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How does the Avalon stack up against the ES350 when it comes to ride/platform and noise levels?
let me say upfront that my comparison of the two will probably differ from most because my thoughts are based on two "older" versions of both cars. I had an 07 Avalon.. bought it new and traded it in when I bought my ES.. Loved my Avalon, and I have to admit that I was one that always thought the ES was nothing more than a glorifided Avalon.. My Avy and Es share the same basic drive train / engine.. My Avalon had a slightly better ride, but it had 17" rims where as my ES has 18" riims.. If my ES were running on 17's I would bet the ride would be comparable to the Avalon... One thing I did notice in the ES right away was the noise level in the cabin.. or should I say lack of it. I found the ES to be considerably more quiet.. less road noise, didn't notice outside traffic noise nearly as much. Also fit and finish on the ES appeared to be better than the Avalon... Now having said that I wouldn't turn my back on another Avalon if the price were right. The Avalon is a helluva good car.. really enjoyed the time I spent driving mine.
let me say upfront that my comparison of the two will probably differ from most because my thoughts are based on two "older" versions of both cars. I had an 07 Avalon.. bought it new and traded it in when I bought my ES.. Loved my Avalon, and I have to admit that I was one that always thought the ES was nothing more than a glorifided Avalon.. My Avy and Es share the same basic drive train / engine.. My Avalon had a slightly better ride, but it had 17" rims where as my ES has 18" riims.. If my ES were running on 17's I would bet the ride would be comparable to the Avalon... One thing I did notice in the ES right away was the noise level in the cabin.. or should I say lack of it. I found the ES to be considerably more quiet.. less road noise, didn't notice outside traffic noise nearly as much. Also fit and finish on the ES appeared to be better than the Avalon... Now having said that I wouldn't turn my back on another Avalon if the price were right. The Avalon is a helluva good car.. really enjoyed the time I spent driving mine.
Roland
I don't think I've ever seen a pic of your old Avalon. What a beautiful color! Your next car should be white.
I have only had a limited experience with the two but I recently had the "opportunity" to drive a 2018 Avalon for a couple of weeks. I selected the Avalon because my wife wanted something like an ES. I believe it was an XLE but a rental car version of an XLE and it lacked some of the options that I expected at that trim level. Not only I, but my wife, who is most certainly not into car comparisons, noticed right away that it was not the same. I thought it would be very similar and was looking forward to the chance to drive it for awhile. It had 17'S but they were not Michelins. The ride was not the same nor was the noise level inside the cabin. I found myself wishing I had selected the Camry that was also available. I know this is not much on detail but it just wasn't the same and I was glad to get back to an ES.
I thought I read recently in this forum that the Avalon uses less sound deadening and even different metal components in it's construction.
Since I have service on my Lexus vehicles done at the local Toyota dealer, I've had a few Avalon loaners.
When I start driving an Avalon, the thing that I immediately notice is that much more engine and road noise enters the cabin than with my ES.
Additionally, the quality of interior materials in the Avalon is a notch below that with the ES, and the fits and finishes, both interior and exterior, are not quite at the same level with the Avalon as they are with the ES.
The Avalon impresses me as a very nice vehicle, but the ES is noticeably nicer.
When I test drove the two back to back, the noise levels were one reason why I didn't like the Avalon. It just had a sort of "tin can" feeling that the ES did not. I especially noticed it when I took it on the freeway. It's not loud like an economy car, but it doesn't feel like a modern luxury car.
I also thought the interior materials felt cheap and the stereo/ac controls had these membrane buttons that just felt chintzy. I also noticed a sort of plastic creaking noise from the dash area when I went over rough roads that sort of reminded me of cars from years ago.
But I really liked the styling on the Avalon and you could get like a 1-2 year old loaded Avalons that were prior fleet cars for like $18k at a Toyota dealership, so I was still interested. But when I drove the ES I just decided to pay a bit more as I thought it was enough of a upgrade. If I didn't know the cars were built on the same platform, I never would have guessed. They feel completely different to me.
I was honestly more impressed with the Camry than I was the Avalon. I just felt both had a "rental car" vibe to them and the ES wasn't much more money. I will say the ES has a few cheap touches as well (like the door panels) but it seems like a big upgrade over the Avalon.
I really don't know who buys "new" Avalons though, the sticker price on some of them that are well equipped with leather is around $45k+. Seems a no brainer to just go with a Lexus ES at that point.
When I test drove the two back to back, the noise levels were one reason why I didn't like the Avalon. It just had a sort of "tin can" feeling that the ES did not. I especially noticed it when I took it on the freeway. It's not loud like an economy car, but it doesn't feel like a modern luxury car.
I also thought the interior materials felt cheap and the stereo/ac controls had these membrane buttons that just felt chintzy. I also noticed a sort of plastic creaking noise from the dash area when I went over rough roads that sort of reminded me of cars from years ago.
But I really liked the styling on the Avalon and you could get like a 1-2 year old loaded Avalons that were prior fleet cars for like $18k at a Toyota dealership, so I was still interested. But when I drove the ES I just decided to pay a bit more as I thought it was enough of a upgrade. If I didn't know the cars were built on the same platform, I never would have guessed. They feel completely different to me.
I was honestly more impressed with the Camry than I was the Avalon. I just felt both had a "rental car" vibe to them and the ES wasn't much more money. I will say the ES has a few cheap touches as well (like the door panels) but it seems like a big upgrade over the Avalon.
I really don't know who buys "new" Avalons though, the sticker price on some of them that are well equipped with leather is around $45k+. Seems a no brainer to just go with a Lexus ES at that point.
all the more reason they should scrap the Avalon and do what honda has with the accord and just expand on the camry.
I really don't know who buys "new" Avalons though, the sticker price on some of them that are well equipped with leather is around $45k+. Seems a no brainer to just go with a Lexus ES at that point.
BradTank... you hit the nail on the head right there. When I started shopping for a new car in 2014, Lexus wasn't even on my radar.... At the time I was driving an 07 Avalon when I saw an ad on tv that Toyota was offering 0% for 60 months, which at that time, they didn't make that offer very often so I decided to get a new one. But when I saw the sticker price on one that was loaded out pretty well, I knew they were going to have to come off that price if I were to buy it.. They barely budged plus the salesman was being coy about the numbers.. He would give me a price that included my trade in but never would give me a break down like how much are you allowing for my 07 Avalon.. when I pressed him for answers he would try to double talk me and was very vague with his answers. Finally I said "keep it".... as I left the lot, I noticed a beautiful red Lexus on the lot next door... when I looked at it, it was around 43K and I said too much.. I asked the sales lady if they had any new 2013 models left and she said they only had 1 left and it was on the show room... it was stickered just under 47K, but because the 14's were already on the lot we were able to finally work out a deal.. Ended up buying it for less than I would have paid for the Avalon... At that point it was a no brainer.. why pay more for less.
Price points are very close in comparably equipped vehicles, that being said you can’t really compare this ES to the all new Avalon. Against the out going Avalon there’s several differences you will notice that are better on the ES. The paint quality is better, smoother with less orange peel effect, more soft touch areas on the interior, higher quality interior components, more sound dampening for a quieter ride, damping rates of the suspension for better ride quality, and tighter fit and finish of all interior and exterior panels/parts. The Avalon has the highest resale value of the Toyota sedans, but the ES does just as well. They’re both great sedans in their own rights, but the ES is definitely more refined and imho, the better of the two. The same is going to be true of the newest models, but I believe they’re now targeting two different markets with them in their designs.
I just couldn’t resist adding my two cents worth. In Feb 2017 I purchased a 2016 Avalon XLE Premium. It had the options I wanted and I did okay price wise being that it was a left over model year. I had been watching a CPO 2015 ES and waited too long as it sold. I had read reviews and joined the Avalon Forum and so many had said the Avalon was the exact same car as the ES and the best Avalon model was the Premium. So I took the plunge and I bought one. The Avalon is a nice car, but it isn’t an ES. My wife hated the Avalon as the passenger seat only went forward and back and the back of the seat tilted back & forth. She never could get comfortable in the Avalon. We had a long trip planned for this summer and so on a whim one Monday in April we both had off work, we visited the Lexus Dealer as they had a 2015 ES CPO with low miles. We were just going to look - famous last word there! Well after test driving two 2015 ES’s and a 2016 ES Ultra Luxury we traded for a 2017 ES CPO with the Premium pkg and Blind Spot/Cross Traffic and a few other perks. The difference in the ES is definitely in the lack of road noise, quality of materials, radio and ride. I had convinced myself that the ES wasn’t worth more money, but that is absolutely a misstatement. Just drive the two cars and it is very obvious the ES stands far above the Avalon IMO.
They barely budged plus the salesman was being coy about the numbers.. He would give me a price that included my trade in but never would give me a break down like how much are you allowing for my 07 Avalon.. when I pressed him for answers he would try to double talk me and was very vague with his answers
Roland
This instance is a perfect example of why one should NEVER let the salesman know you plan to trade your present vehicle until after obtaining a fixed price on the new one... I know this is off subject but thought worth noting...
way2lo, you didn't mention what model year ES and Avalon you are considering. As you've seen here the new 2019 Avalon is out now and the new 2019 ES is due in September I believe.
If you're looking at current gen ES and Avalon's very good information here. If you're thinking about the new gens of each there are some reviews on both on You Tube with early impressions. After looking at a few of them it appears that both models have been nicely upgraded.
As you might imagine, this topic (assuming current models) has been discussed quite a bit and you can get instant answers, no waiting by using the search feature.
20 threads with Avalon in the title alone - here are a few
i still personally think the avalon looks better on the outside. crazy.
theres something about its exterior, looks much more sophisticated in my view.
but that interior is just something i cannot tolerate.
the beige with dark brown trimmings and wood looks ok though. but black interior on the avalons just a sin.
i still personally think the avalon looks better on the outside.
That's certainly a matter of opinion, especially when talking about the current models of both cars.. I personally like the look of the new Avalons, but that was the one thing that bugged me the most back when I had my 2007 Avalon. Look at an 07 from the rear or either side and you immediately knew it was an Avalon.. look at it dead on from the front and you couldn't barely tell it from a Camry. I'm not knocking Camrys, but when I bought my Avalon, I paid considerably more than a Camry would have run me.. always hated the fact it was hard to tell my avy wasn't a camry from the front. To me, here's the tell all sign about a cars appearance. The other night I was walking toward my shiny red ES in a restaurant parking lot.. as I approached the car from the drivers rear I said to myself.. Damn, that is one good looking automobile.. With only 41K miles, don't think I'll be looking anytime soon.
