This was the first car that I owned. I like the spacious back. It is extra long. I like that the car itself looks expensive but we only bought it for 6,000. The seats are leather which I both liked, and disliked. They are great for easy clean-up, if there are any spills. However, they are terrible during hot weather. The seats get incredibly hot, and the steering wheel as well. I also disliked that the seats are very slippery. In the backseat, during turns, I felt like I would slip out of my seat belt. I like that the seats have automatic adjustments. I appreciate the bigger seats. I also like that there is extra room for leg space. I like the dashboard gadgets. Everything looks very modern and up to date, yet it maintains this vintage feel. When I drive in the car, I feel like I am in old Mafia movies. My vehicle is grey and has a brown interior. The carpets are also, very easy to clean if there are food crumbles or dirt. I take my dogs with me to a lot of places, and found that in this particular car, it was easy to remove all the dog fur.
KN
Charlotte, North Carolina
4.0
97 Toyota Avalon, Old Reliable
The 97 Toyota Avalon is exactly what you'd expect in a late 90s four door sedan from Toyota. Nothing too flashy, nothing too special. But everything is highly efficient, highly functional, highly intuitive, well-designed, and built to last. It includes all the features you would expect in a mid-tier sedan, including power windows, power locks, power sunroof, working A/C, leather seats, power seats in passenger and driver seat. Trunk is spacious that's able, for me, to fit over 10 desktop computers in and several hundred pounds of scrap metal, which gives you an idea of the build quality and materials of this fine vehicle. The car has enough power for you to overtake people on the highway with ease, with it's DOHC V6 engine with 205 HP. However it still runs an efficient 25 mpg when cruising on the highway and a great 20 mpg when going for a drive around the city. I bought the car at 136,000 miles, and have driven it approximately 20,000 miles since then. It was performed admirably the entire time, and I believe the car will last me several more years if not longer before I finally have to part ways with it. But I could never see myself selling it because it no longer works, but only because I'd want to purchase something more modern. This is a 200,000-300,000 miles car for sure.
MT
Provo, Utah
3.0
Runs well
I feel like this car is more of a "grandma" car. It is fairly long and wide. However, it really is a very nice car. I drives well and is very comfortable. It seats 5 comfortably, but can fit 6. I love that there is a lot of room for those sitting in the back of the car; it is very spacious. Tall genes run in my family, so it is very nice to have lots of leg space when riding in the back. It gets fairly good gas mileage; about 27 miles per gallon. It runs well and we haven't had too many problems since we have owned the vehicle. It performs well when thinking about acceleration and braking. The brakes do sometimes squeal a little though when you apply a lot of pressure to the brakes when making a quick brake, but other than that it performs very well. It is also very nice that the car is so spacious because it makes it easier to clean the car. You don't have to try to squeeze yourself into tight spaces in order to reach every part of your car. We also bought a dark green which has actually been really nice. It doesn't show dirt as easily as a white car.