The 2013 Avalon will be the first of the big Toyota sedans to get a hybrid drivetrain.
Who says big cars have to get low mileage? The EPA has given Toyota’s newly redesigned 2013 Avalon sedan a 40 mpg rating, about what much smaller cars as the Hyundai Elantra are getting.
The asterisk is that the newly approved rating covers the 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid, one of several different powertrain options that will be offered when the new sedan reaches market later this year – and likely at a significant price premium over the Avalon’s conventional, gas-powered alternative.
Nonetheless, Toyota is betting it will generate some serious buzz with that sort of figure at a time when fuel economy has become the number one consideration for a large swath of American new car buyers.
The 40 mpg number is for the EPA’s City and Combined cycle tests, the Avalon will get 39 miles to the gallon on the Highway, according to the federal test cycle. One needs recall that hybrids break the traditional rules and do better in stop-and-go driving that helps them recharge their batteries.
The Avalon Hybrid will pair a 2.5-liter I-4 with two electric motors to produce up to 200 hp - and 40 mpg in both the City and Combined test cycles.
Notably, the figure is the same as what Toyota’s smaller Camry Hybrid now achieves using the same gas-electric driveline.
The 2013 Avalon Hybrid will feature a 2.5-liter gasoline engine mated to a pair of electric motors – power then being directed through its CVT-based Hybrid Synergy Drive system. All told, the package will produce 200 horsepower. The package is rated at 8.2 seconds 0 to 60, according to Toyota.
The maker is sticking with its tried-and-true Nickel-Metal Hydride battery pack for the 2013 Avalon, even though a number of makers, including Hyundai, are migrating to more advanced – meaning more power in a smaller package – lithium-ion batteries. Toyota officials stress that they still feel NiMH technology is more reliable. It’s also significantly less expensive.
(Toyota has begun to adopt lithium, however, with the debut of its new Prius Plug-in, and will also use the more advanced battery technology in the upcoming RAV4-EV.)
The new Avalon delivered a significant surprise when it debuted at the New York Auto Show last April. The big sedan introduced an all-new and much more stylish look than has traditionally been found on Toyota products – reflecting Toyota Motor Co. President Akio Toyoda’s promise to pump more “passion” into the brand.
The new vehicle also features a variety of new high-tech features but maintains its large and plush cabin.
Along with the hybrid the Japanese maker will offer a 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. That driveline is rated at 21 mpg City, 31 Highway and 25 Combined.
Built at Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky assembly plant – which also produces the Camry – the 2013 Avalon will go on sale in November.
(Are automakers recklessly overstating fuel economy numbers? That’s what a new lawsuit against Hyundai suggests. Click Here for that story.)