Toyota Camry

Expert Review by Maxabout

Main

Interior

Exterior

Dashboard

Colors

Indians got to see the new generation of Camry for the first time at Delhi Auto Expo 2012. The new Camry will be now assembled in India which makes it cheaper than before. Toyota hopes this car to give a tough fight to other competitors and its biggest rival, Honda Accord. Will this car be able to do so? Let’s find out.

Exterior

This is surely the best looking Camry till date. It gets rid of the boring looks and now this car is visually much stylish and appealing. The face of the car receives major changes as now it sports big and angular headlights with a huge front grille heavily brushed with chrome. The round shaped fog lights with chrome surrounds on new bumper looks very elegant. Bonnet features new prominent lines on it and the car looks very aerodynamic. On the side, you will notice chromed door handles and in-built turn indicators on outside mirrors. The 16 inch alloy wheels look extremely sporty. Boot gate and rear bumper gets sharp lines on them and the new tail lights adds to the charm of this car.

Interior

Toyota Camry has improved significantly from inside. The aura inside is much better than before but there is still need of improvement. The dual tone interiors are used inside with wooden finishing which gives it a classy look. The beige colored seats goes well with its interiors and feels very comfortable for seating. This five -seater offers incredible legroom and shoulder room for its passengers. Most of the owners will sit at the back and Toyota knows it, that’s why it offers incredible space and comfort at the back. Its rear seat offers generous back and under thigh support.

Comfort and Convenience

Toyota Camry features four spoke multi-functional steering wheel which can be adjusted. All seats are electrically adjustable and the driver seat comes with lumbar support. Camry has dual zone automatic climate control with rear AC vents and rear armrest. It has power windows, electrically adjustable and foldable outside mirrors. Other features of this car include smart entry system with engine start/stop button and cruise control.

Dashboard and Storage

The dual tone dashboard looks very artistic with wooden trim on it. The texture and touch quality is very satisfactory. It has a central console with silver accent on it. The buttons and the material used on this dashboard feel up market. The dashboard houses a big air cooled glove box in it. The car features cup holders for front and rear passengers and door pockets on all four doors with integrated bottle holders. Apart from this, Camry has back pockets on front seats for storage and has a boot capacity of 515 litres.

Music System

Toyota Camry has a six speaker audio system with touch screen, DVD display audio. It has USB and AUX-in port with Bluetooth connectivity. The Bluetooth and audio controls are mounted on its steering wheel.

Engine and Gearbox

Toyota Camry is powered by a 2.5L VVT-i petrol engine which generates 11 bhp more than the previous model. This engine now produces a maximum power of 178 bhp at 6000 rpm with utmost torque output of 233 Nm at 4100 rpm. The car is equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Acceleration and Performance

Camry has also improved in this department. Its additional 11 bhp is quite noticeable in its performance as now this car picks up really fast. Once you start going it is hard to stop yourself before 6000 rpm. The car takes around 10 seconds to reach 0-100km/hr. The car feels very enthusiastic with no noise and vibrations. The gearbox perfectly complements the car and you never run out of power as the power delivery is very linear. In city traffic, this car moves very quickly and goes smoothly on long runs. Camry can easily go pass a speed of 180km/hr. The car manages a good power to weight ratio and performs better than most of its competitors. The refinement level of this engine is very impressive and it continuously prompts you to rev it hard.

Mileage

With new Camry, you can expect a fuel efficiency of around 8km/ltr in city conditions while on highways it can return you a mileage of around 10km/ltr.

Safety features

Toyota Camry features dual front SRS airbags, impact sensing fuel cut off and speed sensing auto door lock. Other safety features include impact absorbing body structure and immobilizer with alarm.

Suspension and Braking

The suspension system of this car manages to take most of the potholes with ease and gives you a comfortable ride. The car settles well on our Indian roads filled with lot of obstructions. All four wheels of this car are equipped with disc brakes. The front brakes are ventilated discs while it has solid discs at the back. Camry also features ABS with EBD and brake assist.

Ride and Handling

The overall ride quality of this car is satisfactory but at high speeds, its steering feels disconnected from road and restricts you from cruising. However its light handling feels perfect for city conditions as it steers accurately with a minimum turning radius of 5.7m. With a wheelbase of 2775mm, it remains grounded at high speeds but when you push it hard at sharp corners, there is noticeable body roll which should have been improved.

Shades, Variants and Warranty

The one variant of new Camry is available in four different shades. Toyota claims a warranty of 3 years/100000 kilometres on Camry.

Verdict

Toyota has priced new Camry at INR 23.80 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). The new car has improved in almost every department. It looks much aggressive and convincing, it feels more powerful and refined and it offers optimum comfort and features. New Camry seems to have almost everything to give a tough competition to others except its pricing. Despite its local assembly in India, it’s still expensive than others by a good margin. Toyota can only explain the reason for its high pricing. Yes, it’s cheaper than the previous model but we expected a competitive price tag from Toyota for this car.

Toyota Camry 2.5 VVT-i vs. Skoda Superb 1.8 TSi