2019 Toyota Avalon Video Review: Did They Go Too Far?

For 2019, the Toyota Avalon sees huge changes. It doesn’t just change a few things, it changes everything: from the platform to the engine to the exterior styling.

Related: 2019 Toyota Avalon First Drive: Your Road Trip Hero Has Arrived

The Avalon’s exterior styling has changed drastically — so much so that it would be impossible to confuse it for the 2018 model. Last year’s model had this weird front two-part grille opening, which Toyota has combined for 2019 into what I call “one giant front-end air intake to rule them all.”

The front looks are polarizing — even among our staff, there’s disagreement over whether the Avalon is good-looking or going too far. What’s less arguable is that from the sides and the rear, the car definitely is improved. Toyota stretched the cabin to give it more of a fastback look that makes the whole car look sleeker, and there are new LED taillights in back that stretch wide across the bumper and give the Avalon a good visual signature, especially at night.

One of our complaints about the old Avalon was that the interior didn’t really make sense, especially in the center control panel. The screen was in a weird position at an off angle, and the storage spaces were a bit weirdly sized; for example, if you had a larger smartphone — like many of them are these days — it didn’t quite fit on the wireless charging pad.

Find out how Toyota updated the interior of the Avalon for 2019, and how I feel about the rest of its updates, in the video above.

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