The Corolla Furia Concept hints at much more than just the next generation of the popular Toyota compact sedan says company Senior Vice President Bob Carter.

The concept car, which made its global debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show on Monday, features a front-end design that’s similar to the Toyota Avalon full-size sedan. This similarity is the start of a trend we’ll soon see throughout the Toyota lineup says Carter.

Drawing a parallel, he says this new look for Toyota will become what the Spindle Grille has for Lexus, giving a consistent design that creates instant brand recognition on the road. During Lexus’ press conference at Detroit, Lexus Exec Mark Templin called the brand’s spindle grille “iconic”.

Carter also deflected any comments that the Corolla was spurred on to be sportier and more design conscious by the competition, like the Hyundai Elantra, Dodge Dart and Ford Focus. He said that consumers are leaning towards more stylish and sportier looks. Carter also argued that the competition’s compacts have polarizing designs, and the final design of the next-gen Corolla will avoid that issue. How it will do that, without losing its edge, remains to be seen.

The Toyota Corolla trails only the Honda Civic in global compact sales, and is the brand’s most important nameplate. Time will tell whether or not consumers take to the radical new look foreshadowed by the Furia Concept, but it’s very likely that the front-end design will be a shared element among the new generation of Toyota vehicles.

There’s a new standard in the compact sedan category and in order to be seen as a leader in the segment, hitting 40 mpg is a must. The 2014 Toyota Corolla will do just that.

“It will hit that magic number,” a Toyota representative told AutoGuide this week at the Detroit Auto Show, hinting at the 40 mpg number touted by the competition. “Maybe even a tick or two above,” he continued.

While 40 mpg might seem like old news, cars that achieve that lofty fuel economy level are far less common than one might think. While both the Ford Focus, Nissan Sentra and Chevy Cruze are capable of 40 mpg and above, that number is only possible on optional high fuel economy packages. The Mazda3 is also in the 40 mpg club, but only on the optional SkyActiv models. And as for the Elantra, a car that Hyundai touted would get 40 mpg regardless of trim level or transmission choice, it has since been downgraded to 38 mpg, below the Honda Civic at 39 mpg (which at the time was criticized heavily for not meeting the Elantra).

Along with sitting at the top of the fuel economy performance heap, Toyota is also promising driving enjoyment to match. Speaking to our same source he described driving the car as closer to a Focus or Mazda3 in terms of handling dynamics.

To drive that point home, Toyota will showcase another version of the car later this year, detailing a sporty trim package. Don’t look for any of the Furia’s carbon fiber, and the wheels will shrink too, but do expect that the production 2014 Corolla will stay true to the overall design of this concept.