2020 Toyota Camry and Avalon TRD

We’re at the Texas Motor Speedway for our first drives of the 2020 Toyota Camry TRD and Avalon TRD. It’s been 40-years since Toyota Racing Development began pushing the limits of practical speed and handling. And, the Camry and Avalon are their first daily driver sedans to wear the TRD badge. 

Much of TRD’s talent went into the modified chassis, and a sportier stance from the nearly half-inch lower ride height. The MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspensions… are fitted with TRD track-tuned front and rear coil springs, shock absorbers and stabilizer bars for an overall stiffer, flatter, more responsive feel…

“They tightened up the suspension, the steering is crisp, acceleration is smooth both cars moved through the gears seamlessly and really fun to drive especially in a controlled situation like this where you can really cut loose. The only thing is some understeer, but that’s really to be expected with a car like this.”

Brakes got the TRD treatment too with two-pistons… rather than one…clamping the calipers onto the 9-tenths of an inch larger rotors behind matte black 19-inch wheels.

No real changes under the hood. Both use the same 301-horsepower 3-point-5-liter V6 and 8-speed automatic found in tamer front drive variants.

Outside, more TRD touches bring a new front splitter… side aero-shirts… trunk lid spoiler… rear diffuser and throatier exhaust. Inside, red stitching, seat belts and TRD badging indicate there’s more here than expected. But let’s not get carried away… these are still Toyota bread-and-butter family cars… so Safety Sense-P is standard on both models. 

On sale now... the 2020 Toyota Camry TRD starts at about $31,000… while the Avalon TRD begins at just over $42,000.