2008 Avalon limited

As I write this review please keep in mind that my last car was an Acura RL & my wife has a BMW. Both cars are more expensive but have comparable features.

I wanted to get a car made in the USA, great reputation, with good gas mileage & lots of gadgets. The Avalon Limited seemed to fit the bill.

My beginning experience was the dealer. The one I picked turned out to be the worst dealer I have ever dealt with. I gave them two months to order the exact options I wanted. Two weeks out I asked how it was coming and they never ordered it. Now they started to try to sell me cars off the lot. After a fight and an extra two week wait the car came in and they called me to pick it up. They taped an after market Sirius radio to the dash board and I refused to accept it. After a big fight I waited a few days and they ordered in the correct built in model. A week later I found out that they put on an after market remote start & they refused to give me the one in the catalog and I gave up.

The car is very well built and a pleasure to look at. It rides well and is comfortable. keyless start is a joy. You can lock all doors from any door without taking out your keys, Lots of storage spaces all over,sound is very good.

The laser cruise control puts on the breaks too often and gets terrible gas mileage, however, it is fun to use when there are just a few cars on the road.

The voice commands get 50% wrong, the navigation system system is the worst of any car I have ever used. It is very poorly designed. The Acura & Infinity are 1000 times better!
The remote start that the dealer gave me works about 50% of the time and you always have to stand at the door and press buttons for at least 30 seconds to get the door open. It can get cold opening the door.

The satellite reception is terrible. I always got full reception in my neighborhood with my Acura. The Avalon can Satellite can only be used in completely open areas.

When backing up the Avalon you have no idea where the back of the car is & they have no gadgets to help.

The rear reclining seats are great