2012 Toyota Camry - First Drive Review and Photos
Since
1997, the Toyota Camry has been the best selling car in America every
year but one (2001). Last year, Americans bought 327,804 of them.
Furthermore, the Camry platform serves as the foundation for the
following Toyota and Lexus models: Avalon, Highlander, Sienna, Venza,
ES350, RX350, and RX450h. Collectively, they added up to 738,415 sales
in 2010—42 percent of Toyota’s American total. In other words, the
Camry is the franchise.
Toyota
has renewed this car like clockwork every five years, and the Camry has
achieved an enviable position as the default mainstream sedan of
choice—quiet, smooth, comfortable, reliable, and affordably priced. This
new, seventh-generation, 2012 model is designed to maintain these
virtues while offering more fuel efficiency and value.
Though
Camry chief engineer Yukihiro Okane doesn’t say it, Toyota was perhaps
embarrassed by losing out in mpg ratings to competitors, specifically
the Ford Fusion hybrid and theHyundai Sonata. Okane promises that this
new model—with every engine—will at least tie for leadership in
fuel-economy figures.
The
base four-cylinder is now rated at 25 mpg city and 35 highway—up 3 mpg
each. The V-6 is up 1 mpg each to 21/30. And the new hybrid LE leaps
from 31/35 to 43/39 mpg, bettering the Fusion’s 41/36 ratings. The
four-cylinder-only strategy used by competitors Hyundai and Kia doesn’t
work for the Camry, as most of its spinoffs require a V-6.
Toyota
achieved these improvements without direct fuel injection, downsized
engines, or turbocharging. Instead, the company relied on basics such as
a 155-pound diet, lower-rolling-resistance tires, sleeker sheetmetal,
taller gearing, more-aggressive torque-converter lockup, and electric
power steering. The 2.5-liter four and the 3.5-liter V-6 are both
unchanged (see specifications).
The
hybrid loses an additional 66 pounds and gets a more efficient
Atkinson-cycle engine with an electric water pump, more-effective
regenerative braking, increased electric-motor usage, and better
high-voltage-battery control. While the nickel-metal-hydride battery
capacity is unchanged, total power jumps from 187 horses to 200, shaving
an estimated half a second from the 0-to-60 acceleration time.
This
Camry is no stunner, but it looks smoother than its predecessor, if a
bit slab-sided and shovel-nosed. Despite the weight reductions, the
car’s length, width, height, and wheelbase are unchanged. The interior
package remains roomy and comfortable. The hybrid benefits from a
shrunken and relocated battery/electronics package, increasing trunk
space from 11 cubic feet to 13. Other Camrys have 15 cubic feet of space
in their trunks.
Mercifully,
this bestseller reverses the trend toward budget materials that we’ve
seen on many recent Toyotas. A new layered dashboard with genuine
stitching on its leading edge has upgraded the ambiance. Large,
ergonomically sculpted controls on the steering wheel help navigate the
optional electronics, and the cockpit nicely splits the difference
between cozy and spacious, though we’d like more-convincing faux
aluminum and wood trim.
The
other Camrys are oriented, as always, toward cushy comfort. Wind and
road noise are even more subdued than before, and the ride is smooth
without being floaty—at least at moderate speeds. The new cars go down
the road well, although the electronic power steering is notably lacking
in on-center feel, even by Camry standards.The SE would be our choice
among the many models available (L, LE, SE, SE V-6, XLE, XLE V-6, hybrid
LE, and hybrid XLE). SEs come with French-stitched upholstery,
more-effective seat bolsters, a cleaner grille, and much less chrome.
They also have a notably firmer suspension and a faster steering gear
with more effort and feel. As you’d expect, the V-6 SE is quicker, but
the four feels lighter on its feet.
For
those not sold on the SE, the new hybrid is an excellent choice, as it
provides all of the comfort and utility of the other models with close
to 40 mpg in real-world driving. Its integration of regenerative braking
with hydraulic brakes is among the best we’ve ever experienced, and
this car is more than a second quicker than the nonhybrid four-cylinder
Camrys.
Though
there are still a multitude of Camry models, Toyota has substantially
reduced the number of build combinations. All of this adds up to reduced
pricing.
The
sticker for a base LE automatic, which Toyota expects to account for
half of the sales, will be slightly lower than that of today’s LE. The
cost of upgrading to an SE or an XLE will be cut roughly in half. And
the hybrid, at least the new LE version, also will likely cost less than
the current single hybrid model and is expected to account for at least
10 percent of sales. With its improved interior materials, higher
mileage, and lower prices, this Camry ought to retain its sales crown.
2012 Toyota Camry Engine Specification
If we go on the powerplants, the base model Camry is equipped with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine the same as found in the 2011 model. Toyota estimates that the vehicle will be able to return 25 miles per gallon city, 35 mpg highway and 28 mpg for a combination of both. For the 2012 design, the Camry is equipped with the transmission of all-new six-speed automatic, as well as a higher drive ratio. Drive ratio was set from 3.634 at the end of the four-cylinder model and 3.458 in the V6 vehicles for improved fuel economy. The driver can manipulate the selection of gear through the bumps in the console shifter. While on the SE model, the driver can manipulate it with wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The Toyota engineers also worked hard to improve the structural rigidity of the vehicle through extra-high strength and ultra-high strength steel in the A-and B-pillars. Front coil springs are also redesigned with a reverse-wound design. Toyota says that the SE models also benefit from exclusive books-trim steering light and low A-arms. A solid roll bar and a slightly stiffer spring also incorporated into the SE trim of 2012 Toyota Camry.
