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TOYOTA'S AVALON, to debut this fall, is aimed at those buy-
ers who prefer sophistication and reliability over status.

TOYOTA SHOOK t up the
auto industry in the fall of
1992 when it introduced the
much-awaited full-size truck
to the North American mar-
ket.

The large truck segment was
one area that was kept free from
Japanese invasion, and the Big
Thiee feared that Toyota’s new
T100 truck would slowly cut up the
truck market share.
| The TLOO, however, did not turn
out to be a threat to GM, Ford and
Chrysler after all. Its sales figures
have been somewhat disappointing
for Toyota, and the Big Three
quickly forgot the truck-attack dan-
ger.

Two years later Toyota is ready
to hit the domestic auto market
once again, with a plan to introduce
another product that’s targeted at
the domestic-strong segment: full-
size family sedans.

Beginning this fall Toyota will
sell a large, six-passenger sedan
called the Avalon, and enter an area
previously unoccupied by Japanese
automakers.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.

There are larger Japanese cars
like the Mazda 929 Serenia, Lexus
LS400 and Infiniti Q45 sedans
available in the market.

However, none of these cars
offers six-passenger seating and
they are in the much higher price
range.

The Avalon, on the other hand,
is aimed at non status-oriented buy-
ers who would consider such cars
as the Buick LeSabre, Pontiac
Bonneville, Chrysler Intrepid and
Ford Taurus.

“Roomy and sophisticated, the
Avalon offers the quality and relia-
bility of Toyota technology to buy-
ers wanting to step up to a larger
vehicle,” says Ted Wallbridge, a
sales vice-president at Toyota
Canada.

The new 1995 Avalon is based
on the well-engineered, front-
wheel-driven Camry, and borrows
Camry’s basic powertrain and sus-
pension pieces.

The Avaton is 6) mm (2.4 ind
longer, [5 mmm (0.6 in.) wider and
20 mm (0.8 in.) taller than the
Camry sedan.

The result is a car that offers
230 litres (8.1 cubic feet) greater
combined interior and trunk space
than the mid-sized Camry.

OVERDRIVE

The most noticeable improve-
ments are in the rear passenger
area, where the Avalon boasts 58
mm (2.3 in.) more legroom space,
18 mm (0.7 in.) greater headroom,
and 30 mm (1.2 in.) more shoulder
room than its smaller sibling.

How does the Avalon compare
in size to other cars, such as the
Buick LeSabre, Chrysler Intrepid,
and Toyota's own luxury “big car,”
the Lexus LS400?

The Avalon is quite a bit smaller
on the outside than all of these cars.
For caample, it is 290 mm (11.5
in.) shorter than the Intrepid and
1 U7 nm (4.67 in.) narrower than
Buick's family sedan.

Despite the smaller exterior
dimensions, however, foyota was
able to squeeze generous interior
space into its flagship sedan.

In fact, the Avalon has more
front legroom and headroom than
the LeSabre. Intrepid and the
LS400.

In the rear, it had substantially
more legroom (100 mm or 4 in.)
than the LS400 and more headroom
than all but the Buick, which has
the same rear head space as the
Avalon.

The wider American cars do
offer greater shoulder room and
trunk space,

The Avalon is powered by a
slightly revised version of the
Camry’s 3.0-titre DOHC engine
and pumps outa healthy 192-horse-
power and 210 ft.-Ib. of torque. [t
produces 22 more horses than

See Avalon puge 42

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