Toyota Camry

For this naturally aspirated petrol version of the cabin, Toyota has chosen to stick to the all-black theme for the dashboard, door panels and seats, which are wrapped with high-quality leather and a soft finish at places. The cabin has a touch of modernity with the 12.3-inch full-TFT screens behind the chunky-looking three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel and the centre console. 

The dashboard has a cascading layout besides the infotainment screen, with the central layer flowing towards the trapezoidal AC vent on the co-passenger side. The central panel of the dashboard also has a trapezoidal housing for the climate control panel and sleek trapezoidal AC vents below it. The lower centre console has a wireless charger beneath the dashboard and cup holders and a transmission lever with an electronic parking brake switch placed side-by-side. 

This version of the Toyota Camry has a few features like power-reclining rear seats and dedicated control panel for the infotainment system and other functions in the rear centre armrest, which are being offered in the hybrid version of the sedan. Nevertheless, the cabin exudes quality with top-class leather, and the seats have excellent support levels. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Premium-looking black upholstery for the cabin

Con: No reclining rear seats like the hybrid version 

Features and Technology

Compared to the previous version of the Camry, this ninth-generation version has been made upmarket with additional new-age features. Keeping up with the trend, this new Toyota Camry has been equipped with 12.3-inch full-TFT screens for the instrument console and a touchscreen infotainment system. 

The Toyota Camry further feels more luxurious than before, with black leather upholstery, and features like 8-way power-adjustable front seats with 2-way lumbar support, 2-position memory function for the driver’s seat, ventilated front seats, a 9-speaker JBL audio system, leather-wrapped power-adjustable steering wheel with memory function, front and rear digital video recorders, a wireless charger, front and rear USB-C charging ports and electrochromic rearview mirror. However, unlike the Hybrid version, this version of the Camry misses out on a sunroof. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Modern 12-3-inch screens and comfort-oriented functions for the seats

Con: No sunroof

Boot Space and Storage

With a boot space of 587 litres, the Toyota Camry has one of the largest boot compartments among cars in its category. While the rear seats cannot be folded, a passage incorporated into the rear seats allows access to the boot compartment.

The Toyota Camry also feels practical with lots of small storage spaces in the cabin, including the conventional glovebox in the co-passenger side of the dashboard, cup holders in the lower front centre console and rear seat armrest, bottle holders in all four door panels, front door map pockets, storage space beneath the front centre armrest and a sunglass holder. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Humongous boot space

Con: Nothing much actually

Compared to all the previous generations of Toyota Camry sold to date, this ninth-generation Camry is the first one to have a touch of sportiness in the way it looks. The sleek front profile inspired by other sporty Gazoo Racing Toyota models and the low-slung profile makes the Camry a head-turner. 

The sleek-looking front profile of the Toyota Camry has a wide fascia, comprising of C-shaped headlamp housings on the corners and a sleek and thin grille running between them. The headlamp housings have automatic bi-LED projectors with LED turn signals and LED DRLs on their inner edges.

The front profile has a touch of aggressiveness with the massive air dam covering much of the middle of the front bumper, which has a honeycomb mesh design on the sides and LED fog lamps positioned on its lower corners. In addition, the corners of the front bumper also have wedge-shaped thin air inlets.

Moving to the side profile, the Toyota Camry impresses with its low-slung look, much accredited to the low 135mm ground clearance and the gorgeous-looking 18-inch multi-spoke machined alloy wheels. The Camry has a chrome finish for the window surrounds and door-mounted rearview mirrors, which are both electronically adjustable and foldable, with the additional feature of 2-position memory. 

The rear profile of the Toyota Camry also has the sleek appearance of the front profile, with it having a sleek-looking combination LED tail lamps. The inner edges of these tail lamps have the same C-shaped design as those of the headlamps, which have a thin body-coloured stripe running between them that reads the name of the car. This version of the Camry also gets rain-sensing wipers and welcome light but misses out on the sunroof and shark fin antenna that are offered in the hybrid version.

There are six colour choices offered by Toyota for the Camry, namely Platinum White Pearl Mica, Emotional Red, Cement Grey Metallic, Precious Metal, Attitude Black Mica and Dark Blue Mica. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Aerodynamic and sleek design with C-shaped LED inserts at the front and rear

Cons: No shark fin antenna

Toyota claims a maximum fuel efficiency of 15.15 kmpl for the Camry, which might be less than the 25 kmpl figure of the Camry hybrid, but is decent enough for a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine. While on highways, it delivers 14-15 kmpl, the city efficiency drops down to 9-10 kmpl. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Good fuel efficiency on highways

Con: City efficiency could have been better

The Toyota Camry has always proven its excellence in comfort, and this new version follows the tradition with a touch of sportiness. The Macpherson struts at the front and a double wishbone setup at the rear offer a comfortable setup for the ride quality, with the ease of driving ensured by the parallel axis electric power steering. Toyota claims a ground clearance of 135mm and a turning radius of 5.7 metres, which can make driving this sedan a bit cumbersome over bad roads. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Very comfortable ride quality

Con: Large turning radius and low ground clearance

This particular pure petrol Toyota Camry is offered with a standard combination of a 2.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine and an 8-speed automatic transmission.

One of the most refined and reliable naturally aspirated petrol engines in the world, this 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine produces a maximum power output of 204 PS, while its peak torque output is rated at 246 Nm. Toyota claims a top speed of 210 kmph and a 0-100 kmph sprint timing of 8.9 seconds for this version of Camry.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Smooth and reliable petrol engine

Con: Could have had a stronger top-end grunt

The standard safety features offered in the Toyota Camry are seven airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, vehicle stability control with traction control, hill start assist, panoramic view monitor, blind spot monitor with rear cross-traffic auto brake, ISOFIX mounts in rear seats, tyre pressure monitoring system, safe exit assist, tinted windows, vehicle telematics system, front and rear digital video recorders, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree parking camera and head-up display.

The Camry has also been equipped with the Toyota Safety Sense suite of ADAS features as standard, which includes pre-collision warning, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, lane tracing assist, automatic high beam and road sign assist. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Standard safety features list

Con: Some modern ADAS features missing

Competitor Comparison

There are very few competitors to the Toyota Camry, which includes direct rivals like the Mazda 6 Sedan and Peugeot 408. A few electric sedans like GWM Ora 07, BYD Seal, Tesla Model 3 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 are also priced in the vicinity of the Toyota Camry. 

Conclusion and Final Verdict

With this ninth-generation version, the Toyota Camry has become more desirable than ever before. All the previous generations of the Camry were known to be super reliable, but a bit boring in terms of styling inside-out. The sleek design language and trendy new-generation features have taken care of that part, with this new Camry also retaining its traditional virtues, including a refined and super-reliable engine, comfortable ride quality and the feeling of lasting long.