Car and Driver - USA (2019-10)

90. CHARTING THE CHANGES. CAR AND DRIVER. OCT/2019

New Cars for 20 20 Tesla — Toyota

consumers have been more
than willing to pay extra for
gas-powered crossovers that
are less efficient than their
sedan counterparts, so we
don’t see any reason why this
won’t work out for Tesla, as
long as it can get the Model
Y delivered to customers on
time—or at all.
—
Minor trim changes: Model X

Toyota
—
Camry: Read Avalon first.
Done? Okay. TRD bestowed
the same performance tweaks
on the Camry as it did the
Avalon. On top of that, the
Camry TRD gets two-tone
paint, stiffer anti-roll bars, and
summer tires. But the wildest

1.8-liter inline-four carries over,

a 2.0-liter four is optional, and

a hybrid powertrain is newly

available. The Corolla starts at

$20,555, up $900 from 2019.

—

Prius: For the first time in

the U.S. market, the Prius is

now available with all-wheel

drive. Toyota’s so-called

AWD-e setup debuted last

year and uses a motor on the

rear axle to power the back

wheels. The Prius also gets

slightly smoother exterior

styling with new headlights,

taillights, and front and rear

bumpers, and a revised hatch.

On the inside, there’s a new

infotainment system with a

7.0-inch display on L Eco, LE,

and XLE trims. Amazon Alexa

and Apple CarPlay capability

are standard across the lineup,

as is Toyota’s Safety Connect

telematics system.

Toyota Highlander: The fourth-generation

Highlander arrives draped in sheetmetal that

bulges and curves like a pair of skinny jeans gone

wrong [Ew—Ed.]. But beneath the adventurous

exterior, it’s business as usual, with a move to the

TNGA platform and a carryover 295-hp 3.5-liter V-6

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menu). There’s a new hybrid powertrain that Toyota

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Highlander’s old system. The setup features a

2.5-liter four-cylinder paired with two electric

motors for a combined 240 horsepower. All-wheel

drive on the hybrid is provided by a third motor in

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Drive analyzes data regarding the driver’s habits,

routes, and road conditions to help the car decide

how to charge and discharge the battery in the most

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for 33 mpg combined on the base hybrid model (ver-

sus the old version’s 29) and that the small battery

pack does not reduce cargo or passenger space.

Amazon Alexa, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay

functionality are all standard.

part about this Camry is at the

rear, where a big wing sprouts

from the trunklid. Yes, we just

said “Camry” and “big wing” in

the same sentence.

—

Corolla: Following the 2018

introduction of the hatch-

back—which, apart from

a blacked-out Nightshade

package, goes unchanged for

2020—the new Corolla sedan

arrives this year. Built on the

flexible TNGA platform, the

sedan wears a different grille

than the hatch but shines the

same squinting headlights.

The interior is a nice place to

sit provided you’re in the front;

the redesign cut more than six

inches of rear-seat legroom,

which might hurt more than

one Corolla owner’s Uber

rating. Underhood, the base

Toyota Avalon: Redesigned for 2019, the

Avalon enters 2020 with a new performance

model from Toyota Racing Development (TRD).

The Avalon TRD retains the standard car’s 301-

hp 3.5-liter V-6 but gets a number of mechanical

changes. The car is lower by 0.6 inch, the front

brakes are bigger and feature two-piston calipers,

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is thicker for increased rigidity. The TRD also comes

with 19-inch wheels, paddle shifters, an aggres-

sive body kit, and red interior accents. A cat-back

exhaust system rounds out the package.

TOYOTA AVALON TRD