Used Toyota Avalon 2012 Automatic

Avalon changed little from the last generation, with a few bolder details figured into the stretched-Camry body. The grille is as formal as ever, but it's wider and more prominent. The underliner that shapes the headlamps is a bit prettier. From some angles, the Avalon's side moldings and cutlines clearly evoke the Mercedes E-Class--the crisper shoulder line on the Toyota is almost as pronounced as the one on the Benz. At the rear, the Avalon wears its most emphatic design statement, taillamps incised with a C-shaped string of LEDs. All Avalons get power from a 3.5-liter V-6 with 268 horsepower, which shuffles to the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.

It's the new norm in big family sedans, and the Avalon's a little more like its competition with every passing year--there's a touch of vibration and noise in the current car under full throttle, for example. It can perform very briskly from a stoplight, despite the luxury-liner looks and cushy seats, but the transmissions on past test vehicles have felt a little less than perfectly smooth. A manual shifting mode exists, and we're convinced we were the first ones to try it out on the test car provided. Every Avalon gets a standard rearview camera, for example, along with the usual side-curtain airbags and stability control. On Avalons without navigation systems, the camera displays on the rearview mirror.