Most-Watched Videos of the Week

PickupTrucks.com's tow testing of a pair of 2013 Ram 1500 pickup trucks hauled it to the top of this week's most-watched videos list. The video, narrated by PickupTrucks.com Editor Mark Williams, puts the pickups' towing capabilities to a tough test near the Arizona-Nevada border on Highway 68's "infamous" Davis Dam section. Other newcomers to the list include our test drive of the 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 at Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah, Ga., at No. 2, and Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek's critique of the 2013 Toyota Avalon at No. 5. Check out what was popular this week:

1. Road Test Review: 2013 Ram 1500 V-6
2. 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 at Roebling Road Raceway
3. 2013 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE
4. 2014 Toyota Tundra
5. 2013 Toyota Avalon

2013 Toyota Avalon Does Capacitive Touch Controls Right

Touch-sensitive capacitive buttons are a purely aesthetic addition to new car interiors designed to mimic the clean appearance of a personal tablet computer. The controls, which replace traditional physical buttons, have found homes in cars ranging from compacts to luxury cars. They're generally awful to use without physical guideposts to reference while driving and can be distracting when poorly designed.

For 2013, Toyota's full-size Avalon received an all-new, upscale interior with capacitive buttons for climate, stereo and navigation controls. Our skepticism peaked when first reporting the Avalon's interior used such controls considering no automaker does the capacitive trend very well. After thoroughly testing the 2013 Avalon, however, Toyota's premium sedan surprised us with the best execution of these controls to date.

2013 Toyota Avalon Video

What the all-new 2013 Toyota Avalon loses in cushiness of ride, it makes up for in cushiness of interior. Cars.com reviewer Joe Bruzek calls the Avalon a "luxury car without the luxury-car price," and it might just be the closest you'll come to the interior quality of a Lexus ES in an under-$35,000 midsize sedan. Even the multimedia system's capacitive controls, rarely a bright spot, are tolerable.

Related
Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Toyota Avalon
2013 Toyota Avalon Joins NHTSA's Five-Star Club
2013 Toyota Avalon: Up Close

Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week

The 2013 Toyota RAV4 review refused to budge from the top position, which it has held the entire year. Meanwhile, the 2013 Honda Accord and 2014 Subaru Forester hung onto second and third place, respectively. The balance of the list is composed of last week's holdovers.

Check out what was popular this week:

1. 2013 Toyota RAV4
2. 2013 Honda Accord
3. 2014 Subaru Forester
4. 2013 Nissan Pathfinder
5. 2013 Ford Fusion
6. 2013 Ford Escape
7. 2014 Mazda CX-5
8. 2013 Ford Explorer
9. 2013 Toyota Avalon
10. 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport

Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week

Contrary to popular belief as per Benjamin Franklin, there are actually three certainties now: death, taxes and the RAV4 holding the No. 1 spot on our list of most-read reviews, as it has for all of 2013 so far. Among the less-certain aspects of this week's list, Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays' critique of the 2013 Honda Accord suddenly rocketed straight to No. 2 with nearly 81% of the RAV4's traffic. Mays says the Accord gained refinement and convenience features in its ninth generation, but at the expense of fun — something already lacking in the ultracompetitive family-sedan segment. Everyone else on the list was here last week &mdash and about half haven't even moved seats.

Check out what was popular this week:

1. 2013 Toyota RAV4
2. 2013 Honda Accord
3. 2014 Subaru Forester
4. 2014 Mazda CX-5
5. 2013 Ford Fusion
6. 2013 Ford Escape
7. 2013 Ford Explorer
8. 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
9. 2013 Toyota Avalon
10. 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

2013 Toyota Avalon: Car Seat Check

The large-car class is typically full of forgettable faces, but the Toyota Avalon isn't one of them. For 2013, Toyota injected a big dose of style into its largest sedan, but the Avalon also got a bit smaller this year. The previous version held three child-safety seats, but this one loses that claim thanks to narrower dimensions and more bolstered seats. It's still a roomy sedan, however, easily offering room for two child-safety seats, though buried Latch anchors complicated installation.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide 30 rear-facing infant-safety seat, a Britax Roundabout convertible child-safety seat and Graco high-back TurboBooster seat.

Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week

If the persevering popularity of the 2013 Toyota RAV4 is any indicator, we should've included it on our list of Top 10 Cars for the 2012 Apocalypse. As the scrappy crossover has been the lone occupant of the No. 1 spot on our list of most-read reviews for the entirety of 2013 so far, it seems an extinction-level event would leave behind only the cockroaches and the RAV4. Despite a spirited challenge to the RAV4's stranglehold on the top spot, list newcomer the 2014 Mazda CX-5 managed just better than two-thirds the traffic, good for second place. Otherwise, holdovers from last week did some spot swapping.

Check out what was popular this week:
1. 2013 Toyota RAV4
2. 2014 Mazda CX-5
3. 2014 Subaru Forester
4. 2013 Ford Explorer
5. 2013 Ford Fusion
6. 2013 Ford Escape
7. 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
8. 2014 Kia Sorento
9. 2013 Toyota Avalon
10. 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week

Our review of the 2013 Toyota RAV4 crossover unsurprisingly extended its stay atop the list of most-read reviews this week. Aside from a bit of movement among the ranks and the 2014 Kia Sorento and 2013 Toyota Avalon joining the top 10, much of this week's roster should look familiar.

Check out what was popular this week:

1. 2013 Toyota RAV4
2. 2014 Subaru Forester
3. 2014 Kia Sorento
4. 2013 Ford Fusion
5. 2013 Ford Escape
6. 2013 Ford Explorer
7. 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid
8. 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
9. 2013 Toyota Avalon
10. 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

Affordable Sedans Add High-End Features to Backseats

Nothing makes a person feel neglected like sitting in the backseat. Unless you are being driven by a chauffeur, most rear passengers in a sedan feel more like second-class citizens. Until now.

A recent automotive trend has my kids jumping for joy: seat heaters for rear passengers. This feature seems to be an indicator that things are movin' on up for those in the back. What's even better is this feature, once common only in luxury cars, is now available in cars that cost less than a bazillion dollars.

2013 Toyota Avalon Joins NHTSA's Five-Star Club

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to test new or redesigned-for-2013 models, and it just awarded the Toyota Avalon a five-star safety rating.

The 2013 Avalon's overall five-star score was composed of five and four stars across the different areas of crash testing: It earned four stars in frontal testing, five stars in side-crash testing and a four-star score in rollover tests. The hybrid model received the same scores.

Toyota's largest sedan was redesigned for 2013 with more exciting styling, a luxurious interior and new comfort and convenience features.

Related
2013 Toyota Avalon Review
More Toyota News on Cars.com
More Safety News on Cars.com