Toyota Camry AWD and Avalon AWD Have Arrived
Photo: Toyota
Toyota has officially launched the Camry AWD and Avalon AWD as it attempts to double down on the sedan segment, even as most of the industry turns its attention to crossovers and SUVs.
It’s the first Camry to get all-wheel drive since 1991, and the first Avalon to get AWD since…ever. Officially dubbed Dynamic Torque Control AWD, the system will be offered as a standalone option for the Camry LE, XLE, SE, and XSE, as well as for the Avalon XLE and Limited.
Toyota says that demand for AWD passenger vehicles has been steadily rising in the last few years. While that’s in part because of the corresponding increasing demand for crossovers and SUVs, customers seeking non-luxury midsize sedans with AWD capability have been left with very few choices.
Related: Why you need a winter tire package
Photo: Toyota
Typically, AWD comes with a compromise to fuel economy, but Toyota set out to ensure customers seeking extra traction in inclement weather would not be short-changed at the gas station. The Camry is expected to get 29 mpg combined on the LE and SE trims, and 28 mpg combined on the more capable XLE and XSE trims. You’ll have to stay tuned for Avalon AWD mpg estimates, though.
Toyota says the AWD system was developed entirely at its research and development center in Michigan, and that the Toyota New Global Architecture can be thanked for how easy it was to implement AWD to vehicles that had not originally been designed with it in mind.
Still, it did require some modifications to the fuel tank and floor, as well as using an electronic parking brake. The AWD system adds 165 pounds to the Camry and brings the weight of the Avalon to the level of the V6 models.
In theory, this should be a great time for the launch of new AWD models — “with winter’s icy grip on much of the United States,” Toyota says — but with the nation and the rest of the world experiencing the hottest January ever recorded and U.S. leadership continuing to make light of climate change, icy winters may soon be something we never need to worry about.
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Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.