My assignment was to select a car. Just any car! Drive it from the west coast to the Grand Canyon, continue on to Tombstone, Arizona skirting Big Bend National Park, and then moving eastward to Rockport, Texas on the Gulf Coast. The trip would conclude back home in Dallas, Texas.
My wife Jo Ann and I were assigned several stories to be completed along the way, and ready for publication upon our arrival home.
After factoring in numerous considerations, I selected the luxurious Toyota Avalon Hybrid sedan. I needed a comfortable, technologically savvy vehicle that was double-dependable and engaging while providing great gas mileage. Avalon was the right choice.
We skirted the Mojave Desert near Barstow after leaving the City of Oxnard, California, then challenged the high mountain passages in and out of Williams, Arizona. The Avalon adjusted easily to coastal, desert, and mountain terrains. It has great acceleration when climbing then purring to a soft rhythm of the downgrade, sipping fuel like desert nectar.
Highway 17 south out of Flagstaff is about 7,300 feet above sea level. It then descends, sometimes rapidly, to the desert floor below where lies the City of Phoenix. Curves were sharp on the downgrade and the landscape was breathtaking. The Avalon shoulder nudged the mountains without a nervous blink from the vehicle or the driver.
2016 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited: Let’s Go Places
2016 Toyota Avalon. Courtesy of Toyota
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The Avalon cockpit is tailored for the driver.
Durhl Caussey
Author
