2022 Toyota Avalon hybrid Sedan

The 2022 Toyota Avalon is likely to get a reshuffled features list but the details have not been made official. There are chances of the addition of some features as well. However, the trim levels will remain the same along with the powertrain and drivetrain layout. The Avalon is offered in three trim levels currently which are XLE, XSE, and Limited. The sedan comes quite well-equipped right from the base trim and eliminates the requirement of moving up to higher trims to quite an extent. Some of the premium features on offer include Heated front seats, Simulated leather upholstery, Power-adjustable front seats, four driving modes, and Dual-zone automatic climate control among other features. As you climb up the trim ladder features like ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, wireless charging pad, and ambient interior lighting gets added. The Limited trim gets access to the Advanced Safety package which includes a Surround-view camera system, Parking sensors, and Rear cross-traffic braking.

We Recommend

We would recommend the base XLE trim since it offers the best bang for the buck. The Limited trim is recommended if you wish to have access to the Advanced Safety Package and some more premium features over the base trim.

Release Date

Even though Toyota has announced that the Avalon will retire after the 2022 model year, nothing has been mentioned about the release date of the upcoming model yet.

The 2022 Toyota Avalon hybrid will retain the powertrain from the outgoing model hence mechanically it will be a carryforward model. The powertrain is a 2.5-liter A25A-FXS four-pot unit that is specially designed for the sedan. The motor is paired with two electric motors and whips out a maximum power of 215 horsepower along with 163 lb-ft of maximum torque. The powertrain is mated to an eCVT unit that manages all the juice from the motor efficiently while delivering excellent fuel economy. The power figures and torque figures are nothing praiseworthy since the sedan is aimed towards delivering fuel economy over performance. City runs are effortless and the plush ride quality of the car gives a gliding effect at reasonable speeds. The four driving modes: Normal, Eco, EV, and Sport are actually quite useful where the Eco mode delivers exceptional mpg figures. The Sport mode makes use of both the gasoline motor and the electric motors to deliver the maximum performance while in EV mode the internal combustion unit shuts off and the sedan drives on pure battery power but up to a certain distance at a limited speed. Despite the sheer size of the car, it offers a fun-to-drive experience, and throwing it around the corners is more fun than you’d expect from a hybrid vehicle. The acceleration times are lethargic clocking 8.3 seconds to the 60mph mark but acceptable given the main focus of the car.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is a strong performer too. Even though its power and torque levels are lower than the Avalon’s it is also quite fun to drive and feels peppy within the city limits. Its acceleration feels strong in the initial stages but quickly fades once you’ve gained some momentum. The acceleration times are quite close to the Avalon’s times with differences of less than one-tenth of a second and the sedan offers an excellent ride quality too. The Honda Accord Hybrid is the true gem in the segment. It is an eager performer and handles way better than the rest of the hybrids in the segment. It is also quicker than both the Avalon and the Sonata taking 7.6 seconds to the 60mph mark and has an impressive braking distance of 118 ft as well.

Delivering exceptional fuel economy is what hybrid vehicles are built for and the 2022 Toyota Avalon hybrid absolutely nails it. Within the city limits, the Avalon Hybrid sedan returns an impressive 43mpg while out on the highways, the number goes up marginally to 44. The combined mileage is also rated at 44mpg. The sedan comes with a 13.2-gallon gas tank resulting in some decent driving range numbers.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid sedan is even more economical than the Avalon and has an overwhelming highway mileage of 51mpg. The city mileage of 45mpg and combined mileage of 47 are higher than what the Avalon offers. It also gets a 13.2-gallon gasoline tank and it translates to some truly impressive driving range numbers such as 673 miles of highway range. The Honda Accord Hybrid impresses with its city mileage, making it the most practical city car among the rivals here. Even though the Accord has a smaller 12.8-gallon gas tank, it delivers exceptional driving range numbers.

The Toyota Avalon is the flagship sedan from the brand hence it gets the very best from the brand’s stable as well. The 2022 Toyota Avalon hybrid will come with no changes regarding the interior design hence we’ll get to see the same interior as the outgoing model in the upcoming vehicle. The interior of the Avalon is a nice place to be in and offers almost all the luxury and utility features you’d expect from a full-size sedan. The front seats get power-adjustability and heating function as standard while the top-end Limited trim adds ventilation upon it and adds a heating function for the rear seats as well. The SofTex simulated leather upholstery looks and feels premium while the Limited trim gets a wooden interior trim, ambient lighting, head-up display, and heated steering wheel, adding to the already impressive list of features. The front seats offer excellent comfort levels with soft cushions but are supportive too with adequate bolstering. The center stack is thick and houses the gear selector lever along with a few controls, two sizable cup-holders, and a multipurpose armrest which opens in two parts revealing a decent storage space underneath. The dashboard design is a bit driver-oriented with the infotainment screen and the controls slightly facing the driver. Some of the controls are hard to reach from the driver’s seat, especially the ones housed on the left side. The overall fit and finish levels are praiseworthy and feel like everything is built to last. The rear seats are decently comfortable but fall short in terms of the headroom aspect owing to the slanting roofline. The seating position of the sedan is also quite low and can pose an issue while getting in and out of the vehicle. For the 2021 model year, the sedan received a new battery pack which was slimmer than before hence it freed up more trunk space. The trunk space is quite generous too measuring at 16.1 cu-ft.

The 2022 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has an overall better interior design than the Toyota Avalon and is quite feature-rich too. The headroom at the front is impressive and one of the highest in the segment as well while the rear headroom is also better than the Avalon as well. The dashboard design of the Sonata also wears a driver-focused design and the controls are more accessible and easy to find as compared to the Avalon’s case. The storage space is equally generous at 16.3 cu-ft. The Honda Accord Hybrid is one of the most practical sedans in the segment owing to its intelligent in-cabin storage spaces and superb comfort levels. The cabin is surprisingly roomy too and the seating position is just right for a practical daily driver, unlike the Avalon. The Accord also offers the maximum trunk space of 16.7 cu-ft, beating both the Avalon and the Sonata, by a slight margin though.

Some interior features are:

• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Simulated leather upholstery
• Ambient interior lighting
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Power-adjustable front seats
• Heated rear seats

How intuitive is the infotainment system?

As per the rumors, the 2022 Toyota Avalon hybrid might get some minor tweaks in its infotainment system but nothing is confirmed yet. The outgoing model gets a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display running on Toyota’s proprietary user interface. The system is fluid and easy to use with a neat and uncluttered layout. There are, however, some occasional lags that might dampen the overall experience to some extent. The system offers a handsome list of features including a USB media port, Bluetooth hands-free phone capability along with music streaming, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Amazon Alexa among other features.

Some standout infotainment features of the infotainment system are:

• 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display
• SiriusXM with 3-month All Access trial
• Safety Connect with 1-year trial
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Amazon Alexa capability
• Remote Connect with 1-year trial and Wi-Fi Connect with up to 2GB with 3-month trial
• Speed Compensated Volume Control
• Radio Data System

After entering into the fifth-generation model, the Toyota Avalon got a radical design language that looks overly aggressive at the cost of the elegance it used to have. Moreover, the styling doesn’t suit the sedan’s laidback and relaxed character and might be quite polarizing to some buyers when compared to the rivals. The front end gets a huge grille-like design that extends to the front bumper and there are a fair bit of sharp styling cues present as well. The sleek yet powerful LED headlamp units flank the grille in a nice manner though and the logo gets a cool blue accent that’s specific to the hybrid model only. The side profile looks overall neat with tasteful creases and sculpted lines on the sheet metal to give a premium feel to the design. The rear end looks intuitive with the LED taillamp joined with a sleek LED strip mounted on the liftgate. The sedan has the maximum wheelbase as compared to the rivals but all this space has not been utilized properly since the cabin is more or less equally spacious as the smaller Toyota Camry.

The 2022 Hyundai Sonata will receive a facelift and will get a redesigned front-end design. As per the first look, the new design will disappoint a lot of buyers with its exaggerated design language and Hyundai tried to give the sedan a radical appeal. It is slightly wider than the Avalon but is shorter and has a shorter wheelbase too. The Honda Accord Hybrid wears the best design as compared to the rivals here. The front end design looks both aggressive and elegant with the new front grille design and the Acura-like LED headlamp units make the front fascia look brighter than the rest of the offerings in the segment. The rear end also looks elegant with the LED C-shaped taillight units.

Some exterior features are:

• All-LED headlamp and tail lamp units
• Power-adjustable exterior mirrors with heating function
• Blacked-out 18-inch wheels(XSE)
• Adaptive cornering headlights
• Sunroof
• Blacked-out side window trims
• Rear window with defroster

Toyota never compromises in the safety front in any of its vehicles and that goes for the Toyota Avalon too. The 2021 model performed superbly in all the crash tests. The NHTSA gave it a top 5-star rating while the IIHS gave it the highest possible “Good” rating. Apart from that, the sedan comes with plenty of standard features along with some standard advanced safety techs too such as Collision mitigation with pedestrian detection, Lane-keeping assist, Adaptive cruise control, and Blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert. The top-end Limited trim gets access to some more advanced safety techs such as a Surround-view camera, Parking sensors, and Rear cross-traffic braking. 

Some of the standout safety features include:

• ABS And Driveline Traction Control
• VSC Electronic Stability Control 
• Pre-Collision System and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert 
• Lane Departure Alert 
• Dual Stage Driver And Passenger Front Airbags
• Automatic high beams
• Pedestrian detection
• Collision mitigation system

Toyota Avalon Hybrid vs Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is a strong contender to the Avalon Hybrid. The Sonata offers an overall better package and value for money as compared to the Avalon. Performance-wise, the Sonata is evenly matched with the Avalon but offers more fuel economy than the latter. On the inside, the Sonata offers more headroom than the Avalon for the front passengers and has a more appealing interior design too. On the outside, both the Avalon and the Sonata offer a polarizing design language and it depends entirely on the liking of the buyers. Both the cars are also quite aggressively priced. On the handling front, however, the Sonata holds an edge over the Avalon but lacks the superior plushness offered by the latter.

Toyota Avalon Hybrid vs Honda Accord Hybrid

The Honda Accord Hybrid is one of the best hybrid sedans in the segment currently and given the rumors of the upcoming model being more enticing, it will continue to hold its ‘numero uno’ place in the segment. The Accord is an overall better performer than the Avalon and has an excellent and comfortable cabin on offer. On the practicality front too, the Accord holds an edge over the Avalon as well. The performance of the Accord is significantly better than the Avalon along with a sprightly handling and a comfortable ride quality on offer as well. On the fuel economy aspect too, the Accord beats the Avalon. Design-wise, the Avalon falls short in front of the Accord with its exaggerated design language.

The Toyota Avalon has come a long way since its launch and Toyota has decided to retire it after the upcoming 2022 model. In its long run in the market, it evolved in a handsome manner barring the fifth-generation model that offered a polarizing design. The Avalon offers an excellent set of features right from the base trim and entices with its luxury sedan-like ride quality and comfort levels. Overall, it’s a decent offering in the segment but its rivals such as the Honda Accord offers an overall better package.