Initial Drive Review
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America’;s favourite auto earns a comprehensive fluff and buff.
The Toyota Camry is this century’s brightest vehicle star. Much more than 400,000 have been sold in the U.S. final year, a volume topped only by Ford and Chevrolet pickups. This begs the query: Why would Toyota get in touch with for a Camry pit quit only halfway to the 6th-generation car’s checkered flag?
The pat answer is simply because it can. With an R&D budget claimed to be $ 1 million per hour, the world’s largest car company can afford to shower its mid-size family members sedan with monetary adore, following CEO Akio Toyoda’s guileless directive to “build better cars.” There are 6 other factors. Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen all provide excellent mid-size options to the compulsively introverted Camry. In August, Honda loaded its shotgun with excess inventory and generous incentives to blast out 51,075 Accords, beating Camry sales by 7032 units.
Toyota Wants to Buff . . . It Up
So only 3 years following the last full redesign, Toyota has substantially fluffed and buffed the Camry to renew the interest of faithful consumers and to (hopefully) draw fresh recruits. The 2015 edition we drove on the Massive Island of Hawaii lives halfway amongst a regular midcycle facelift and a clean-sheet overhaul. Every single exterior panel is new except the roof. Adding 22 spot welds in the cowl and about the door apertures improves the stiffness of the unibody. The previous base L model is dead, and there are more versions with an “S” in their name to celebrate Toyota’s discovery that even Camry buyers might be entertained by a lot more assertive driving dynamics. Cost-conscious interiors have been upgraded with much more soft surfaces, nicer detailing, and modern electronic gear. Chassis systems—steering, brakes, suspension—receive minor modifications aimed at far better ride and really feel. the one location receiving no attention is powertrains: The Camry’s 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, 3.5-liter V-6, and hybrid propulsion system—all of which are dependable and proven, if not exciting—carry on without alteration.
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2 front-fascia styles draw eyes to this lengthy-ignored model. There’s a 5-bar therapy for models with an L in their name and a honeycomb maw for these coded S. All family members members have subtle hood creases and upper and reduced character folds in their side surfaces. Lamp treatments—especially the operating-light slashes adorning the lower front corners—border on racy. the one bit of chicanery is a faux quarter-window stuck onto each and every C-pillar. Ironically, Hyundai and Toyota are heading in opposite styling directions. The 2015 Hyundai Sonata has backed off some on bold exterior design just as the Camry molts its boring skin.
Inside, the Camry catches up with the affordable-mid-size-sedan times. The intent is to provide good-to-touch, easy-to-use surfaces throughout. Upper trim levels get French seams all automobiles receive added soft trim, clearly labeled knobs and buttons, and a rearview camera. All but the base LEs get a 4.2-inch TFT screen between the cluster dials for driver details, navigation directions, and warning messages. The list of obtainable security gear now includes lane-departure warning, automatic brake assist, a blind-spot monitor with rear site visitors alert, and radar-primarily based active cruise handle. Though you do not have to search to find some residual shiny, hard, black plastic (there’s some at the base of the windshield, where it causes glare), the Camry’s new interior is a worthy upgrade, specifically in light of the modest cost increases. (Full pricing info and equipment details are offered here.)
Old folks have dominated the Camry consumer base, but at least there’s a concerted work right here to welcome them to the details age. The Entune multimedia system involves a 6.1- or 7.-inch touch screen with voice recognition, Bluetooth streaming, a USB port, and an comprehensive list of apps. By touching the proper icon, you can reset the clock or sync your smartphone. The prime 10-speaker, 586-watt JBL sound method is way also hip for seniors thanks to significantly less boominess and improved frequency balance. The niftiest piece of gear that’s optional in many models and standard in a handful of is a nonslip surface situated in the center console that utilizes Qi technology to wirelessly recharge compatible mobile devices. Take that, Honda Accord!
Driving the New(-ish) Camry
Thanks to the much more rigid unibody and 30-% a lot more undercarpet sound deadening, even the base Camry is a smooth, quiet runner. All front bucket seats have wrapping backrests and grippy coverings resistant to side slip. Life in back is commendably free of charge of tire and wind noise, and the rear seat accommodates 3 adults in comfort. Backrests split and fold even on the hybrid to expand the roomy trunk. All powertrains are polite and reasonably effectively behaved although lacking in verve. If passing other vehicles is on your agenda, skip the 178-hp 4-cylinder, as it has a tendency to leave you hanging far also long in the oncoming-traffic lane. The drone that plagues Toyota Priuses is pleasantly muted in all 3 Camry hybrid trim levels.
Give the Camry’s engineering team credit for holding weight acquire to less than 100 pounds by offsetting content additions with lighter window regulators and windshield-wiping equipment. Simplifying the trunk-hinge mechanism and combining 2 cargo-floor mats into a single covering also saved a couple of pounds. We expect acceleration and stopping efficiency to nearly match the outgoing Camry’s. In other words, functionality is adequate . . . for your parents. The manual shift mode won’t hold gears at redline, even though in S models it does match revs in the course of downshifts.
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In spite of slightly wider wheel tracks, a half-inch obtain in the width of the base wheels, and stiffer base-level front springs, there’s no noticeable gain in handling to report. The modest suspension retune was mostly aimed at enhancing the ride quality over the bumps that are never ever tough to uncover about Toyota’s Ann Arbor, Michigan, technical center. All Camrys ride on all-season radials that prioritize low rolling resistance, high mileage, and excellent wet and snow grip over dry-pavement traction. The XSE package, which contains 18-inch wheels and tires, is as very good as it gets. Right here, the steering work rises slightly off-center, even though further work construct and road feel are tragically absent. Although there’s more grip than with the 16- and 17-inch wheels and body handle is reasonable, the front tires howl ‘slow down!’ when you get frisky on a twisty road. Brakes have been enhanced with a new 2-stage booster, but it’s calibrated for a lot more pedal travel than we favor for optimum modulation.
Hybrid buyers can tap into the new more assertive Camry exterior style by deciding on the SE edition. Whilst they’re restricted to 17-inch rolling stock, at least they benefit from far better front-to-rear balance thanks to the weight of the 1.6-kWh battery pack spotted in the trunk. For numerous Camry kinds, the hybrid is the smart choice thanks to its combined mileage score (41 mpg in the LE, 40 in the SE and XLE) and acceleration that beats the 2.5-liter 4-cylinder.
Toyota has injected a lot of goodness into its most mainstream model. The new Camry need to hold up properly for one more handful of years against the mid-size competitive crunch, not to mention the relentless crossover onslaught. The nod that the XSE V-6 edition makes in the sports-sedan path is also encouraging. As quickly as loyal consumers see and really feel this new model, it is attainable they’ll find the vehicle enthusiast’s wavelength and seek or demand a a lot more significant driving machine when Toyota gets around to the next complete Camry redesign.
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2015 Toyota Camry Initial Drive: Fluffed and Buffed—and Enhanced
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