Toyota Camry: Bestseller With Hybrid Drive

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

In Europe, Toyota is particularly successful with the Avensis, but in the USA the Camry is in the foreground. Now there is a new generation with hybrid drive. A reunion in Europe is not excluded.

By Stefan Grundhoff

The Toyota Camry has impressively demonstrated for years how different the car markets can be. In most countries the Camry is a slacker - especially in the European countries, the successful Toyota Avensis is sold instead, which is available as a sedan, hatchback, station wagon and with petrol and diesel units.

Different image in the USA

It has retained its boring image even after the latest facelift, but is valued by its buyers as a solid mid-range vehicle. In Asia and the USA, however, the image of Toyota is different - not least because of the brand proximity to the successful luxury offshoot Lexus: The models are perceived as sportier, more dynamic and more emotional than in Europe. In addition to the Prius, the pick-up and SUV models Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra and Highlander are particularly popular.

Probably the most important vehicle for the US market, however, is the Toyota Camry. In the nineties, it won several awards as the best six-cylinder sedan on the American continent and won comparison test after comparison test - something that rivals such as Mercedes, BMW or Infiniti still have a stomach for.

So far, the somewhat ailing Camry range has lacked the image-enhancing hybrid drive. With the new model, the combination of gasoline and electric drive is now also available in the high-volume middle class.

Powerful sound in the V6

When you look at it for the first time, you notice: the new model is sportier and more elegant than its predecessor. The sideline and rear are particularly appealing, even if the wheels in the wheel arches still seem much too small.

The Toyota Camry Hybrid is moved by a combination of a 2.4 liter four-cylinder and an electric drive. The total output is 140 kW / 187 PS. Toyota also offers the Camry as an SE with a new 3.5 liter six-cylinder, which is supposed to stand up to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. With 268 hp and an unexpectedly powerful sound, it doesn't have to hide from the power competition from the USA and Europe. Another new feature of the Camry V6 is a six-speed automatic, which replaces the older five-speed version in the four-cylinder models - quieter, faster and more efficient.

One million hybrid vehicles per year

Incidentally, the new Toyota is not produced in Asia, but in Kentucky - one more explanation for why he has long been recognized as a true American. Camry models with hybrid drive have been rolling off the assembly line in Georgetown since mid-October. It should soon be 4,000 vehicles per month. This makes the Camry the third Toyota with the high-tech heart after the Prius and Highlander and should soon become the volume model. In 2005, the brand conglomerate of Toyota and Lexus sold more than 230,000 hybrid vehicles. By 2010 there should be a million models per year.

ABS and seven airbags are on board as safety equipment, an electronic stability program ESP can also be ordered at an additional cost. The 2007 Camry also features amenities such as satellite radio, DVD navigation, xenon lights, LED taillights and Bluetooth technology - all details taken from Lexus models.

It remains to be seen if and when the new Toyota Camry will come to Europe. The new Avensis generation will follow in 2008 - also with a hybrid engine. The basic model of the Toyota Camry with 2.4 liters displacement, four cylinders and 147 PS starts in the USA for the equivalent of 16,000 euros - in addition to the good workmanship, it is also a reason for its success. The Camry Hybrid starts at just under 23,000 euros.