I slow down with particularly malicious intent when any Massachusetts plate wants to ride my ass. Doing it in an old geezer car makes my perverse sense of satisfaction even more fulfilling. I should start leaving my turn signal on when I do this.
This can be kept up for a long time on curvy and hilly roads like we have in Maine, where there are few passing opportunities. It’s great.
It is a 2.5L with 177HP.
Bad ass!
That is the base engine I would think? You can get it with a 3.5 L V6 that makes roughly 300 hp.
0-60 in two days. Don’t want to shock those old people.
FWIW, I am one.
That 3.5L V-6 is the #1 reason I bought that Avalon. It’s probably quieter than my uncle’s electric Chevy Bolt when driving like a geezer. It wakes the 301 hp up to do 0-60 in 6 seconds.
Awesome engineering on that drivetrain.
I want to build a gen 2 MR2 with that engine. They make full swap kits for it. I’ve mentioned this before, so I won’t go into much detail, but I feel that in a 2600 lb car with the engine behind the driver, that that motor would just kick ass. It also isn’t that hard or expensive to get a motor as they are in the camry, avalon, sienna, and I think a few other popular cars (maybe even the tundra?).
Tacoma, but not Tundra.
All non hybrid Lexus ES350s have had it for a really long time.
And of course many Avalons with it have now had the chance to outlive multiple owners. I’m taking mine to the grave!
For your purposes, you may be interested to know that a turbocharged version powers the Lotus Emira, making an extra 99 hp for a total of 400.
True. I think I just mixed up the names. I know the big one (Tundra) has a V8.
That is true too. I think the ES330 as well? These are tuned for premium I thought? If I did the swap, I think I’d want it to run on regular. ~300 hp is more than enough IMO. I’d think mid 30 MPG to 40 MPG would be possible with a stock regular fuel tune with a light and aerodynamic car?
Lotus uses a lot of Toyota motors. TBH, in an MR2, 400 hp would be borderline reckless. People spin them commonly with the stock motor. Although once I got used to 300, I may (would) eventually want more power.
To be honest I really enjoy the CVT and hybrid. Its a rly smooth drive and I dont see a reason for high horse power and engine in any car.
As far as I know all naturally aspirated 3.5L V-6 from Toyota run on 87.
The practical reason if you compare an Avalon to a Corolla is durability. There are very good odds I can get to 300k miles or even much more with this vehicle without any major repairs or replacing expensive parts that just wear out, like a hybrid battery.
Otherwise the Corolla is an excellent sedan that does everything I need a sedan to do, but at a lower overall cost.
The real reason is that it’s fun to go fast.
That is very debatable. First Toyota gives 10 years waranty to hybrid bateries. Prius 3rd and 4th gen bateries start giving troubles after 15 years on average according to the hypermillers. Additionally repairs to a small hybrid engine batery is relatively cheap. Full replacement currently is expensive, but I believe it will become cheaper with tech development.
Lastly and very important 300k miles on a hybrid engine is about 150k miles on the regular engine. Which means the main engine of the hybrid will wear much slower. CVT is also much more reliable than automatics.
You may be right about durability, time will tell on that. The 3.5L is one of the most proven engines ever made, so I’m not too worried about long term durability. Same with the transmission, which I think is outstanding in the Avalon when paired with the V6. If I did more city driving I would have definitely considered a hybrid and CVT, but most of my miles are highway and rural roads with few stops.
32mpg is still pretty efficient. Having fun with the throttle bumps me down to about 28 mpg on my commute, which is still pretty decent. Overall it is still a very efficient and economical vehicle compared to an SUV, sports car or a more luxurious sedan.
Most importantly, I can use the Avalon’s acceleration and speed to further aggravate inconsiderate drivers from Massachusetts who want to tailgate me. After making them drive under the speed limit for miles and miles and miles, I can just hit the gas pedal when an opportunity to pass me arises. Unless they have a sports car, chances are the Avalon is quite a bit faster. Then, when we’re back to winding mountain roads with no opportunities to pass, I’ll go back down to 5 mph under the speed limit, leave my blinker on for no reason and continue frustrating the out-of-state jerks who wanted to ride my ass when I was doing 10 over the speed limit. You can’t put a price on that.
Even for the most practical people, car purchases still have an emotional component that can explain any purchase made by anyone. Even my company’s CFO, who collects crappy old Pontiacs when he could afford just about any normal car he wants. Or my wealthy uncle, who likes to go out in public with no evidence of his wealth.
I’ve put 7k miles on the Avalon in a little over two months. That included multiple road trips in addition to my normal driving. It’s nice to drive something really comfortable that handles nice, has lots of power and doesn’t cost a lot to keep on the road. I enjoy my time spent in the car, as opposed to being something I just have to put up with to get from point A to point B.
In summary, going fast is fun.
Edit: Saving money is also fun, and the Corolla is a great car for getting the job done and being nimble and zippy around town. So is the Civic, which I’ve never owned but have driven a few times as rentals.
I think you could make more power that way (the 3sgte). The v6 appeals to me because of decent power in it’s stock form. More reliable is important to me.
Just got dream job with large sign on. Looks like my 11 year old GTA III dreams are coming true.
Bought a Lincoln MKZ off my buddy last night. Not normally what I’d be looking for in a car, but after driving it, I understand why the old dudes love them. For a sedan, seating is fairly high. The ride is buttery smooth, it isn’t at all the same experience as my mazdaspeed 3. The car is a bit of a sleeper too. I don’t think I’ll have much luck with pick up drag races, because who even thinks to race a Lincoln haha. The car does have 400 hp and 400 ft-lbs of torque, and AWD. It feels slower than my Mazda, but it’s faster. I think because the Mazda has a lot more drama involved (it’s lower, and much bumpier).
Anyways, here are my two steeds in the stable. 663 hp in the garage combined.
That must have the 3.0L ecoboost? Thats a peppy engine right there. If you ever want to get sassy with it…
2017-2020 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL & MKZ 3.0L ECOBOOST TUNER | LPP631146 | Livernois Motorsports
It is the 3.0TT. I’ve looked up the Livernois tune. The main appeal to me is that it improves the shifting, which is a tad lazy feeling. The dyno graph on the Livernois website looks pretty good. Torque curve has a fairly consistent increase compared to stock across the entire rev range.
I am not sure I want to commit to only 93 octane. The stock tune can run regular, but gets the best performance on premium. It is a fairly small difference in performance (I think you lose about 10% power), and I am tempted to just run 87 in it most of the time, unless mpg drops significantly. Cost me $60 to fill it with 93 yesterday, and I think that gives me around a 300 mile range. 87 was almost a full dollar cheaper than the 93. IDK, I would have saved almost $15 bucks on the fill up, and IDK if I’d even notice the difference between 360 hp and 400 hp in most normal driving.
Retiree sedans are the superior form of travel.
