Home » Car Reviews » Toyota » Avalon » 2005 Toyota Avalon Full-Size Sedan
2005 Toyota Avalon Full-Size Sedan
New Car Review of the 2005 Toyota Avalon Full-Size Sedan
Base MSRP Range: $26,350 - $33,540
Base Invoice Range: $23,543 - $29,514
Options & Features
Price Quote
New Car Prices
Used Car Prices
Payment Calculator
Rebates & Incentives
Trade In Values
Find A Dealer
Financing
Insurance Rates
Sell Your Car
MSRP As Tested: Not Available
Versions: Xl, Touring, XLS and Limited.
Vehicle Category: Full-size sedan
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: Front-Wheel Drive.
Standard Engine as Tested: 3.5-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 24-valves, V-6, 280 -horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 260 lb-ft torque at 4,700 rpm.
Transmission: Four-speed automatic, Five-speed manual.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 22/30.
Standard Safety Features: Driver and passenger airbags, Side Curtain Airbags , Seat mounted side airbags, Drivers knee airbag, Vehicle stability control , Antilock brake system, Electronic brake force distribution, .
Competition: Nissan Maxima, Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Marquis, Chrysler 300, Chevrolet Impala, Buick LaCrosse.
Review
The Toyota Avalon has always been the most American-like, Japanese-made vehicle on the market. It is big, heavy, comfortable and very quiet. It is the only full-size, it was the only Japanese car available with a bench front seat. It has been so American for so long that Avalon was dubbed the “Japanese Buick” by the industry.
Launched in 1995, Avalon was designed in the U.S. at the Calty Design and Research Center in Newport Beach, California. It was, and still is, assembled at the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, exclusively for the North American market.
In 1995 large sedans were very different than today. Most had ladder frames, like trucks, instead of body-on-frame constructions, like cars. The early Avalon was based on the Camry platform and there was little differentiation between the two products, costing Toyota some sales. Not only did the two cars look similar, both had the same power plant.
Owners loved the car but admitted the styling was bland. They wanted some pizzazz. Avalon owners also wanted a more substantial power plant and better road feel. And they also wanted more amenities as most buyers considered them low-cost luxury cars.
The 2005 Avalon is a full-size, near-luxury car aimed at Camry owners who don’t want to make the leap to a luxury nameplate (for whatever reasons) but who want more room and amenities. Camry was sort of a dead-end for Toyota owners, and Toyota wanted Avalon to be the next step up within the brand for their clients.
The 2005 version is more distinctive looking than the predecessor, and larger everywhere, both inside and out. It is loaded with new technology and features not available in the current Camry. It has 33% more power from a brand new V6 power train. In fact the 2005 Avalon is the first product Toyota has put this new engine in.
Avalon is also is more American than ever. Not only was the car designed in California, and built in Kentucky, it is the first product developed entirely in the U.S. by the Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Previously TTC only engineered the platform. This time Toyota left control of the entire project, including the power train and both interior and exterior styling, to TTC. As a result, development time was shortened to 18 months, the quickest of any North American-produced Toyota.
The 2005 Avalon is offered in four grades: the standard XL, the sportier Touring, the well-equipped XLS, and the top-of-the-line Limited.
Exterior
Toyota paid a great deal of attention to input from owners and dealers. As a result the 2005 Avalon’s appearance is much more upscale and stylish. If you saw it parked in the lot of a trendy restaurant, you would think it was Lexus, Acura or Infiniti.
The rounded silhouette is similar to the new Lexus GS sedan. Despite similarities in shape and size, Avalon is not a Toyota version of the GS. Avalon is a front wheel drive car, while the Lexus is rear wheel.
The grille has two large horizontal bars with a large Toyota emblem in the middle. Headlamps and fog lights are together in a single cluster. Avalon has a beltline that runs from the top of the headlights, all the way to the taillights. The roofline is rounded and continues onto the trunk lid, and right into the taillights. It has nice, cohesive line. But while Avalon is definitely sportier and more youthful than it used to be, it is not a sports sedan.
