I had gone shopping with a Camry Hybrid in mind but found that not only was the XLE Touring Avalon a much quieter, comfortable ride, the lease payments were $15.00/month less than a comparable Camry - I must have hit the Toyota cash incentives just right.
I have to say the 2015 Avalon - having driven it for a whopping 800 miles so far, is one sweet ride. Its electronics are fun and very intuitive, the ride is amazing and quiet, it looks awesome, and....my commute to work of about 1.25 miles...in the city...can be a 99.9 mpg trip if the batteries are full and I really pay attention to the accelerator pedal! I never thought a would be old enough to write what I just did but either I am now old enough or Toyota has made this big ol' sedan enough of a driver's car to impress me! Highway MPG at 70mph is consistently over 40. In city is a bit less because I live on a river valley hilltop - going down is 99.9mpg - going back up is about 20pmg. Average city driving for my town is about 31.
The fit and finish of the 2015 Avalon Hybrid XLE Touring is comparable to its Lexus sister - minus the badging and maybe some electronic candy. A move up to the Avalon Hybrid Limited gets closer to the Lexus pricing but if you don't care if there's a T or an L on the front end....the T is a great value.
Some reviews complain of a stiff ride on the 2015 Avalon. I compare it to a relative's 2009 XLE V6 and the '09 is a bit softer, I think the '15 is all around a better ride. Out of the gate, the hybrid is NOT a V6....but it's not bad either. Accelerating at highway speeds - 30mph to 70mph, the 200hp combined power is plenty and it feels like the electric motor adds a torque that makes accelerating kind of fun.
The low speed transition from all electric to gasoline is seemless and maybe even unnoticiable by a passenger.
So far so good and with 2 years Toyota Care included....hard to beat!
