Toyota is planning to introduce 19 new models this year, and one of them could be a game changer in the full-size sedan segment, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Several dealers attending the National Automobile Dealers Association in Las Vegas told the newspaper that they were shown an all-new Toyota Avalon sedan that the company told them would get the same fuel economy as a Fiat 500 subcompact.
The existing $33,995 Avalon is Toyota’s largest car and is powered by a V6 engine that delivers a fuel economy rating of 19 mpg city, 28 mpg highway. The least fuel efficient version of the 11-foot-long $15,500 Fiat 500 is rated at 27 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, while some versions get 30 mpg city, 38 mpg highway.
The most fuel-efficient non-hybrid gasoline-powered full-size car currently available in the United States is the Dodge Charger, which 19 mpg city, 31 mpg highway.
Details on what kind of powertrain the new Avalon will use, hybrid or conventional, have not yet leaked out, but the Detroit Free Press reports that the new car will make its debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show in April.