I have the premium sound package and it's great. Beautiful, smooth ride. Large interior space. Comfortable seats for long rides. Very good fuel economy for its size - and uses regular unleaded. Not a prima donna in its maintenance needs.

Never thought it was the prettiest car going down the pike but other strengths outweighed the looks of all the other cars I test drove before purchase.

We purchased in October 1999 and I have 115,000 miles on my Avalon - best and most reliable car I've ever owned. Many cars can look and drive good off the showroom lot but my car has the same quiet ride and only replaced the brakes on this car. Other than the wear and tear I gave the car (I'm not great to my cars is the truth - dog rides, lots of kids,etc) it still looks great. Paint is like new and I virtually never park in garage. Nothing torn in interior or falling apart. Fabulous value for money spent.

QUIET,DRIVES SMOOTHLY,EXTREMELY LARGE BACK RECLINING SEATS,VERY COMFORTABLE

REALLY DO NOT THINK THEIR IS ONE IF YOU BUY ONE THAT IS NOT A LEMON

THIS IS THE FIRST AND LAST TOYOTA I WILL EVER PURCHASE. AFTER 36 MILES,IT NEEDED NEW BUSHINGS,A LEFT REAR SUB FRAME REPLACED,RADIO KNOB BROKE OFF,LEFT FRONT SPEAKER CRACKLES.JUST WAITING FOR THE NEXT REPAIR THAT NEEDS DONE! IT IS A VERY NICE CAR AND I WAS TOLD BY MANY TOYOTA OWNERS HOW INCREDIBLE THEIR CARS WERE AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS SUPERB.SO FAR,BOTH HAVE RECIEVED F'S FROM US.

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FORD CROWN VICTORIA PONTIAC STE

Good handling, easy to drive. Can drive over 4-500 miles with very little driver fatigue. Good power for freeway control, making on-ramp access and passing safe. Good milage, 25 to 29. Reliable, with engine very quiet (have to read tach to see if engine is really running). Back seat very comfortable, even for three adults. Steering quick and responsive. Cruise control slick and user-friendly. Heater, wipers, washers, defogger, all work good. Electric seats work very well. Tail lights nice and big, easy for other drivers to see. ABS disk brakes are excellent, with no-fade and positive stops. Engine compartment logically laid out, with fluid checks very easy. Cooling system is great! Hot day, A/C on, 5 passangers (or full load of luggage) going up a hill with overdrive off - hardly a budge on the temperature gauge. Engine runs clean, oil and transmission fluid stay clean and clear for a long long time. Door between trunk and rear passenger seat a nice feature. Used it several times to carry long objects.

Ride was smoother when new, with original General HP/400 tires. Replaced with Bridgestone Turanzas at 35k miles, too hard. Exchanged for Yokahama Avid Touring. Better, but not still ideal. Does anyone know of a really smooth riding tire for this car? Please let me know. Car takes moderate bumps too hard (man-hole covers, etc.) Too much jolt transmitted to passenger compartment. Could there be a shock absorber replacement which would improve the ride? Gas gauge could be calibrated better. Hard to know when you are really close to empty. And why is there a coupling knuckle on the steering column right near the foot? (Camry too). Too easy to hit with foot, causing a jerk response in the steering wheel. Air conditioner is only adaquate, barely able to keep up with a really hot desert day. Storage compartments in doors are on the minimal side, but the glove box is a nice size.

Overall, a fine automobile, with only a few weaknesses as listed. According to local dealer, the Avalon will be redesigned for 2005, to be released in Jan 05. Can hardly wait to see what improvements will be forthcoming. A nice tightly controlled driving experience. Excellent coordination between gas pedal and transmission. Shifting is smooth, with no engine speed-up. V6 engine has good low RPM power, and can usually take hills and mountain driving with a minimum of downshifting. Will consider buying another Avalon without hesitation.

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95 Camry. Still using it after 128k miles. Better A/C than 01 Avalon.

Excellent handling, smooth acceleration and braking, responsive, wonderful stereo system, quiet engine, large trunk, roomy cabin.

Extremely hard to find. It took over a year for me to find one in my desired price range.

I could not be happier with my Avalon. It drives like a million dollars and is SO comfortable. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a step up from a Camry but a step down from an outright luxury car. The ride is just gorgeous, with nice stable steering and good shock absorption (a must here in the Northeast where potholes abound). The engine is nice and quiet, to the point that I can barely hear it start. The biggest advantage with buying a used Avalon is that they are usually owned by older people who don't drive them much and don't beat them up like the younger set does. During the test driving process, I drove a 1996 and a 1998, both of which were low mileage and in mint condition. New, these cars go for around $30 thousand, but mine was around half that and it looks, feels, and acts like a brand new car.

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Chrysler LHS.

Roomy, the still functional gadgets, regular fuel, overall 22 MPG, extremely comfortable, luggage capacity for a car, only been in the shop 2 or 3 times, Overall, a great car that everyone should consider

Some road noise, deteariarating suspension ( only the '97 Avalon had this problem )

Well this is a vehicle that when Toyota thought of it, they made it right. It was bought with 39k miles and now has 55k miles and still runs great. The A/C, transmission, suspension, everything still works great. The front and rear seats are able to accomodate the smallest and even the tallest people. The sunrooof cover slides easily, unlike a '90 Mazda 636 my dad used to have where you had to pull, then it would get stuck, then you'd have to pull again. Since we've had it, there's only been one problem which is the engine light that keeps turing on on the dash at random times, and the first time it happened, we ran out of gas 600 feet away from a gas station because the gauge said we had 1/2 a tank left, which apparently wasn't true. But since then, we've had no trouble with the gas gauge, but that annoying light keeps coming on, and because of it, we've had to have a few repairs. Maybe American companies can get advice from sucessful Japanese companies like Toyota and Nissan, so they can fix their horrendous reliability problem.

COMFORT -QUIETNESS - SMOOTH

ALITTLE BETTER SOUND SYSTEM FROM THE RADIO- THE SPEAKERS ARE FINE

VERY MUCH SATISFIED WITH THIS CAR. JUST GOT BACK FROM A 480 MILE ROUND TRIP TO ALBANY,NY AND THE CAR WAS A PLEAURE.

Ride, quiet, quality construction

Toyota needs to put the auto diming mirror on the passenger side (or at least offer it as an option as I would pay for it. Also - just put the navagation system in the XLS and bump the price up $1K. It was the only option I could not get and would have wanted. Also go 4 yrs/50K on the b2b warranty - this car can handle it.

Car has 5,000 miles. Flawless. I do not believe there is car in this price range that compares. If you want a well built sedan in the $25-$30K range, this is it. I looked at them all. I drove a used 2002 Lexus LS-430 and this car is as close to that as it gets - only $14K cheaper. This care has niche in the market, that most overlook.

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All of them infinite, cadillac, chrysler, acura, lexus, honda, buick, lincoln.

Interior is plush, I like the screen info on my XLS, it has all the bells and whistles anyone could want. This is as close to a Lexus as it gets and for a lot less money, I only paid $15,000 plus tax for the car. Outstanding gas mileage. I averaged over 30 MPG on a flat stretch of highway going 65 the other day.

My trunk deck is difficult to close. The handling is on the tame side and this car is made for cruising so it really doesn't matter.

This car is fast, fun, easy to live with, and in black with the 16" optional alloys borders on turning heads which is not the norm for this car not known for its curb appeal. I have 66,000 miles on this car. It had 62,000 when I purchased it. Toyota has a reputation for building solid cars and this one rides like brand new.

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Acura 3.5, Acura TL

comfort - lumbar control- good feeling

could be tighter on steering

reporting back as i said after next 500 miles. very satisfied with my avalon xle. im up to 1200 miles and car runs like a dream. after the break in period i tested "all". car is fast and responsive. could be alittle tighter around the turns .i might add that smithtown toyota offers a wonderful "after sale" event to get you comfortable with your new car and the dealership. it's a great place to do business. will check in again at 2000 miles.

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infiniti i 30

LESS COSTLY THEN THE LEXUS GS300. GOOD PICK-UP. VERY QUIET, SMOOTH AS GLASS.

LEATHER SEATS SHOULD BE FINISHED OFF ON THE INSIDE BOTTOM,NOT JUST HANGING.

PICKED MY 2003 AVALON UPAST SATURDAY. VERY SATISFIED FOR THE FIRST 500 MILES. I DID NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WAY THE LEATHER IS "NOT" FINISHED OFF ON THE UNDERSIDE OF BOTH THE PASSENGER AND DRIVER'S SIDE EXPOSING A VERY SHAR EDGE UNDERNEATH. ONLY A FLAP COVERS THIS VERY RAZOR SHARP PIECE OF METAL. MY WIFES LEXUS ES300 HAS HER'S PROTECTED A WRAPPED. ALL IN ALL SO FAR SO GOOD. WILL UPDATE AT NEXT 500 MILE.

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INFINITI I30- VERY ROUGH COMPARED TO WHAT IM DRIVING NOW