the controls with her omitting the fancy features the phone app provides because she will never use them. She got it. An Avalon buyer is liable to be more like my wife than I am. I tend to just drive off and RTFM later. Different personality types. Tailor the walk-through to the interests and background of the buyer.

9. No "under the bumper with the foot" trunk release. No power assisted trunk lid raising either. Trunk up and down is really handy when you have your hands full.

10. The trunk is noticeably smaller than her non-hybrid 2011 Avalon.

11. I prefer tires with a taller sidewall both for softness of ride and ability to withstand striking a pothole without damage to the wheel itself.

12.

13. The doors are huge and keeping them from hitting another car is a challenge. At fully open, I can't reach the inside door pull handle. I'm 6'.

14. There apparently is an audio alert available when the Blind Side Monitor (BSM) detects a car in one of your blind spots with turn signals on. But it isn't documented in the owner's manual and is only available via TechStream at the dealers who can set it for various levels.

15. The tone of the pedestrian warning system that sounds when moving at slow speeds using the battery. Mandated by the government as too many people never detected the almost silent car moving through a parking lot.