Toyota Camry and Avalon Now Offered With AWD
Winter is fast approaching — or already here, depending on where you live — and just in time, Toyota has announced it is making the Camry and Avalon available with all-wheel drive, giving drivers extra traction and confidence on slippery roads.
This is kind of a big deal, as the Camry hasn’t been offered with AWD since 1991, and the Avalon had never been offered with AWD at all in the history of Toyota automobiles.
The new system is officially dubbed “Dynamic Torque Control AWD,” but even Toyota admits that “the system name is a mouthful; Camry and Avalon models equipped with it will carry a simple ‘AWD badge on their trunk lids’.”
The AWD system will be available as an option on the Camry LE, XLE, SE, and XSE trims, and on the Avalon XLE and Limited. These are the models equipped with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission, a powertrain producing a little over 200 horsepower.
Related: What else should you expect from the Toyota Avalon?
All-wheel drive is an increasingly in-demand feature in the car world, in part because of the surging popularity of crossovers and SUVs. But customers seeking an affordable AWD-equipped sedan have often found their choices rather limited. Now those options include two of the most popular sedans in America.
Developed in-house by Toyota, Dynamic Torque Control AWD is already found on the rugged RAV4 SUV. When needed, it can send up to 50 percent of engine torque to the rear axle, allowing drivers to better put power to the ground in low-grip conditions. When extra grip isn’t needed, the AWD system automatically reverts — “in an instant” — to a front-wheel-drive configuration, which is more fuel efficient.
Though AWD systems take up space and add weight, Toyota says the Camry and Avalon “match their FWD counterparts in critical passenger space, trunk room, ride comfort, cabin quietness, and vehicle agility.” We assume Toyota somehow managed this feat with its usual manufacturing witchcraft.
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