greencarreports.com 2013 Avalon

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2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid : Gas Mileage Drive Report

On a 292-mile test drive over a long weekend, using our usual drive route of about two-thirds highway mileage and one third around-town travel, Toyota's largest sedan gave us a combined gas mileage of 40.2 mpg.
Which we'd say is pretty darn good for a full-size sedan that weighs 3,600 pounds.

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2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid : Gas Mileage Drive Report
Both the Avalon and the Camry use Toyota's 2.5-liter four-cylinder Atkinson Cycle engine, paired with the Hybrid Synergy Drive system, which contains two electric motor-generators.
The system can power the car on electricity alone, under light loads, and use the electric motors to provide supplemental torque that assists the engine.

The motors turn into generators to recharge the nickel-metal-hydride battery pack using engine overrun and regenerative braking, and they switch on the engine when needed.
Unlike the standard Prius lift back model, the hybrid system in the Avalon has been tuned to permit all-electric running as high as 48 mph.

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2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid : Gas Mileage Drive Report
We found it easy to keep the car in "EV" mode for a mile or more if the road was flat or a slight downgrade, and traffic permitted us to maintain a steady speed.
Speed matters, of course: We noticed that we could easily average 42 mpg around town, but mileage dipped below 40 mpg on the highway.

Overall, the Avalon Hybrid neatly nailed its EPA combined rating on our test drive--unlike some hybrids from other makers.
And it goes to reinforce our impression that Toyota's hybrid system returns real-world efficiency that's pretty close to the EPA ratings that are the only fuel efficiency metric any maker is allowed to publicize.