The all-wheel-drive Toyota Camry debuted in November 2019 but didn’t go on sale until Spring 2020. So, this is the first winter for customers to test the tech’s ability in slippery conditions. In this video, The Fast Lane Car has the Camry AWD on hand and evaluates how the system works.
There’s no snow on the ground for this video, but The Fast Lane Car has rollers that simulate a slippery road. The evaluation starts with putting them under the front wheels to force the rear wheels to propel the sedan. The AWD system has no problem rerouting the power to push the Camry through the challenge.
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Next, things get a little tougher by putting the rollers on a front wheel, and the one on the opposite side of the rear. The challenge forces the AWD system not only to split the power front-to-back but also side-to-side. Once again, the Camry is able to drive away.
Finally, there are rollers on three corners, and only a rear wheel is able to propel the sedan. The results are inconclusive, though. Rather than easily pulling away, the system struggles but eventually gets through the challenge. However, the Camry actually seems to be sliding off the rollers, rather than overcoming them. The same result happens twice.
The results are pretty impressive for the all-wheel-drive Camry. There aren’t going to be many situations where an owner gets into a situation where a driver only has traction from a single wheel, and even then, it looks like the car might have a chance of getting out of the slippery situation.
The Camry’s all-wheel-drive system can route up to 50 percent of the engine torque to the rear axle. Also, it has an electromagnetic coupling that can disengage the power to the back wheels to improve fuel consumption. The system makes the sedan weigh 165 pounds (75 kilograms) more than a front-wheel-drive model.
The tech is exclusively available with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 202 horsepower (151 kilowatts in the Camry LE, XLE, and SE grades. The XSE pushes the output to 205 hp (153 kW).
Pricing for the 2020 Camry AWD starts at $26,370 for the entry-level LE grade. The range-topping XSE begins at $31,405.