New Southerner 
2014 Toyota Avalon Sedan XLE 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 6A)
Loving my Es, Um I mean Avalon!
 If you like a touch of class, style, performance and panache from an automobile, this is the one for you.  Several weeks ago I purchased a used 2014 Toyota Avalon. Having recently moved south from the Midwest, I wanted to shed my 4-wheel drive veh for something smaller. Initially I went looking for a gently used Lexus ES350. My reasons were simple: I’m getting closer to 40 and my automobile needs are starting to bend more toward function and less form. This meant arguing my ego down from the thought that I needed to ‘sit high’ or that I need 3 rows for the few times a year we use the 3rd one. So on to the car; I initially drove 3 or 4 ES’s and on one return test drive I ended up parking next to an Avalon. “What’s this?” I asked the salesman.  He responded ‘the Avalon’ and proceeded to tell me of how the car rides a variation of the same platform as the ES. Really? Also that the engine and powertrain were virtually Identical. Really?? So I gave this car –which I had never even glanced at, much less considered before- a good once over. Lowered front end profile w/quadra-beam headlights, Aston-Marton inspired lower intake grill flanked by chrome enveloped fog lamps. A clean and handsome profile with a slightly ‘windswept’ greenhouse profile and a beautiful tail end w/LED lights and dual, trapezoidal exhaust…. “Hmm, will you get the keys for this”??? I asked. Got inside. ‘Whoa, seriously, nice!’ A 6 inch touch screen w/digital readouts for the HVAC just below.  Mine has the lighter interior w/contrasting taupe, brown and black color scheme. It’s a very rich look accented by liberal swaths of chrome.  On to the drive. The ride was the final deal cincher. The engine is buttery-smooth with plenty of power for passing. In fact, I had to learn how to properly finesse the engine when I am passing because stepping down to hard gives way more power than you probably were looking for. I want to address the ride quality itself though. Many have written that the car thunks or crashes over bumps. Honestly, I hadn’t noticed it at all. I think the ride is quite appropriate honestly and I have to believe those that don’t care for it are not the younger buyers Toyota had in mind with this departure from the traditional Avalon. The only places I have to give the car less than stellar marks are the sound system and touch screen. The base unit’s graphics seem a generation behind the two vehicles I have most recently owned and it suffers mightily from sun glare. You literally cannot see a thing it certain situations and that is with dealer placed tint on all windows. . Also, the basic sound system sounds very tinny and has very little bass. They are merely adequate and I have been accustomed to far better utility. (the unit in the base XLE doesn’t even show album artwork for ipod songs) All told, this car is a serious sleeper for most. For some, the prestige of that L in the Lexus nameplate is worth the extra money for what is in many important respects the same car. After spending days if not weeks looking for the perfect gently used Lexus ES, I finally found it. Just so happened that it wears a Toyota badge and prefers to be called Avalon.