2019 Toyota Avalon Interior Review: Not a Camry-Plus

It's a different atmosphere inside the redesigned 2019 Toyota Avalon. Sure, the Avalon's steering wheel buttons, instrument cluster, and gear stalk will look familiar to Camry drivers, but the rest of the package has evolved into something more special. And it should be, considering the 2019 Avalon starts at $36,395, or more than $10,000 above the starting price of a base-model four-cylinder Camry—which nonetheless shares many of the larger Avalon's underpinnings. The interior's relative improvement versus its midsize sibling is the 2019 Avalon's biggest step forward compared to its predecessor.

We drove Toyota's new flagship sedan and, while sitting inside a string of new Avalons, interviewed Alan Schneider, senior principal designer at Toyota's Southern California CALTY design studio. Keep reading for more on the car's cabin.

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The top of the 2019 Toyota Avalon's dash isn't very high—unlike the Camry—and that makes the larger sedan feel a little airier inside. The impression is made possible in part by slim air vents positioned below the touchscreen. Schneider says the design goal for the interior was combining the spaciousness that is expected of an Avalon with the feeling of a cozy cockpit. The way the center console rises between driver and front passenger to become the center stack of controls is an interesting design, and we're pleased that the standard 9.0-inch touchscreen (with standard Apple CarPlay but no Android Auto) sits at the top of the dash. Another cool detail: The interior-color part of the lower dash appears to continue behind the screen to the driver's side.

One of the most difficult challenges with the interior design was determining how to make sure the silver trim that slices through the passenger-side air vent maintains a consistent alignment with the trim that continues across the dash to the edge of the center stack even as you adjust the air vent to point higher or lower. Engineers worked overtime to figure that one out, Schneider says.

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The 2019 Avalon Limited has real matte wood trim, and it looks great. That trim is one reason I would personally go with a Limited model instead of the similarly priced Touring, whose visual upgrades include sporty exterior doodads and real aluminum trim inside. Even on a Toyota-branded vehicle requiring a more cost-conscious approach than the mechanically related 2019 Lexus ES, why go with real and desirable materials?

"When technology and artificial means of intelligence and communication increase," Schneider says, talking about trends beyond the automotive world, "I think the value of authenticity and craftsmanship increases to counteract that."

The sporty but more affordable XSE trim also gets real aluminum trim, whereas the base XLE has what's called hydrographic interior trim, which I found less satisfying to look at or touch than the options on the other trims.

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One of the reasons Toyota picked Sapele wood from musical instrument maker Yamaha was that "their process allows us to have a compound bend," Schneider says. The wood trim curves down sharply from one plane to another on the dash, and the unusual placement of the trim on the top of the doors reaches out to meet the dash trim, creating a wraparound feel.

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The last-gen Avalon already had soft-touch surfaces extending halfway up the center console, and the 2019 model takes things a step further. Soft leatherlike material extends from the back of the center console's armrest/storage compartment all the way to the bottom of the dash. So as you put a drink in one of the central cupholders, your fingers will also brush up against premium-feeling soft-touch trim. The same is true for the sliding lid over the Qi wireless charging area and for the lower part of the dash near the front passenger. A few pieces of hard plastic can still be spotted here and there, but the Avalon makes a good first impression when you combine the extensive soft-touch leatherlike trim with how nice the steering wheel feels (even on the base XLE).

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The slim, silver buttons surrounding the 9.0-inch touchscreen are the same as the ones below that control various HVAC functions. That's not an accident, Schneider says: "In the end, what we realized is that coordinating the touch experience is your goal; you want it to feel unified so that the operation of each one is expected but also predictable."

It does look good, but for driver and front passenger temperature controls, I still prefer knobs instead of the 2019 Avalon's up/down buttons. Sometimes, as in the Genesis G80, having four control knobs for the climate and audio settings leads to cranking the volume when you wanted to increase the HVAC fan speed. Unlike the G80, though, the Avalon probably wouldn't have that issue because its knobs would have been positioned farther apart.

Speaking of the G80, the Genesis's center stack buttons have a wonderful coating that gives them a more premium feel. A similar feature was considered on the Avalon, but the options considered by Toyota didn't meet company standards: "There were no soft-spray coatings that didn't scratch or wear out or peel away in our testing."

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The leather on the Avalon Limited features an interesting pattern that's more random than the standard equidistant dots you expect with perforated seats (like you'll find on the Touring). In fact, Schneider says the team considered two dozen perforated patterns. Some of the options that didn't make it produced a stripelike effect. Others combined their dots to look like stars or make concentric effects. On the production car, along with the swoopy lines created by the stitching on the outside of the seats, the seat design is far bolder than you'd expect of an Avalon.

Although I found the XLE's SofTex faux-leather material softer than the Limited's real leather, I'd still pick a Limited if I were considering an Avalon. The Touring may look sportier inside and out and feature Ultrasuede inserts on the seats, but those seats don't hold you in place any more than the ones on other trims. Both of those trims offer a surround-view camera system with a front-side view that can help you figure out exactly how close your tire is to a curb.

Fun fact: A white interior color option was suggested, but that didn't pass the automaker's soilability tests, Schneider says. Instead, Cognac is the 2019 Avalon's new color for the Limited trim. It's a bold tan that looks good on the seats, the door and dash trim, and on part of the steering wheel.

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Good news for those considering the 2019 Avalon Hybrid—a car that's now only $1,000 more than the V-6 model—the trunk size is the same 16.1 cubic feet no matter which engine you choose. Helpfully, the Avalon's trunk springs open when you press the trunk-open button. There's no interior grab handle to help you close it, however, and a power-closing trunk isn't available at any price.

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The 2019 Avalon's interior is a big step forward. Even on the base XLE trim there are just enough premium details to help justify the high base price, and every Avalon gets a 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen and a 9.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Front and side visibility is good, and rear visibility is acceptable, though a high decklid and a gently sloping roofline hamper that just a bit. Otherwise, the interior is a huge step forward. But as mentioned in our full 2019 Avalon First Drive review, I prefer the more engaging hybrid information displays found in Fords.

"You can always sell an older person on a young thing," Schneider says in reference to Toyota's push to attract new (and younger) Avalon customers without alienating the existing ones, "but you can't sell a young person on an old thing."

I agree. And although I'd prefer easy-to-use HVAC knobs any day over the current car's up/down button control setup, the overall interior is a meaningful step up from a loaded Camry despite its lack of a panoramic moonroof. Those seeking a more exclusive Avalon experience over a Camry XLE or XSE V-6 should be pleased by what they find inside the cabin. Yes, there are a few shared details, but the new Avalon also has plenty of new features and design details to distinguish the interior.

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