Maps does not distinguish "avoid motorways" from "avoid tolls"
It doesn't distinguish the "avoid highways" filter from "avoid tolls"; if I set by default that I don't want to pay tolls, it doesn't mean that you have to exclude highway sections that would speed up the route and above all are not subject to payment. So I did a test. I chose a route without tolls, obviously Apple Maps also avoided the highways for me (as reported above), I ignore it and take the highway anyway because I partially know the route and I know that in Torino there is a free exit near Corso Giulio Cesare. And what does the unfortunate guy do? He doesn't tell me the exit but wants me to proceed to the Falchera toll booth. And instead, once I take the exit that I decide, he updates the itinerary and correctly sets the route that he should have made me take from the beginning.
iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 17