Unsporty Avalon Gets Makeover

Critics call it the Invisible Car.

The Avalon may be Toyota Motor Corp.’s biggest sedan, but auto reviewers say its bland, boxy design makes it disappear in a crowd of sportier rivals.

Avalon sales in the U.S. are expected to be a paltry 35,000 units this year, down from 104,078 when the present model was introduced in 2000. In the $25,000-to-$30,000 price category, the Avalon is eclipsed by Detroit’s new Chrysler 300 and Ford Five Hundred sedans as well as Nissan Motor Co.’s new Maxima and mainstays such as the Buick LeSabre and the Ford Crown Victoria.

But Toyota didn’t become the world’s second-largest car company by giving up ground. It sees big sedans as a potentially lucrative market -- so a completely redesigned Avalon is due in dealers’ showrooms by spring.

To be competitive in that market, the Avalon will have to be both larger and sportier, said Jeff Brodoski, an auto market analyst with J.D. Power & Associates in Troy, Mich.

A “spy photo” of the 2006 Avalon, published by Edmunds.com, shows a longer, lower and sleeker car than the present model.

The Web-based car buying guide predicts that the Avalon will have a bigger V-6 engine that would boost horsepower by almost 30%, to 270 from 210, and an upgraded interior as well.

Donald Esmond, chief of the Toyota division for Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA, said the company was serious about reinventing the Avalon. He declined to offer details but said the new Avalon would be “more appealing in terms of power, roominess and luxury amenities.”

The car was designed at Toyota’s Calty design studio in Newport Beach, was engineered in Ann Arbor, Mich., and will be built at Toyota’s Georgetown, Ky., plant. “It is the most American car we’ve ever done,” said Jim Press, executive vice president of Toyota Motor Sales.

Esmond said sales of the new model should hit 85,000 units in 2006.

One reason Toyota is focusing on the big-sedan market is that as America’s baby boomers grow grayer, large cars are likely to become more popular. While Toyota uses its Scion division to vigorously pursue younger buyers, the company is courting the 60-ish crowd as well.

The average Avalon buyer is 68 and the average LeSabre buyer is 73, according to market research firm AutoPacific Inc.

Industry analysts also note the shrinking sales this year of big sport utility vehicles and the success of Chrysler’s hot new 300 -- a retro-styled five-passenger sedan with a huge passenger cabin and a wide, muscular stance. All that suggests the market for big cars is growing again.

Avalon’s sales slide began in earnest when Toyota launched the latest version of the Camry in 2002. Before that, the Avalon was the roomier of the two. Now the Avalon has less headroom and barely more front-seat legroom than its sibling.

The present Avalon comes in a base XL trim level, with cloth seats and 15-inch wheels, and an upscale XLS version with a fancier stereo, alloy wheels and a host of interior upgrades. Both cars use the same V-6 engine. Base prices range from $26,660 to $31,120; options such as a navigation system and a power moon roof can boost the XLS to about $36,000.

Toyota hints there will be more models in the Avalon lineup next year to appeal to a broader audience.

That’s all good news, said Avalon owner Paul Pervan Sr., a general contractor in Hemet.

He and his wife, Maria, own a 2004 Avalon and love everything about the car except its looks and modest performance. “It’s kind of boxy,” he said, “and I wish it had more style and a little more power.”

The Pervans are younger than most Avalon buyers; he’s 37 and she’s 32. With five children, however, they needed a car the size of the Avalon, which can seat six adults.

But the more important factor in their decision, Pervan said, was Toyota’s reputation for dependability. That was a big reason he bought an Avalon instead of a competing domestic sedan.

“We’ve got a strong and loyal owner body,” Toyota’s Esmond said.

“If we give them a choice in the large-sedan segment, they’ll stay with us.”