On 9 February 2006, Toyota Australia unveiled the Aurion alongside the Aurion Sportivo concept at the
Melbourne International Motor Show at an official
press conference. Toyota dropped the Avalon tag for their new large car, as it had gained a reputation to be an uninspiring car, both in the flesh and to drive. Aurion means "tomorrow" in
Ancient Greek, and
Aurora translates to "the dawn" in
Latin. The name was chosen after
consumer research on more than 30 potential names. This gives implications of a completely new car Before commencing production of the Aurion,
Toyota Australia manufactured the
full-size Avalon model at its
Altona plant in
Melbourne until June 2005. Production of the Avalon had begun in 2000, taking much of its basic design and mechanical features from the then six-year-old Avalon model sold in North America. The Avalon was offered as a larger, more upmarket car than the
Toyota Camry, which it was built alongside. The original sales predictions were not met, with the Avalon failing to challenge rivals such as the
Holden Commodore and the
Ford Falcon. The reasoning behind this has been widely attributed to the Avalon's older design and styling, which has been widely described as "bland", as well as the front-wheel drive configuration and smaller
engine displacement. Toyota, discovering that the Australian public wanted something that was modern and designed with consideration to the Australian market, began full-scale planning work on its Avalon replacement in 2002. Toyota Australia realised that no other model being developed at the time for Japan or North America was going to be suitable, and due to the size limitations of the Australian market, a completely indigenous model was unrealisable. However, at that time, Toyota Australia did not have any designers of its own. As a result, the company recruited Paul Beranger in August 2002 to set up
Toyota Style Australia (TSA) in an
industrial complex located in
Dingley Village, Victoria. TSA first developed the X-Runner and
Sportivo Coupe concepts, and in 2003, Nick Hogios, who had previously worked for
Ford Australia on designing the
XR performance models of the
BA Falcon, was appointed chief designer. TSA's next venture was more significant—a privately developed model based on the
Camry XV30—a car that signalled the beginning of the Aurion programme. Codenamed "380L" and developed during the course of 2003, this one-off model was forged by stripping panels and interior components from the donor Camry, and substituting these for TSA-developed versions. Total cost was approximately million.
Focus groups conducted by Toyota in early 2003 had ranked the Avalon at the bottom of the list when compared to the competing
Holden Commodore,
Ford Falcon and
Mitsubishi Magna. Later on in the year, the same focus groups were called back and the Avalon was exchanged for the 380L. Overall, the groups ranked the Toyota as their first preference, and according to Beranger, "didn't see the car as a Camry". As such, Toyota Australia deduced that if the 380L was available for purchase there and then, they could sell it alongside the regular Camry as a six-cylinder car under a different name. Due to the success of TSA's earlier concepts and the 380L, While the work in Japan was being undertaken, TSA began to make changes for the Australian Aurion variants. This component sharing also means that Aurion has the same
wheelbase, front and rear
axle tracks, and interior dimensions. Interior design also largely parallels the Camry. Notable differences include the redesigned upper
dashboard portion and restyled
centre console, plus the substitution of the Australian Camry's hand-operated
parking brake with a foot-operated equivalent (as shared with the Camry for Japan and North America). The reasoning behind this component sharing strategy was to reduce costs and to allow the car to be built alongside the Camry, thus simplifying the manufacturing process. Toyota claims that the Aurion is designed to Australian tastes, although it has been designed with markets such as Asia in mind. In addition, like its other vehicles of similar vintage, Toyota designed the Aurion within the realm of its "vibrant clarity" design language. According to chief designer Hogios, the car makes particular use of the "vibrant clarity" theory known as "perfect imbalance". This involves body features that act as a counterpoint to other body features. Examples of this include intersecting
concave and
convex surfaces and vertical sculpted features on the front fascia, which are balanced by the horizontal
headlamps. For certain markets like China, where Camry sits right below similar-sized
Mercedes-Benz cars as a luxury model, it is important for the Aurion to exemplify the traits of such vehicles. With the development of the Aurion, designers produced two separate philosophies, each pitched at a specific niche of the market. The base model AT-X, and luxury
Prodigy and
Presara variants employ the
comfort design, with the more aggressive
sports-oriented style found on the
Sportivo versions. To meet this requirement, the Sportivo variants feature unique 17-inch
alloy wheels, a rear
spoiler,
body kit appendages and a three-spoke steering wheel. The high-performance TRD models offer a similar sports-oriented design, but are distinguishable by the use of unique body parts. These include a redesigned
Formula One-inspired front
bumper, with integrated foglamps, a unique rear bumper with fixed
tailpipes.
Facelift Toyota of
Thailand unveiled a reworked version of the East and Southeast Asian-market Camry in June 2009 equipped with a
hybrid drivetrain. The revised Aurion-based Camry previewed the Australian Aurion's then upcoming facelift. The updated car features new
headlamp and taillamp lens clusters with integrated foglamps, along with a redesigned front
bumper,
grille insert, and revised interior trim details. The revised Aurion was designed by Australian chief designer Nick Hogios, who also designed the original Aurion, and Anthony Cheung, assistant project manager from Thailand, during 2007. The hybrid version was also designed by Takafumi Ito, who also designed the facelifted regular Camry. The design registrations for the facelifted hybrid version, nothing changes made to the original were filed on 19 December 2008 at the US Patent and Trademark Office. Toyota Australia later revealed the updated car as its Aurion on 21 September. While the front-end of the original Aurion was designed with a "double-concave" architecture, the revised version abandons this for an "X-Form" design philosophy, characterised by a lower and wider trapezoidal shaped grille. Interior upgrades in the form of new colour combinations are featured, along with upgraded
instruments and gauges giving greater
turn signal and warning-signal clarity. Revised audio systems, lighting and in-cabin storage are also featured. Prodigy and Presara versions receive a new "linear satin"
wood grain finish. Toyota caused controversy by not providing a third test vehicle for ANCAP to use for the optional "side-pole impact test". This third test, allows tested vehicles to be eligible for a five-star rating if the initial score is high enough. Toyota cited the additional expense of
A$75,000–$100,000 including the car as being unjustifiable, and that they did not agree with the nature of the pole test. The scores given without the optional test indicate that the maximum two points that could have been earned would have been slightly less than needed to give the Aurion a five-star rating anyway. Due to Toyota's decision to fit a driver and front passenger
seat belt reminder, along with their decision to fund the optional pole test, the Aurion's safety rating was upgraded to a full five stars from August 2009 production, with a score of 33.03 out of 37. == Powertrains ==