The new generation Toyota Camry is a very serene car being both comfortable and economical at the same time
Ramoji Film City is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest film set in the world, and it is truly massive. However when you are driving around inside it in the new Toyota Camry, space becomes a relative thing. That is because the Camry itself is such a large, spacious vehicle, both at the front and the back. In fact, on the size front, this car is as big as German executive sedans such as the Audi A6 and the BMW 5 series.
But size is not the Camry’s party piece because Toyota assures us that this new vehicle is actually engaging to drive. And that would be a nice change indeed, because since the Camry was introduced in India a decade and a half ago, Toyota has sold a shade over 11,000 of them. But, when they first brought it, it almost always was a car to be driven around in, and while the Camry has always been very comfortable, calling it an engaging and driver-oriented car are not adjectives that you would use with previous versions of the car.
So what about this iteration? Well, the eight-speed eCVT transmission is clearly tuned towards economy but when you do put your foot down, this thing can move. Think of this car as more of an athlete towards the middle of his or her career, someone who still has explosive speed but would rather cruise, but also an athlete that has become better over time with experience. That analogy comes into play with the handling of the car. Now this is still a long and heavy car but that does not mean that it rolls like a boat. Far from it, the Camry is surprisingly taut and it achieves that despite having a very comfortable ride.
But you know what sets apart an experienced athlete from an inexperienced one is how they expend energy, particularly in longer sports. If a tennis match goes to five sets, you do not want to lose because you are out of juice. That is where the Camry shines, thanks to its fourth generation Toyota Hybrid system. The Japanese carmaker has definitely made a name for itself in hybrid technology and this car uses the same system that you see on the new Prius. As the Toyota engineers themselves tell you, it is not just about the battery technology, this car uses Nickel Metal Hydride cells (NiMh) instead of Lithium-ion cells which are heavier. But the new Power Control Unit (PCU) is in fact a very fast computer that is constantly evaluating driving styles and power requirements and decides what source the car needs. Sure, at low city speeds you can enable the full ‘EV’ mode that has the car function as a fully electric vehicle but at speeds above 50 kmph you can’t do that. However that does not mean the car can’t run in full electric mode at higher speeds.
Indeed on Hyderabad’s excellent Outer Ring Road, you can easily set the Camry to cruise control and watch the displays tell you what power source the car is using. The displays often show that the car is driving solely on battery power at 100 kmph. However, when you hit a flyover or if the battery was running low, the engine kicks in as well. All this happens so quickly and so quietly that you have no sensation that the engine has engaged. And despite the fact that the Camry has a big 2.5 litre petrol engine, thanks to the hybrid system, the car can easily deliver over 16.5 kilometres per litre without trying too hard. If I drove the car to be even more economical I’m sure, I could have pushed the mileage even higher.
On the inside, the Camry is as mentioned above quite spacious indeed. The rear seats recline a fair amount, enough in fact, to catch a snooze quite easily. The central armrest has a very zippy touchscreen controller and you can also fit optional screens on the headrests. The front seats are very comfortable as well and being equipped with in-seat ventilation. The car, like all Toyota’s does not come with either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and the infotainment system suffers as a result but hooking up your device via Bluetooth or using the latest versions of the Mirror Link system which some of the latest Android devices are compatible with work just fine.
Are there any negatives about the Camry? Well, to start off it isn’t what one would call handsome. The front end of the car seems extremely busy with far too many elements and while darker shades of paint hide the busy nature of the side profile that is also very busy. Also, while the car is more engaging than previous versions of the Camry, it isn’t what I would call an exciting drive. It is however supremely comfortable and given Toyota’s excellent build quality, the Camry like other stablemates will be mechanically bulletproof. And thanks to the hybrid system it scores over most other rivals (save the Honda Accord) in terms of fuel economy. But here is the thing, as nice and as practical as the Camry is, if I wanted a vehicle that was as comfortable albeit not as economical (in petrol) I would look at the Toyota Innova. But as hybrids increasingly become common in India as new emission and efficiency norms kick in, the Camry is leading the pack. Priced at an introductory Rs 36.95 lakh ex-showroom all-India, it is not value at all for a technology leader.
