2012 toyota Camry Hybrid

2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid: While the 2012 Toyota Camry lacks the immediate appeal of some competitors, a number of vital, incremental enhancements make it a worthwhile competitor for any kind of family-car customer.

The five-seat car comes in L, LE, XLE and also sport-tuned SE trims. A four-cylinder engine is conventional, with a V-6 optional on the SE and also XLE. I reviewed the much-improved Camry Hybrid separately. The new Camry will not take place sale till October, however I drove most versions at a media sneak peek.


2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid


That Point's New?

Toyota explains the Camry as all-new-- seventh generation, upgraded inside out-- but the styling suggests a milder update. The cars and truck's length, width and also wheelbase stay the very same. The fronts lights look more improved compared to reimagined. The boomerang taillights include something fresh, however the side account smacks of the old Camry.

The Camry SE has flashy body treatments and also 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels, versus 16-inch steel wheels on the base design. Much better integrated compared to the outgoing Camry SE-- whose slapped-on expansions had all the makings of a discount rhinoplasty-- it's the clearest redesign of the lot, if you could abide its face. I see the late-2000s Acura TL, some Mazda6 and also a lot of woodchuck.

Spruced up Interior

The overhauled cabin really feels richer, if much less consistent, than in the past. Dressed with sewn synthetic natural leather as well as a chrome-flanked, raised center panel, the dash has lots of high end eye candy. The top quality exceeds sight alone-- the environment regulates feel weightier and the gearshift crisper moving from Park to Drive.

I like the last Camry's agreeable seats to the brand-new version's, which are a touch stronger. Still, the chauffeur's seat has excellent adjustment variety, and the facility console does not encroach on hip or knee space. Though the rear seat is not as spacious as a Volkswagen Passat's or Honda Accord's, it fits adults fine, with great headroom and also a hump-free floor. The Camry XLE sheds its reclining rear seat, yet all trims acquire a 60/40-split folding backseat. The previous generation's SE as well as XLE rear seats really did not fold.

A few areas obtain the short shrift: cheap back door panels, an old headliner, no more one-touch power home windows all around. On the whole, though, cabin quality feels affordable, if except the Kia Optima and also Passat. And the Camry's functionality-- substantial storage cubbies, presence unfettered by a coming down roofline or thick window pillars-- should attract customers.

Trunk quantity actions 15.4 cubic feet, up from in 2014's 15.0 cubic feet (14.5 in some trims) as well as beating the Accord. If trunk room is high up on your checklist, take a look at the Hyundai Sonata as well as Ford Blend. Both cars top 16 cubic feet.

The Complaint is Hold

The prior generation Camry was quick: qualified with the 178-horsepower four-cylinder, muscle with the 268-hp V-6. That carries over for 2012, along with a 2 mpg enhancement for every variation in mixed city/highway gas mileage, inning accordance with EPA quotes. At 28 mpg with the four-cylinder and also 25 mpg with the six, the Camry leads all competitors but the Sonata. Debt Toyota for slendering most variations down more than 100 extra pounds, tweaking the drivetrain, adding fuel-saving electrical power guiding and also outfitting the Camry with lower-rolling-resistance tires.

I'm sold on four of the five changes. Like a lot of family-car automatics, the Camry's six-speed locates multi-gear downshifts, but it upshifts efficiently and normally kicks down soon sufficient. (Toyota has dropped in 2014's standard transmission.) Just what's even more, the Camry outsteers its precursor. I drove 2011 as well as 2012 Camry LEs back-to-back, and the old car's comatose guiding feedback and freeway discomposure have decreased. The 2012 Camry's wheel still goes numb throughout quick lane adjustments-- the Accord and Blend maneuver much better-- however it feels more certain than it did.

The tires, however, are anything however. The Camry LE has Michelin Energy Saver Green-X all-seasons, whose lower rolling resistance improves gas mileage. Sadly, it comes with a high cost. Push the accelerator, and also the front wheels rotate away. On sweeping contours, the tires break from the line early, checked only when the basic electronic security system calls order. The outward bound Camry used ordinary Michelin Energy MXV4s. Where they stuck, the Energy Savers wander off. Worst of all, I observed this after hrs of moderate driving with temperature levels in the 80s. On a gusting winter season day, I are afraid the Power Savers would make out even worse.

The Camry XLE and also four-cylinder SE wear 17-inch Michelin Primacy MXV4s. They, too, lack much grip. The V-6 SE has 18s and Michelin Primacy MXM4s, which-- ultimately!-- play wonderful. They match the SE, which improves on its discordant precursor. The last SE dealt with too inadequately to validate its uneven trip. I drove both generations back-to-back, as well as the new one leans even more however handles better-- sharper equilibrium, graceful wandering, far better guiding feedback. I just wish Toyota had actually worked comparable magic with the suspension. It does not jar as much with pockets as well as ruts, but tiny bumps are felt in a fatiguing, ever-present rhythm. Some rivals-- the Suzuki Kizashi specifically-- locate much better ground between flight and handling. The Camry SE has actually boosted, however it's not there yet.

Common Camry trims ride a touch firmer compared to in the past, but total convenience still impresses. So do the brakes. Toyota switched in slightly bigger four-wheel discs for 2012, as well as the linear action improves the Camry standard.

Safety, Quality & Pricing

Since this writing, the Camry has yet to be crash-tested. There are 10 common airbags. As needed of all 2012 models, an electronic stability system and anti-skid brakes are standard. An unseen area caution system is optional on the XLE. Toyota has yet to value the auto, yet authorities informed me the popular LE design won't stray a lot from its 2011 rate-- $22,700 with the automatic-- and also the expense of the SE and also XLE "will certainly be considerably lower" than their precursors. Those trims were around $24,000 as well as $26,500, specifically, with automatic transmissions.

Do not anticipate to locate a Camry L easily. Toyota claims the base trim will comprise less than 5 percent of all sales-- primarily to commercial fleets, not consumers. Conventional attributes consist of cooling, cruise ship control, power accessories, Bluetooth and an iPod-compatible stereo. Mainline Camry trims add steering-wheel audio controls, remote keyless entrance as well as a touch-screen stereo with Bluetooth audio streaming. Inspect all the options, and also the Camry could have warmed natural leather upholstery, power pole position, a moonroof, JBL sound, 2 separate navigation systems (see the pictures to compare) and also Toyota's Entune multimedia system, which we detail here.

Camry out there

Toyota opted for brief conclusions with the new Camry: Eke out another 2 mpg, improve the steering and handling, enhance the brakes. Some buyers may want the carmaker had actually decided to toss a styling long ball, as Kia as well as Hyundai did. Toyota can lose out on some brand-new purchasers due to the fact that the redesign looks too moderate.

Yet I'm not sure the Camry needed a designing overhaul; nevertheless, its precursor had actually matured well. The carmaker should bring back the nameplate's online reputation for bulletproof reliability, which has sunk to simply OK in recent years. The inside is a couple of flubs except family-car quality, as well as the skateboard tires mar an otherwise fine-tuned driving experience. However the perceptiveness remain, as well as on the whole the Camry has enhanced significantly. It remains, more than ever, a poster auto for your right brain.