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Comments
Z
By using Premium you get 2mpg more ... 2mpg more X 15gallons = 30 miles you get extra per fill up ... thats roughly equal to one gallon of gas which costs me $2.90.
So you see... switching to regular gas will intially be cheaper, but statistically it doesnt make sense. I rather not go cheapo and use premium gas for a premium car and get the extra horsepower... plus have the engine + fuel filter in good & clean condition....
Is Avalon quieter than ES350? In quietness, Consumer Guide gives 7 points to Avalon, 8 points to ES350. I only drove a loaner 08 ES350 but never touched Avalon.
Z
My only choice was to take it into the ditch...we were hit starting in the drivers door and continued to crush the back door and rip off the back wheel and bumper. When he hit us, the Avalon rolled on its side and ended up falling back in the correct position.
The side curtain airbags deployed and I have to tell you, we all walked away...a little stiff, but still able to tell this story.
I get to purchase another car now that the insurance company will be paying for the the totaled one...and am now considering the ES350....Any thoughts?
Z
I've been shopping around...looking for the best price...the "totaled" Avalon was purchased for $37,346 all in after taxes and tags. Not sure if that was a good deal or not...
Get over the age perception gig.
Drive what you want!!!!!
Hello,
I am wondering if it's necessary to use premium fuel in the new ES 350. It seems the Toyota Avalon has a slightly derated (several fewer horsepower) version of the same engine and only requires regular unleaded fuel. Thank you.
From Lexus:
Thank you for contacting Lexus Customer Satisfaction. We are dedicated to providing superior service.
The Lexus ES 350 requires select premium unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating of 91 or higher for optimum engine performance. However, if such premium type cannot be obtained, you may temporarily use unleaded gasoline with an Octane Rating as low as 87. Use of unleaded fuel with an octane number or rating lower than stated above will cause persistent heavy knocking. If severe, this will lead to engine damage.
If you require further assistance, please respond to this e-mail, or contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-255-3987, Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Pacific Time.
I will NOT support oil company profits by buying a car that requires premium fuel. I figured that regular fuel is why the Avalon engine is derated by a few horsepower when compared with the ES 350 and the ECM takes care of any discrepancies to prevent knock. Anyone know of any other differences between the engines as installed in the Avalon vs. the ES 350? :confuse:
p.s. - my only beef with the local Lexus service is their push to do unneeded (per the manual) services.
Roland
The Avalon's back seat is actually larger than a CV.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
On a controlled speed parkway where the max. speed was 60, I actually got 32 mpg for a 150 mile trip. I think these mileages are excellent for a car of this size and regular fuel.
Congrats on the new Avy... I hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed my 07 avy.. Like you, I was also impressed with the overall size of the avalon. I mean I went from a Sedan Deville to the toyota...and truthfully I'm as comfortable in the avy as I was in the caddy, and for about 15 grand less.... I'm a big boy, not necessarily all that tall, but a big boy none the less ( we'll just leave that alone for now ) but the point is I never thought I would be comfortable in a "toyota"...was actually sitting down at the local Buick dealership about to sign the papers on a new lucerne when my wife convinced to at least go look at the avy before I bought the buick.. truth be told, I went down there pretty much just to shut her up... wow was I wrong.... I was immediately taken back as to how roomy the avy was.. and even more impressive to me was the power the car has. 268 hp... my 8 cyl. caddy with the northstar engine in it only cranked out 275 and weighed considerably more...yep, think the avy is a very good blend of comfort, style and fuel efficency for the money..
Roland.
Either way you'll be driving one nice ride.
Roland
"Ratings achieved using the required premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 or higher. If premium fuel is not used, performance will decrease."
Again, if premium fuel is required, then why include the second sentence? My take is: the Lexus has the same engine as the Avalon does and can run on regular unleaded with no problem.
Sincerely,
Jamie
Edit - just checked, engine dimensions/compression are the same, the Lexus listed 4 more hp, would be hard to notice!
P.S. - the Avalon has about 107 cu. ft. interior space, the ES350 about 96.
Here’s another related case: One of my co-worker has an ’08 BMW X5, 4.8i. The compression ratio for this engine is 10.5:1. The Owner’s Manual states that “premium unleaded gasoline with a minimum octane rating of 91 is REQUIRED.” On the other hand, my ’08 Avi, with a compression ratio of 10.8:1, has no premium fuel requirements and runs extremely well on regular with no engine knocking whatsoever. By compression ratio alone, this does not make sense; my avy should be gulping premium too. Seems like the [non-permissible content removed] are beating the Germans in this area (jeje).
Amaury
'08 Limited
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Amaury
'08 Limited
The 2GR-FE engine from the Avalon is the same thing as what is installed in the ES350 the slightly higher HP rating in the ES is from the requirement of premium fuel. Here is a shot of the owners manual from the '06 Avalo, showing my point: "for improved vehicle performance...."
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
How do you compare your co worker x5 with your avalon?
X5 feels a lot more specially doesn't it?
Of course you have to pay a price for that
----- ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------
One of the engines has a tweak that the other doesn’t. In very simple terms, horsepower depends on the thermal efficiency of the engine. Fuel type alone won’t increase this efficiency.
Amaury
'08 Limited
"Ratings achieved using the required premium unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 91 or higher. If premium fuel is not used, performance will decrease"
What does that tell you? Do you really think Toyota would tweak this engine for a lousy 4 HP? The "tweaked" version of this engine is the 2GR-FSE which is direct injected and used in the IS/GS and makes a little over 300HP.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve