Toyota Camry Hybrid 2.5 Review: Darling Rejuvenated

What we like:

Excellent features

Lovely interior materials and technology

Ride is sublime

Handling is surprisingly good

What we dislike:

Noise insulation is a small fly in the ointment

Whenever you want something spacious, comfortable and as reliable as a quartz watch, the Camry always springs to mind. Since time immemorial, the car has served generations of families, from nurturing young kids to tending an empty nest.

Today, the Camry is probably the choice for the latter group of older folks who still yearn for the familiar concept that has worked so well and will continue to do so. Young families these days however are more likely to go for an SUV, but they would be missing out, especially with the latest Camry.

Essentially a heavy facelift of its predecessor, the sharper looking Camry looks even more youthful and modern. It takes on the inspired sharp nose of the Prius, while the crab-claw tail lights are all the rage right now. The irony is that the Camry as it is today is more appealing than ever for the younger generation, or do I feel that way because I am older?

You are also getting a lot more kit with the Camry than ever before, an intentional decision by Borneo Motors to make it feel like a proper luxury car. After all, with an asking price in the region of a quarter of a million dollars no thanks to high COE prices, expectations are higher.

You get a 12.3-inch infotainment system that is straight off a Lexus. It’s not the most intuitive one around, but it certainly beats a third-party system and will give you all of the data and features that you need and more. Like connecting to Apple CarPlay and enjoying the 9-speaker JBL sound system - probably the first time ever that the Camry has branded speakers.

The touchpoints are also wonderfully done, like the genuine leather seats that are electrically adjustable and ventilated at the front, as well as the leather-wrapped steering wheel. If you removed the Toyota badges, you would be forgiven for thinking this is a Lexus interior.

But it is in the back seat where the Camry has elevated the experience by leaps and bounds. There is a panoramic sunroof that brightens up the ambience. On top of rear blinds for the doors and rear windscreen, there is now a Lexus LS style centre control panel from the pull-down seat bolster. Here you can choose your radio stations, set the temperature and fan speed and so on. And best of all, the rear seats are also electrically reclinable, a feature we don’t usually see in this segment.

Coupled with the pliant suspension, the car rides beautifully on the road and I daresay, better than any SUV product from Toyota as well. This reason alone is a very good one to pick a sedan; it just feels more settled and better able to manage road imperfections.

When I started the article you may have noticed the absence of mentioning efficiency as a strong suit. Older Camrys from the 90s and early 2000s have gearboxes with less gears (in the name of reliability) and larger petrol engines (2.4, and then 2.5) for the higher-end versions for those long distance highway runs. But with the later generations of the Camry, the hybrid drivetrain was introduced and today you can only get the Camry as a hybrid.

As a result, the car now is something of an efficiency champion. Although I am not particularly fond of the gruff nature of the 2.5, which is a carry over from the last model, it is at least quite well-insulated from the cabin. It also stays switched off more of the time with the new generation hybrid system, netting me a few kilometres of emissions free driving on the smooth flowing roads of the KPE for example. Whenever it can, it will switch the petrol engine off to save fuel, while the start up/switch off sequences are uber smooth.

Yet there is plenty of power when you call for it too. With a combined 227 hp from the 185 hp engine and 134 hp electric motor, overtaking is an absolute breeze. You’d never feel a deficit of power and in fact, it is this abundance that gives it the ability to sail through the day without needing to be pushed too hard. That helps with its efficiency, in turn.

You feel a sense of not wanting much more from a car when you drive the Camry. It is definitely the best iteration of the Camry yet, inching ever closer to being a Lexus. However, one tiny bit does set it apart distinctly and that is the sound insulation from wind noise and tyre roar. The car definitely has above average refinement for its segment, but at speed the noise becomes more apparent because the rest of the car has elevated itself so much. I am sure it is an easy fix with putting on sound deadening material, and in no way is it a deal-breaker.

The Camry has been rejuvenated and it’s time for the younger folks to take a closer look to understand why their forebears love it so much.

Photos by James Wong

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