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-   -   2024 Toyota Camry Hybrid Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/288992-2024-toyota-camry-hybrid-review-3.html)

The front looks eerily like the Hyundai Verna! The previous-gen Camry looked so much better.

Lovely car but that matte black roof looks awful and very aftermarket. I felt the same with the Legender, what is the deal with that Toyota? Looks like the clear coat has worn off.

In Sep 2024, I have sat in this version of Toyota Camry in the USA. I have not driven it. This Toyota Camry is one of the best cars in the world. In fact, it is one of the best cars sold in India today. I know that all the readers of TBHP correlate how good a car is to the price of the car but I am talking about purely what the car is. This particular version of the Camry joins my favorite cars in India list which goes something like this (in alphabetical order) -

1. BYD Seal
2. Citroen C3 Turbo
3. Citroen C5
4. Honda City Hybrid
5. Honda Elevate
6. Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Turbo
7. Kia Sonet
8. Mahindra Thar Roxx
9. Maruti Dzire
10. Tata Nexon EV
11. Toyota Camry Hybrid
12. Toyota Hycross

In most hybrids (PHEVs excluded) like these, the battery is charged by the ICE. A very crude analogy will be to consider the ICE as a generator which provides the electricity to charge the battery opportunistically.
You don't need an EV charger as there won't be anything in this vehicle to plug it in. I'm not sure about pure EV range, I would guess ~10km. The motivation of hybrid is to let the battery drive in conditions where it's much more efficient and an ICE will be terrible. (Bumper to bumper traffic is a great escape)

I just checked the Autocar India review of the new Camry, and they mention it's just the Apple Car Play that's wireless and Android Auto connection is still wired. Can mods please confirm this?

What's up with these new age designers? Why are all the new cars so "toy-like" and devoid of any character?

Agree, Camry is not a very sporty looking car and hence that sportier version in Red doesn’t suit the character. This dark grey, silver etc. would be better.

A good car for back seat for sure and hope these sedans see success in sales. Personally I wouldn’t buy since at that price I would prefer luxury Germans.

It is a dealer fitment apparently. That's the reason for rough finish. That and the body kit.

+1, Agree wholeheartedly. I dont like the front of the vehicle. I like the outgoing one much better in terms of the front look. I have driven 2010 Toyota Camry Manual and automatic and two back to back generations of Honda Accord extensively. I was looking forward to the new generation camry as a future purchase since I swear by Japanese reliability. However, the front look of the new camry is not to my liking.

I would beg to differ. The sports version XSE launched in the North-American markets very adequately presented the "sporty look" of a conventional Japanese sedan. Mind you, some of those are actually running in NASCAR. Pretty crazy, right?

Agreed, the Camry looks great in it's standard hybrid model (which is what I would buy it in, if I could) but the sprint edition caters to a different set of buyers and in my humble opinion, looks absolutely gorgeous in that dual tone red and black.

You wouldn't call it a 20 Lakh car when you see it in person, regardless of whether it comes with sports or hybrid inklings. The sheer size and design of this car attracts attention regardless.

Attaching a picture of the previous Camry's TRD version.

We are planning to pick this up for my wife sometime next year. This will be our first Sedan after driving a bunch of hatch backs and SUVs.

I always wanted to buy a Camry. But my wife was never convinced about Sedans. She prefers hatchbacks and SUVs. But now (after driving for 20 years) she is slowly getting around to liking a sedan.

Was on personal travel so could not catch up to the thread after the review in detail.

Short take from my side...

Awesome experience driving the latest gen Camry, and thank you Aditya for covering all the details of the car. I will share my take on the car, mostly from a driver / passenger perspective. The last Camry I drove was back in 2012, the 7th gen Camry https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ry-2012-a.html. Compared to that, the car has evolved, and how?!

The styling is now modern, and one can’t really complain about the features (lack of) on this one. Check the old car review and now! The moment you sit inside the vehicle, you will notice that gone are the old armchair feel, and this car means business. The stylish driver seat has proper bolstering / support and is supremely comfortable and definitely has a sportier aura to it. Switch the ignition on, and the seats move into your set position along with the steering wheel that had moved away to create space for your ingress into the car. Slot it into D, press the accelerator, and the smooth hybrid system powers the car away without any fuzz or noise. For someone who drives big engine naturally aspirated cars with oodles of low-end power, this is like wow. Absolutely silent, and the transmission is almost as slick as any of the modern DSGs. Bonus point: there is no rubber band effect nor jerks, smooth as silk and eager to climb speeds. Depending on traffic or your mood, select the drive mode. On a normal drive, even the Eco mode is more than sufficient and will leave most of the other vehicles behind when you need to.

The major difference in the drive modes I felt was in the way in which the A pedal responds to driver inputs. The way the revs hold, the combination of EV and Petrol Engine power varies. But all this happens seamlessly behind the scenes and is managed well by the latest generation of the hybrid power plant. Hybrids are way to the future if you ask me, and they bring the best of both EV and IC power plants together. How I wish I had a similar system on my Petrol 3-door Thar… sigh!

Let us leave all the boring stuff behind. The biggest surprise for me was the ride and handling. This car is more European than a Jap any day. Steering is so direct that even a small input will make the car track move around like a go-cart. Even the way in which it weighs up is very impressive. I would say it is a solid competitor for ‘ze germans’, dare I say much better than some of them with the new electric power steering systems. Be it slow speed or very high speed, the decent amount of feedback and control this car provides is not something I have ever seen in a recent Japanese sedan. Handling is absolutely sure-footed too. We took the car up the Nandi Hills and both Aditya and I were amazed at the composure at which the car took those curves. Truly a driver’s delight around corners. Even at very high speeds on plains, there is barely a hint of nervousness or wallowing around. Yes, the brakes feel very beefy when you apply (maybe it has got something to do with the hybrid recharge system). It felt very German old school rather than those over sensitive Jap’s we have seen and offers superb stopping power. Nothing to complain about here.

All this would make you wonder what about the passenger comfort, which has been the main USP for the Camry at least in India? Let me tell you, even with those low-profile tyres, the car is supremely comfortable. Be it expansion joints on flyovers or small ruts that we see on our city roads, everything is dismissed off. Only very large craters need to be careful of and will filter in as expected with the suspension making the thud. NVH was one place where I would nitpick; somehow, I felt the car let in too much road noise. It’s not super intrusive, but one can't miss it.. like from the tyres as speed climbs. Maybe a thicker glass all around would really help isolate those off. Not really a deal breaker, but it is there. No complaints regarding the rear seat; they are as expected, supremely comfortable, well bolstered, and now come with a powered backrest adjustment that can give competition to many of the more expensive cars in this size segment. To top it all, the amount of space that is available will really put the Europeans to shame.

What more do you want from a sedan? A perfect blend of driver appeal as well as a great chauffeur experience. The perfect, sensible, reliable car for a CXO who loves to drive occasionally (without really breaking the bank). That is how I would term the new Camry Hybrid.

Grey was my favourite shade too.

See it in real, I tried my level best but pics do not do justice to this car.

Just the hybrid power train, the comfort + handling package and the gizmos for me is TOTAL BANG FOR THE BUCK!

In reality no, most of them are very conscious about KMPL. Unless it is a fleet car in large conglomerate. Mind you 50 Lakh is not a big deal at all these days. Most of senior chaps in Corporate do look at these cars. The hybrid FE, convenience + Jap reliability is a killer combo here.

Disclaimer the car you see is not production ready, it was readied in a hurry. That much I can tell you. Final production ready car will be out only in few months.

I did not check since I forgot my android at the hotel. Aditya but was on android, he can confirm if he was using wireless link.

Jaggu, Aditya- many Thais for a great review.
Would you also please comment on below points.
1. how intrusive or loud are the speed chimes
2. Does HUD work with Apple CarPlay or only with inbuilt navigation.
3. Future Fuel compatibility (E20)

1 - Fortunately at rear it is very subdued, in front it is ok but is intrusive as it is designed to be.

2- Am not sure, Aditya is the better person to comment.

3- Yes it is E20 compatible.

AFAIK, it is wireless only for Samsung Android phones