Toyota is probably best known for making safe cars that are also extremely reliable. The Avalon isn’t an exception to that, but it also scores very well in other areas, such as owner satisfaction. Here’s why you’ll have a hard time finding something wrong with the 2020 Toyota Avalon.

The 2020 Toyota Avalon is the best large car

If a Camry or a Corolla is too small for you, then there’s the Avalon, which is Toyota’s offering in the large car segment. In this segment, the Avalon reigns supreme. In fact, Consumer Reports says that the Avalon is the best car in its segment, beating other great cars such as the Chevy Impala and the Dodge Charger. 

The Avalon beat its competition by a wide margin, too. Consumer Reports gave the Avalon an overall score of 93 out of 100, which is significantly higher than the runner-up’s score of 84 out of 100. But even in terms of other Toyotas, the Avalon did well.

In fact, the Avalon received a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or the IIHS. This is the highest safety award that the IIHS gives. Other Toyotas, such as the Camry, have also won this award, but not every Toyota has won this award. This means that the IIHS thinks that the Avalon is a safer car than most other cars on the road, Toyotas included.

What’s so great about the 2020 Toyota Avalon

Asides from its great safety and reliability scores, which Consumer Reports unsurprisingly gave the Avalon 5 out of 5 for, the Avalon did well in many other categories. For example, the Avalon has two engine options, a standard 3.5-liter V6 that generates 301-hp and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid engine which gets 215-hp. 

Both options are great, but Consumer Reports was especially impressed by the Avalon’s hybrid option. Despite being a large car, Consumer Reports says that the hybrid Avalon gets 32 MPG in the city and 52 MPG on highways, for a combined 42 MPG. This is very impressive for a car of its size, but its V6 was also impressive.

The V6 is obviously more powerful but overall, Consumer Reports thinks that either option is great. That’s because in terms of performance and handling, both engine options are good.

Not only that, but the Avalon’s interior is also great. Consumer Reports said that it’s quiet and comfortable and that there’s plenty of space inside. The Avalon’s cabin also has plenty of standard infotainment features, which Consumer Reports said were easy to use.

As a result, Consumer Reports gave very high scores to the Avalon for its driving experience and comfort. That said, it scored a bit lower in terms of value, as the Avalon, which starts at $36,000, is meant to compete with more expensive luxury sedans, according to Consumer Reports. This price tag makes the Avalon more expensive than many other smaller sedans.

The two things you can complain about

The main flaw that Consumer Reports found with the Avalon was that, because the Avalon has a low stance, you may have to duck to get in or out of the car. This can be annoying, especially for taller folks, and it’s the only design issue that the Avalon had. 

However, another issue that may have been intentional is that Consumer Reports says that the Avalon doesn’t come with Android Auto. It does come with Apple CarPlay as standard, which means that iPhone users will be fine.

But, for one reason or another, unlike other Toyotas, the Avalon isn’t compatible with Android Auto. Because of that, Android users will have to make do with the regular infotainment system.