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Toyota Reveals 2020 Camry AWD, 2021 Avalon AWD for North America

Following in the footsteps of the Nissan Altima, the higher-ups at Toyota decided that it’s high time for the Camry and Avalon to gain all-wheel drive as well. The TNGA technology from the RAV4 will be offered as a stand-alone option on most trim levels starting with the 2020 and 2021 model year, respectively.
2020 Toyota Camry AWD 6 photos
Photo: Toyota
2020 Toyota Camry AWD2020 Toyota Camry AWD2020 Toyota Camry AWD2020 Toyota Camry AWD2020 Toyota Camry AWD
Developed exclusively for North America in the United States, the all-wheel drive system translates to the first all-wheel-driven Camry after a hiatus of almost three decades. Dynamic Torque Control is also on offer, and customers can AWD their sedans starting with the Camry LE and Avalon XLE grades. Toyota hasn’t announced how much the option will cost, but what we do know for the time being is that all-wheel drive adds 165 pounds over the front-driven Camry.

Neither of the two nameplates has been planned to have AWD when the engineers were developing them, which goes to show how modular the TNGA vehicle architecture can be. It’s also worth highlighting that the rise of the crossover and SUV is likely to have spurred Toyota into developing the AWD system.

An electromagnetically controlled coupling on the front of the rear-drive axle can disengage the propeller shaft when all-wheel drive isn’t needed, thus saving fuel on the long haul and when driving on the highway. Designed to re-engage in a matter of milliseconds, the system can direct up to 50 percent of the torque to the rear wheels when accelerating from a standstill or when slippage is detected.

What’s truly baffling about the Camry AWD and Avalon AWD is that Toyota didn’t have to carve into the passenger cell or trunk to make room for the all-wheel-drive system. Adapting the drivetrain to the mid- and full-size sedans required a few modifications to the floor structure and a saddle fuel tank instead of the flat-style tank in front-driven models. The addition of a rear differential didn’t affect the height of the trunk floor either.

Scheduled to arrive in early spring for the 2020 model year, the Camry AWD will be offered with an optional Cold-Weather Package that adds heated seats, mirrors, and steering wheel. The Avalon AWD will follow suit in the fall for the 2021 model year with a heated steering wheel as standard.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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