The new Toyota Avensis looks just like a Lexus IS! Is it the next Toyota Corolla for the U.S.?

Toyota has issued a single photograph of the new Avensis saloon. The new Avensis will arrive officially at the Paris motor show on 2 October 2008 – and this solitary image is all we'll get from Toyota until then.

Well spotted. Look past that weird eggshell background of this carefully shot portrait, and you're left with a crisp-edged, contemporary family saloon – with just a few echos of its posher, bigger brother to remind us that Toyota leaves the proper exec experience to its Lexus arm.

But unfortunatly we won't be getting it here in the U.S. We have the larger Camry and the smaller Corolla instead-- the Avensis is in between those both in terms of size and features. This latest generation however is arguable better looking than both aformentioned siblings, and a stripped-down version sold here as a Corolla wouldn't be a bad idea, even if it is a bit larger.

Source: CAR