Toyota Camry Video Reviews

The past three months have turned my car world upside down. I lived with the Toyota Camry SL during that time, and now new and revolutionary thoughts are popping into my head.Have we all been hoodwinked by SUVs? Could a sedan be a truly great family car? Is the Toyota Camry no longer boring? And is it now, dare I say, a fun and comfortable car? Life changing queries, I know.The reality is after three months it's hard to find any meaningful flaws with the car, as much as I tried.The SL is the top of the range so it doesn’t want for much.You can expect desirable items such as synthetic leather-wrapped seats that are heated, ventilated and power adjustable in the front row. The driver’s seat also has a memory function to remember your ideal seating position. A heated and power adjustable steering wheel is standard. Lots of screens, smartphone mirroring and wireless phone charging.A monster panoramic sunroof lets the light pour in. Great in winter, not in summer, but Toyota has fitted a proper cover to completely block out the sun.That brings me to another point — the air con.Having suffered through lots of summers in an innumerable amount of cars that can’t get something as simple as air conditioning right — the Camry is a breath of fresh, and frigid, air.Every Camry comes with one year free access to Toyota’s connected servicing, which allows you to control a number of features via an app. You can turn the car and air con on before you plan to leave, which means you can cool the car down after it's been sitting in the sun. Take it from me, this is a game-changer with little kids, especially when heading back from the beach or park with the car parked in the sun for hours.You can also lock the car remotely and keep tabs on its vitals, as well as get access to a range of perks such as cheaper petrol.The Camry is also far roomier than any mid-size SUV. The back seat has acres of space. Anyone that’s been in the back seat of a ride share can probably relate. I regularly fitted two child seats, one forward-facing and one rear-facing. Both fit in with plenty of room to spare. The top tether anchor point is a bit of a pain to put in, but I was putting the seats in and out every other day, which is not a concern for most people.On the flip side it is almost five metres long, which is bigger than a comparable SUV. The Camry is also a fun car to drive. Shocking, I know.At its heart is Toyota’s hybrid set-up.Its 2.5-litre petrol engine is paired with an electric motor and a small battery. This combines to make 170kW, which is not far off a Volkswagen Golf GTI. Toyota doesn’t quote combined torque figures, but there is plenty.It makes light work of accelerating up steep hills and there is always plenty left in reserve when needing to overtake at speed.On the motorway the Camry is a quiet, comfortable and refined cruiser. The suspension does a quality job of soaking up bumps and lumps of all sizes, but it can get a little skittish over consistent small bumps.The steering is well weighted and direct, which delivers confidence on all types of roads.On a twisting country road is where the Camry sets itself apart from the SUV set. It’s lower ride height makes it intrinsically better to drive through the corners than its high-riding rivals.Shorts springs and tight body means it holds its weight through the bends better with no lean and it handles sudden change of direction far better, too.Another highlight is the safety tech. It actually works, which for anyone who has tested the new breed of cars arriving on our shores is a godsend.The auto emergency braking, lane keep assist and all the other safety acronyms work as they should. The car isn't beeping and bonging at you for every little thing. The tech is there and will only activate when it is needed. How refreshing to be treated as an adult.The few low lights I could find were mostly trivial.I don't like digital rear view mirrors. I never get the same depth of vision as from a mirror, but I will concede they provide better night and wet weather vision. Still a no from me, though.The long bonnet car can scrape on steep driveways or over speed bumps with large corrugations. So you'll need to be careful.A temporary spare tyre is par for the course these days, but still a poor result for owners as I found out when I got a puncture. Instead of switching out the spare and off I went, I had to put on the space saver and head to the nearest tyre store to get the puncture wheel repaired. A few hours I won’t get back.I also wasn’t able to get close to the official 4.0 litres per 100km claimed fuel use figure. I managed 5.1L/100km over my time. The fact it needs premium unleaded petrol is a bummer, too.I didn’t get to spend as much time behind the wheel the last month as planned due to time spent overseas and interstate, but it was unlikely I’d dip below the 5.0L/100km mark judging by the first 1000km.Toyota Camry SLAcquired: August, 2025Distance travelled this month: 195kmOdometer: 2849kmAverage fuel consumption this month: 5.1L/100km

Toyota enjoys a dominant market position with key models like the HiLux and the RAV4, but one often overlooked winner is the Toyota Camry - we look at why it's still the sedan king in 2021.

Before SUVs there were sedans. Remember those? The cars everyone drove while we were growing up before the onslaught of the SUV in recent years. The Toyota Camry is one of those sedans that brings back memories, but has had a very new, quite terrific update. I barely recognised it.

There was a time when transforming the Toyota Camry into a car that was interesting to look at and fun to drive would take a wand-waving miracle of Harry Potter proportions.But there have been some strange goings-on at Toyota HQ lately, with the Japanese giant slowly shaking off its cardigan of conservatism and trying to produce cars that are actually, genuinely, fun to drive.And so the first Camry range to be fully imported since 1987 (we all know by now that local production is grinding to a halt in October this year) is also the first sedan to be built on the company's 'Toyota New Global Architecture' - the same that underpins the C-HR small SUV.The new platform joins a company-wide focus on driver enjoyment and dynamics - two things not often associated with the existing Camry.Scheduled for an Australian launch in November, this all-new and all-imported Camry (our cars are now built in Japan) will arrive with a choice of a four-cylinder petrol, four-cylinder hybrid or V6 petrol engine and in two distinct body styles - safe or sporty.But if you’re thinking this all sounds like more of the same, think again. Or, in the words of Toyota Australia's corporate manager of product planning, Marcus Umlauff, “Everything is different. Everything has changed.”So has Toyota delivered the best-driving Camry ever?

As well as providing plenty of performance, the Camry Hybrid provides interior comfort and very good ride and handling.VALUEImportantly, Toyota has reduced the price of Camry Hybrid H to $34,990 - a significant $2000 under the superseded model. The upmarket Camry Hybrid HL carries a recommended retail price of $41,990. This is a $1500 increase, but includes $4500 in equipment gains over the old model.The Hybrid uses about a third less fuel than the petrol powered Camry. Let’s do some financial calculations: if it uses unleaded petrol at $1.50 a litre and is driven 20,000 km a year for three years the fuel saving would be $2340, placing the Camry Hybrid within the same economic ball park as the regular Camry petrol.TECHNOLOGYArguably the best feature of the new Camry Hybrid is that it feels like a normal car. It has lots of lovely torque right off the line due to the assistance provided by the electric motor that produces full grunt right at the bottom end of the rev range.Which is something that will appeal to Aussie drivers during their unofficial traffic light Grands Prix. OK not many Camry owners drive like that, but who knows, this Hybrid may well lift the enthusiasts’ impression of Toyota’s Camry and increase sales by a substantial amount.There’s a 10-speaker premium audio system including CD/DVD player and live traffic updates along with digital radio. Camry interior is particularly spacious for both front and rear seat passengers.More realistically, the Toyota hybrid has superb acceleration particularly in the critical passing range between 80 km/h and 120 km/h. Thus making of ease of overtaking and therefore added safety.The official combined consumption is 5.2 litres per 100 km (down by 13 per cent on the superseded Hybrid), with a city cycle of 5.7 litres/100 km and highway cycle of just 4.9 litres/100 km.At the heart of the Camry Hybrid is a new 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and high torque electric motor. Power is delivered to the front wheels via an electronic continuously variable transmission. It is a potent, yet seamless, combination.DESIGNToyota has enlarged the boot and giving the car light towing ability. Though in both of these often-important areas it does lag behind the standard petrol Camry. The outgoing Hybrid Camry (note the reversal of the words in the car’s name) had no tow rating. This new generation has been rated at a modest 300 kg tow rate, enough to get a tinny to the boat ramp or a box trailer to the tip. The Camry petrol has a tow rating of 1300 kg.Boot space has been increased by eight per cent to 421 litres as a result of the hybrid battery being moved slightly forward. There is a large hatch allowing for long items to be placed in the boot, but the seat backrests can’t be folded down.Toyota has deliberately kept styling changes to the Camry Hybrid to a minimum, again to keep the ‘normal’ appearance we spoke of a moment ago. The radiator grille has a chromed upper section and a 'hybrid blue' Toyota badge. The headlights are framed by blue accented extensions. The rear end has a hybrid blue Toyota badge and the upmarket Hybrid HL gets a boot spoiler and chrome garnish.All cars have a power operated driver's seat with lumbar adjustment, the topline HL also gets power controls for the passenger seat. The Camry Hybrid HL has a blind spot monitor in the external mirrors as well as automatically dipping high beam.SAFETYCamry Hybrid gets all the same safety equipment as the petrol model: vehicle stability control, traction control, ABS brakes with brake assist, reversing camera. There is now a driver's knee airbag, taking the SRS airbag count to seven. All five seats have seatbelt warnings. It comes as no surprise it has a five-star Australasian NCAP rating.DRIVINGAs well as the improved drivetrain, Toyota has also made significant changes to Camry Hybrid aimed at improving fuel consumption and lowering emissions. There are no belt drives on the engine for the water pump, air-conditioning and power steering. These are all now driven electrically, so only consume power when they are in use.There’s an EV button which, if the battery has sufficient charge, allows the Camry Hybrid to be an all-electric car for up to two kilometres. Handy in covered carparks, as there are no exhaust fumes. The steering is much lighter than the current model but still offers good driver feedback.VERDICTToyota believes its all-new Camry Hybrid for 2012 will make hybrid cars part of the norm in buyers’ minds. After living with one for a week we have certainly come away impressed.

This Camry is the most impressive new model in a very long time.The bedrock car for Toyota in Australia - thanks to local production and extensive exports - has always been bland but effective, a result that's reflected in 17 years of sales leadership in the medium-car class but no real enthusiasm among people who like to drive.This one is more adventurous in design, more luxurious in the cabin, and considerably more enjoyable to drive.Highlights range from the six-speed automatic gearbox and whisper- quiet cabin to a boot that's both giant and easy to use. The new 2.5- litre engine, which goes into local production late in 2012 and will be added to the export roster, also brings better performance with a claimed economy improvement to 7.8 litres/100km.But don't go looking for a manual gearbox. It's gone, as only two percent of Camry buyers wanted one.PRICINGThe range starts with the Altise which has an unchanged starting price of $30,490. Toyota has tweaked the model lineup and dropped the Grande - which could easily re-appear when the Aurion arrived in the middle of 2012 - in favour of an Atara SL at $39,990.Among the buyer benefits are a seven-airbag interior, safety equipment that includes automatic high-beam and blind-spot monitoring at the top end of Camry, and capped-price servicing extended to four years and 75,000 kilometres at $130 a time for the whole range.First impressions always count and the new Camry does well.The looks is more modern and, once you get inside, the driver's seat finally sit low enough that you don't feel you're sitting on the car. It's only a 15 millimetre change but it alters the whole perspective. It's something driven by the Australian engineering team under Max Gillard that also got rear-seat air vents into the Camry, even though it meant convincing Japan that it was alright to cut CD storage space from 17 discs to 14.DRIVINGUnder way, the new powertrain makes the Camry a touch more lively in city traffic and - once you flick across to the manual mode - the transmission responds well to driver commands for twisty roads.The cabin is more plush than before, and not just a sea a grey plastic, with a big new dash display that works well. It's a pity, though, that satnav is not standard and the punchy JBL sound system is not available on the sporty models.The ride quality is a little compromised, too, on the cars that ride on 55-series tyres on 17-inch alloys. Actually, the ride is best in the basic Altise.The boot is truly huge and a lid that swings right up - even on old- fashioned hinges - means it's easy to load and unload. The back seat has plenty of space.It's going to take a Carsguide comparison to put the Camry into sharp perspective against cars such as the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6, but it's the seventh-generation car is a major advance and has real potential to win buyers.This is the car Toyota has needed to finally bury the Camry Chicken, which starred for so long in Australian advertising because a stuffed puppet was more exciting than the car.