I never had that problem in Orlando. It always took the Interstates and toll roads first.
The problem was not IN Orlando, it was from HERE to Nashville.
Google Maps is good, but for driving, Garmin Nuvi is far better. More polished; and google does want to avoid toll roads and sometimes even just interstates. When I went to Florida, it wanted me to drive country roads for hundreds of miles instead of just taking I-57. It was silly.
In a city, when I am on the street, walking, google maps is great. The search tool finds everything I want.