Toyota Camry Se 2012

Toyota Camry Se 2012: While the 2012 Toyota Camry lacks the immediate allure of some competitors, a variety of vital, incremental enhancements make it a worthwhile contender for any family-car customer.

The five-seat sedan can be found in L, LE, XLE and sport-tuned SE trims. A four-cylinder engine is conventional, with a V-6 optional on the SE as well as XLE. I assessed the much-improved Camry Hybrid individually. The new Camry won't go on sale up until October, but I drove most versions at a media sneak peek.


Toyota Camry Se 2012


That Point's New?

Toyota explains the Camry as all-new-- seventh generation, revamped inside out-- however the designing suggests a milder update. The cars and truck's size, size and wheelbase stay the exact same. The headlights look more reshaped compared to reimagined. The boomerang taillights add something fresh, but the side account resembles the old Camry.

The Camry SE has sporty body treatments and also 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels, versus 16-inch steel wheels on the base design. Better integrated than the outgoing Camry SE-- whose slapped-on expansions had all the makings of a discount rate nose job-- it's the clearest redesign of the number, if you could follow its face. I see the late-2000s Acura TL, some Mazda6 and also a great deal of woodchuck.

Revamped Interior

The upgraded cabin feels richer, if less consistent, compared to in the past. Clothed with sewn artificial natural leather and a chrome-flanked, increased facility panel, the dashboard has great deals of high end eye sweet. The high quality goes beyond view alone-- the climate controls feel better and also the gearshift crisper moving from Park to Drive.

I like the last Camry's soft seats to the brand-new variation's, which are a touch stronger. Still, the vehicle driver's seat has good change range, and also the facility console doesn't encroach on hip or knee space. Though the rear seat is not as cavernous as a Volkswagen Passat's or Honda Accord's, it fits adults great, with good clearance and a hump-free flooring. The Camry XLE loses its reclining backseat, yet all trims obtain a 60/40-split folding rear seat. The previous generation's SE and also XLE backseats really did not fold.

A few locations obtain the short shrift: inexpensive back door panels, a worn headliner, no more one-touch power windows all around. Overall, though, cabin top quality feels affordable, if short of the Kia Optima and also Passat. And also the Camry's functionality-- substantial storage space cubbies, visibility unfettered by a descending roofline or thick window columns-- ought to draw customers.

Trunk quantity actions 15.4 cubic feet, up from last year's 15.0 cubic feet (14.5 in some trims) and defeating the Accord. If trunk space is high up on your list, check out the Hyundai Sonata and Ford Fusion. Both automobiles top 16 cubic feet.

The Gripe is Grasp

The prior generation Camry fasted: qualified with the 178-horsepower four-cylinder, muscular with the 268-hp V-6. That carries over for 2012, along with a 2 mpg renovation for each variation in mixed city/highway gas mileage, according to EPA quotes. At 28 mpg with the four-cylinder as well as 25 mpg with the six, the Camry leads all rivals however the Sonata. Credit Toyota for slimming most versions down greater than 100 pounds, tweaking the drivetrain, adding fuel-saving electric power steering as well as outfitting the Camry with lower-rolling-resistance tires.

I'm sold on 4 of the five modifications. Like most family-car automatics, the Camry's six-speed stumbles on multi-gear downshifts, however it upshifts efficiently and also usually kicks down quickly sufficient. (Toyota has actually dropped in 2014's standard transmission.) Exactly what's more, the Camry outsteers its predecessor. I drove 2011 and 2012 Camry LEs back-to-back, as well as the old vehicle's comatose steering responses and also highway discomposure have actually diminished. The 2012 Camry's wheel still goes numb during quick lane changes-- the Accord as well as Blend maneuver better-- yet it really feels more positive than it did.

The tires, nevertheless, are anything but. The Camry LE has Michelin Power Saver Green-X all-seasons, whose reduced moving resistance improves gas mileage. Sadly, it comes with a high price. Prod the accelerator, and the front wheels spin away. On sweeping curves, the tires damage from the line early, reined in just when the common electronic stability system calls order. The outward bound Camry used common Michelin Energy MXV4s. Where they stuck, the Energy Savers wander off. Most awful of all, I observed this after hrs of modest driving with temperatures in the 80s. On a blustery winter season day, I are afraid the Energy Savers would make out also worse.

The Camry XLE and four-cylinder SE wear 17-inch Michelin Primacy MXV4s. They, as well, do not have much grasp. The V-6 SE has 18s and also Michelin Primacy MXM4s, which-- ultimately!-- play nice. They match the SE, which enhances its discordant predecessor. The last SE dealt with as well badly to justify its uneven trip. I drove the two generations back-to-back, and also the new one leans even more yet handles better-- sharper balance, graceful wandering, far better guiding comments. I just desire Toyota had actually worked similar magic with the suspension. It does not container as a lot with potholes and also ruts, however little bumps are felt in a fatiguing, ever-present rhythm. Some rivals-- the Suzuki Kizashi particularly-- discover much better ground between flight as well as handling. The Camry SE has improved, however it's not there yet.

Common Camry trims ride a touch stronger than previously, yet overall comfort still thrills. So do the brakes. Toyota switched in a little bigger four-wheel discs for 2012, and also the straight feedback improves the Camry norm.

Safety, Quality & Prices

As of this writing, the Camry has yet to be crash-tested. There are 10 common airbags. As called for of all 2012 versions, an electronic security system and antilock brakes are common. A blind spot warning system is optional on the XLE. Toyota has yet to value the vehicle, yet officials informed me the prominent LE model will not stray a lot from its 2011 price-- $22,700 with the automatic-- and the cost of the SE and XLE "will be significantly reduced" compared to their predecessors. Those trims were around $24,000 and also $26,500, respectively, with automatic transmissions.

Do not expect to find a Camry L easily. Toyota says the base trim will consist of less than 5 percent of all sales-- mainly to business fleets, not consumers. Typical attributes include air conditioning, cruise control, power devices, Bluetooth and an iPod-compatible stereo. Mainline Camry trims add steering-wheel audio controls, remote keyless entrance and also a touch-screen stereo with Bluetooth audio streaming. Examine all the choices, and the Camry can have warmed leather upholstery, power front seats, a moonroof, JBL audio, two different navigating systems (see the photos to contrast) as well as Toyota's Entune multimedia system, which we information right here.

Camry in the marketplace

Toyota chose brief conclusions with the new Camry: Eke out an additional 2 mpg, improve the guiding and handling, improve the brakes. Some buyers could desire the carmaker had actually opted to throw a designing long sphere, as Kia and also Hyundai did. Toyota might miss out on some brand-new customers due to the fact that the redesign looks too moderate.

However I'm unsure the Camry required a styling overhaul; nevertheless, its predecessor had matured well. The carmaker should restore the nameplate's credibility for bulletproof dependability, which has actually sunk to merely OKAY in recent years. The interior is a few flubs short of family-car quality, and also the skateboard tires mar an otherwise refined driving experience. Yet the perceptiveness remain, and also on the whole the Camry has improved dramatically. It remains, more than ever, a poster auto for your right mind.