2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review

Name: 2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review
Brand: Toyota

Price Range: $24,500 - $39,998

Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited Sedan Exterior

The 2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid is a cruiser that does exactly what you'd expect — provide a comfortable ride and sip fuel in the process. But it has a few tricks up its sleeve, too. It turns out to be surprisingly capable on twisty roads, and cabin materials are near-luxury. New for the redesigned model are folding rear seats and a cargo area that offers the same amount of room as the non-hybrid.

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2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

The Toyota Avalon Hybrid returns unchanged for 2020
Part of the fifth Avalon generation introduced for 2019

Cost to Drive

Monthly estimates based on costs in Virginia

$90/mo

$198/mo

Avg. Large Car

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Toyota Avalon Hybrid Owner Reviews

4.6

56 reviews

5(77%)

4(18%)

3(0%)

2(3%)

1(2%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Technology and Comfort with Hybrid Efficiency

Californian, 07/05/2019

2019 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

When technology and comfort come together, you have a really great vehicle to drive. Fitting a car to drivers 6-1 and 5-3 is not easy, but the number of memorized adjustments that the Avalon Limited’s front seats, wheel, lumbar support, and mirrors have, make it easy. I would prefer another inch or so of headroom under the sunroof as having only an inch and a half feels a bit tight. The … perforated leather upholstery with air blown through it on a warm afternoon is great to cool any hot spots that different sized drivers can develop. The seats heat up rapidly in cold weather too. On the highway this car is a dream. Following the advice I received on my test drive, I set the adaptive cruise control on 75 and glide down the highway. If traffic slows or stops, so does the car, and then it accelerates right back up to 75. When traffic is light the car gets 43mpg at a steady 75 and in heavier traffic it gets a rather amazing 47mpg. Around Southern California the hybrid gets an average of 46mpg. Considering its size this is amazing. Having had two conventional gas powered Avalons and a Lexus ES, this 2019 Limited Hybrid is the best of the bunch. It is longer, lower, and wider than my prior highway cruisers; however, the built-in safety equipment has spared me from any parking lot close calls. Gotta love the birds-eye 360 degree view camera display. Along with heads-up display projected onto the windshield, it’s more like the cockpit of a plane than a highway cruiser. You don’t have to look around the cabin to check on the status of any of the car’s main systems or settings as well as the posted speed limit or the next turn on the GPS. Technology wise it is amazing, but the tech does come at a price. There are over 1,000 pages of manuals that come with the car. After half a year, I have made it through about 700 pages. Although my car came with Apple Car Play, I was told that there will be a free download of Android Auto when it is available. In the meantime, any good cell phone working with the built-in Entune Premium system works quite well if you read the Entune manual. There is much more to many of the Entune systems than what you are presented with on the two main screens, driver and center console. Only items I would change would be equipping the 18" chrome wheels with a good set of Michelins and giving the front seats a bit more headroom. After driving this car for ten months, I don't notice the low headroom like I did initially and have to rate the driver comfort as excellent. UPDATE AT 18 MONTHS AND 20K MILES - The car continues to be my favorite having had two previous Avalons and a Lexus ES, but two future problems have appered. First I discovered that the factory installed maps are a May 2018 version and can only be updated by the dealer. As the car is in warranty, I will have this done at the 2 year service, but with all of the electronics and internet connectivity something as basic as maps should automatically update through the data link in the car. Like most hybrids the mileage has dropped 2 mpg with use but that was expected and will likely continue to drop as the traction battery slowly wears out. With all of the safety features, I have yet to hit or scrape anything. However the car does go into emergency stop mode as I squeeze it into my garage parking place that has a storage rack right in front of the car. Overall I give the car a 95% but suggest that the manufacturer fix the map issue and extend the warranty on the traction battery. UPDATE 28 MONTHS AND 30K MILES After battling with my local dealer and Toyota Corporate Customer Service, I was finally given an Entune update and new maps. The dealer appeared to have little knowledge of the Entune system requiring 2 overnight stays after the updating process failed. They claimed to have spent 12 hours on it each time it went in. Finally Toyota Corporate sent them, either electronically or physically a complete update that changed the display somewhat and updated the maps. Now my car GPS is about on a level with my 5 year old Garmin. The Avalon Limited continues to run flawlessly on the road and the mileage has settled into the 43/44 range. I really enjoy the cool air that can be sent through the perforated leather seats on warm humid days. UPDATE AT 40 MONTHS AND 42,000 MILES The Avalon continues to be the best car I have ever owned in spite of the poor performance of the advanced Entune integrated electronics/GPS that came with the car. I routinely get 46mpg on my regular trips to/from our second home in the foothills. Sadly, I understand that Toyota is planning to discontinue the Avalon at the end of the product run this year due to lagging sales. I believe that the Toyota execs who stayed with the Entune system of the last half dozen years need to look into the mirror, and they will see the Avalon's killers when they do. The car would sell a lot better, if they had a decent electronics (I am not talking about safety electronics, just the audio/video and GPS). I intend to keep my Avalon for another couple of years as long as it continues to perform as it has for the last almost 3 1/2 years, but when I get my next car will be forced to go back to a Lexus unless the Avalon is revived and will be open to other brands even though I have had a 7 straight vehicle run of Toyotas in my family.

Lexus luxury at a Toyota price

Jirrera, 11/23/2018

2019 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

I love this car the more I drive it. At first it felt a little too big compared to my 2012 Camry Hybrid, when I bought the Limited Hybrid in July 2018, but I’m over that. The Avalon handles beautifully on winding, hilly interstates and I love and now trust the safety features like dynamic cruise and 360 degree cameras. The Lane Departure Assistence, however is very inconsistent. The … collision avoidance has stopped at least three fender-benders in parking lots. Gas mileage has dropped (as is typical for current battery technology in cold weather) from a high of 43.6 mpg all-around, down to 41.3. I admit, I drive fast and not as economically as I could. One serious issue however, I found a puddle of gas under the car one morning (the tank hadn’t just been filled). I re-tightened the cap and the drip seemed to stop. Taking it back to the dealer they checked the entire fuel system and all fifteen internal computers but couldn’t find any leaks/error codes. Also I now have a faint yellow line from the filler door down to the wheel well where gas apparently ate through the Blizzard Pearl clear coat. Interior-wise the JBL sound system is simply the best I’ve ever experienced in any car. As an audio engineer, I find the bass amazingly present without over powering or masking the highs — and this is with the system set to factory defaults. The tweeters directly behind the front seats enhance the surround effect without sounding artificially compressed or otherwise processed. The only annoyance is on several occasions the navigation/entertainment touch screen has locked up. Only restarting the car fully restores it. I assume this is simply a software flaw that will be patched when enough other owners complain — as with Toyota adding Android Auto support. Finally, beware parking curbs with this Avalon. The bumper is particularly low in the front. UPDATE 1 year later: All of the above positive driving experience remains true. However, still no Android Auto support. The above fuel leak turned out to be a factory recall issue for a defective gas filler tube and cap. The dealer replaced both at no charge and I've not experienced any leaks since. They also repainted the rear quarter panel so the yellow drip stripe is gone. Then, my Bluetooth mic stopped working and it turned out the issue was not the mic, but actually the entire Telematics unit which the dealer replaced at no charge -- which also resolved the above NAV/entertainment screen lockups. Finally, I had noticed a new creaking sound in the steering wheel when making left turns. (How's that for specific?) After much diagnosis and experimental repairs, the issue was determined to be a damaged bearing in the steering column, which again, the dealer replaced at no charge. I still love the car, chalking all these repair issues up to my ignoring the axiom that one should never purchase the first model year of any car after a redesign. The good news is I've gotten to be friends and appreciate the honest professionalism of Andrew Bartlett, service manager at Toyota of Murfreesboro. He's become the willing equivalent of a 12-step program sponsor. He gave me his cell number and I can call him any time!

Wow, 44mpg and technology from tomorrow

JimS, 11/16/2018

2019 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

Just updated from a 2009 Limited to the hybrid limited w/ safety package, this is an amazing vehicle and a pleasure to drive. For low profile tires it rides well, but not like my older Avalon. And a bit more noise from the engine reving and tires but okay and the sound system is like home theatre. But what really sets this apart from my old car is the technology to make driving as safe …

Can’t fill up

RickyD, 10/20/2018

2019 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl gas/electric hybrid CVT)

With only 2000 mi on the new Avalon, I have a fuel problem!!! I can’t get gas in the fuel tank, sounds crazy but when you are hundreds of mi from home and low on gas it’s a BIG problem! When I try to fill the car today the fill tube filled up to the cap very quickly (seconds), then it burped a bunch of gas out of the fill tube. the vent line then started to bubble with more fuel in my …

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid, so we've included reviews for other years of the Avalon Hybrid since its last redesign.

See all 56 reviews of the Toyota Avalon Hybrid

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2020 Avalon Hybrid Highlights

Trim:

XLE

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$37,000
Engine Type	Hybrid
Combined MPG	44 MPG
Cost to Drive	$90/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	16.1 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	front wheel drive
Warranty	3 years / 36,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the Avalon Hybrid models:

Pre-Collision System: Warns if a front collision is imminent and will apply the brakes automatically if the driver doesn't respond in time.
Lane Departure with Steering Assist: Alerts the driver if the vehicle begins to drift out of its lane and steers the car back if no action is taken.
Intelligent Clearance Sonar: Indicates how close the rear bumper may be to objects and applies the brakes automatically if a collision is imminent.

NHTSA Overall Rating

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.

Frontal Barrier Crash Rating
Overall4 / 5
Driver4 / 5
Passenger4 / 5
Side Crash Rating
Overall5 / 5
Side Barrier Rating
Overall5 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger5 / 5
Combined Side Barrier & Pole Ratings
Front Seat5 / 5
Back Seat5 / 5
Rollover
Rollover4 / 5
Dynamic Test ResultNo Tip
Risk Of Rollover10.5%

2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review

Price & Payment

2020 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review

What's new

Cost to Drive

Toyota Avalon Hybrid Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

Technology and Comfort with Hybrid Efficiency

Lexus luxury at a Toyota price

Wow, 44mpg and technology from tomorrow

Can’t fill up

2020 Avalon Hybrid Highlights

Safety

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