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2025 Toyota Camry First Drive: Does the Camry’s Reinvention Roll On?
The follow-up to the sportiest Toyota Camry ever is even better, despite going hybrid-only.
Toyota has a lot riding on the humble Camry. It is, after all, the United States’ bestselling sedan. To keep reigning supreme, the car must continue to deliver on the hallowed pillars of Camryisms: spaciousness, comfort, efficiency. Happily, the all-new 2025 Toyota Camry is all of those things and more.
Also notably, the ninth-generation Camry forgoes purely internal combustion powertrains and instead makes do with an all-hybrid lineup. No, that doesn’t mean a plug-in hybrid yet, but with the base car’s estimated 51 combined mpg, we doubt many will complain about losing the previous-gen Camry’s entry-level 2.5-liter four-cylinder and optional 3.5-liter V-6 gas engines.
Those who have historically dismissed the Camry as merely an “appliance” might find themselves eating their words. That is, if the new high-water mark for the nameplate’s visual and dynamic zest set by the previous-generation Camry, introduced for 2018, failed to catch your attention in the years since. Those expecting to meet a car that functions just fine might be surprised by how much fun the Camry is to drive.
Inside and Out
If you’ve spent any time with new Toyotas, the new Camry’s impressive fit and finish will come as no surprise, either. Everything feels tightly assembled, and even the door slams now have a good thunk to them.
All the new Camry’s seats are comfortable and supportive, though the sloping rear roofline is a little low, so rear passengers might tap their heads on it if they’re not looking out when entering or exiting. The trunk is spacious, wide, and deep. The infotainment screen looks well-integrated into the dash, and Camry chief engineer Mark DeJongh specifically points out how the car lacks button blanks so no one feels shortchanged regardless of the trim they buy.
You’ve seen the exterior already thanks to our extensive First Look, but we’ll just reiterate here the Prius’ barbed-LED-lit face also looks great on the new Camry’s more conventional sedan shape.
In the Driver’s Seat
In the all-wheel-drive midgrade Camry SE we’re given for our drive, the first thing we notice is the steering’s accurate feel. The wheel weighs up nicely, points the nose true, and results in good driver confidence. This feeling is only enhanced by the suspension tuning; the ride stays righteously flat and tidy through curvy roads—a result of the car’s relatively light 3,500-pound curb weight and a low center of gravity that carries its own inertia well.
The 2025 Camry is the first of the breed to optionally combine hybrid power with all-wheel drive. (AWD was introduced midway through the previous-gen Camry’s run, but only on four-cylinder gas models.) Toyota makes AWD available on every 2025 Camry trim level, no less, and bills the system as “Electronic On-Demand.” This means the car nominally operates with front-wheel drive, the front wheels spun by the brand’s Hybrid Synergy Drive (two electric motors and the gas engine, stirring power together via a planetary continuously variable automatic transmission). The rear axle kicks into the action by way of an independent (third) electric motor when traction needs dictate.
There are a couple of advantages of this electronic AWD system. The first is less mass and complexity, because now there’s just one motor back there with no need for a mechanical system’s front-to-back driveshaft. It’s why there’s virtually no difference between the front-drive Camry LE’s 51 mpg combined fuel economy (estimated) and the AWD version’s 50 mpg. Second is cost. Toyota either installs the rear motor or doesn’t, simplifying production and build complexity.
Read More https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2025-toyota-camry-hybrid-first-drive-review/
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