2020 Toyota Camry gains AWD but not for Australia

Toyota will introduce an all-wheel drive Camry in the US but despite sharing essentially the same mechanical with the Aussie Camry, it’s a no show in local showrooms.

Set to be unveiled at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, the MY2020 Camry, along with its larger Avalon cousin will gain all-paw variants with a RAV4 derived all-wheel drive system dubbed Dynamic Torque Control AWD.

Depending on situation, the system could send up to 50% of the engine’s torque rearwards. The prop shafts to the rear wheels will decouple itself when not in use to reduce drag and save fuel. The additional hardware adds around 75kg to the car.

In the US, the AWD Camry comes only with the 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

All-wheel drive sedans are popular in the US especially in more snowy climates. As that isn’t really an issue here in Australia, Toyota’s local arm has confirmed it has no plans to bring the car into Australia.

What do you think? Would you buy an AWD Camry?