2013 Avalon Hybrid

it really is priuschat and other hybrids. always has been. and ev's and fcv's and whatever other alternatives they come up with. many own or owned a prius and...

 

Why be restrictive about other hybrids in our posts? Most of the posts about camry and Avalon are for those who are looking for a car with characteristics that a prius lacks. I have a 2012 Hycam my wife drives on the interstate I have a prius c for in town. I highly recommend both cars, but for different reasons. The camry is fast and handles amazing with low profile tires and stability control ect.. still gets 40 plus mpg. While the prius c is not fast and drives like a light hatchback because it is a light hatch. It gets almost 60 mpg for the 8000 miles I have driven it. We love both cars.

 

Ok , took a test drive and it was perfect except for usable space. The Prius is the champ for usable space with fold down rear seats.

Another issue we noticed is the leather interior on the 2015 smelled like kerosene on two vehicles. The cloth smelled like a new car.
Very odd. Are they faking the leather or is this a protective coating?

 

Anyone know what the 12volt battery is in the Avalon. I accidentally opened that door and saw the outline, doesn't look like a Prius battery, maybe because it is in the trunk rather than the passenger area, just curious. Tried to find some info in the owners manual, not very helpful, they just try to steer you to the dealer.

 

don't know, but the hycam is much larger than the prius. are you having trouble?

 

No, just curious, the only reason was that in putting my golf clubs in the trunk I knocked the cover off the battery compartment and in looking at the battery I noticed it look bigger than my Prius battery.

 

I've owned my TAH Limited for 15 months and 14,000 miles. Some people think the ride is a bit too harsh and the seat bottoms hard. If you are considering buying one and these attributes are important to you pay close attention to these two areas. Otherwise, the car is outstanding. I get about 37 mpg on average annually. As a reference point, I get about 47 mpg annually on my 2010 Prius.

Of course, the TAH has a trunk, not a hatchback like the Prius. The TAH trunk is 14 cu. ft., compared to 10 to 12 cu. ft. for other hybrid sedans. The extra 2 to 4 cu. ft. is very useful when packing for long road trips, which is what the TAH does best.

 

are you speaking to me or munpot?

 

Neither. Universal report.

 

ah, thanks! when you say 'some people think', do you agree?

 

Unfortunately yes. Rough ride and hard seat bottoms are probably the two things most complained about on the below Toyota Nation (TN) forum.

4th Generation (2013+) - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

However, I added additional foam to the front seat bottoms and now considered the hard seat bottom problem solved. In fact, with the additional foam, my TAH Limited 10-way power seats are now very luxurious and the best of any car I have owned. Below is a link to my DIY post on TN:

How to Install Additional Foam in Avalon Seat Bottom - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

If rough/harsh ride is an issue, DO NOT get 18" wheels with the 45 series Bridgestone tires. The 17" wheels with 55 series Michelin Primacy tires have a much more comfortable ride. This is more of an issue for older folks like me. The younger bucks, not so much.

All said and done, these two things are subjective. Overall, I think the TAH Limited is way ahead of anything else in its class. I also think the Limited is well worth the extra bucks over the lower trim levels.

 

thanks, i would prefer the soft smooth ride as well, which our hycam provides. could be the oem tyres, i don't know.

 

I have a 2014 Avalon Hybrid XLE Touring. It came equipped with 17 inch wheels and Michelin Primacy Grand Touring MXV4 tires. It has a smooth quiet ride. As I have become older I am pretty hard to please when it comes to car seats. I have only been on one road trip of 300 miles. I find the seat to be firm but not hard--so far. I was not uncomfortable on the 300 mile trip. I like the car.

 

it takes a good 12 hour, 500 mile day to give the seats a thorough review.

 

When you installed the additional foam in your seats were the seat heaters affected in any way?

 

The foam is installed under the seat heater fabric so there is no effect on the seat heater.

The holes for seat cooling are blocked by the foam making it unusable; but, this does not bother me because I do not like the seat cooling function.

You can see and read about this better in my TN DIY post link above.

 

Thanks for your reply. Very good information.

 

It just depends on how sensitive one is. A roundtrip to the beach for us is about 300 miles. That is no problem. We also drive from Maryland to Missouri, about 865 miles in one day. That is a real test. With the additional foam installed I still have no problem, but my wife uses a gel pad.

 

I think I am pretty sensitive. My 300 mile one way trip I had no problem but I am wondering how the seats will be for me with a longer trip like you mentioned. If I have any problems on a longer trip I will not hesitate to put additional foam in my seats like you did. My seats are firm. I'm concerned about them on a long trip of about 500 miles one way.