Innovative and thorough engineering, unique proposition, phenomenal value of Luxury variant
Looks like other Camrys, a little more urge would be welcome
More than 60 years later after the first Holden was driven off the production line, Toyota’s Hybrid Camry must be rated as one of the three or four most significant cars ever to be manufactured locally.
At the launch in February 2010 Toyota management expected nothing much short of a revolution in Australian motoring but the sales reality has been dismal. Just 8000 Hybrids were sold in the first full years compared with about 30,000 conventional petrol-engined models.
It is difficult to put this down to anything more than extraordinary conservatism on the part of Australian customers.
As with every Camry before it, the price of ownership is a key issue. Over a four-year ownership period of say 160,000 kilometres, the Hybrid should easily justify its asking price.
The history of the Prius has set a great precedent. Anxiety about having to replace the expensive battery have proved unfounded. There have been no real battery issues but a few taxi drivers in Cairns noticed a small loss of power after 700,000 kilometres or so. Toyota Australia sent those batteries to Japan for investigation and supplied replacements. You can’t ask for more than that!
Think of the Hybrid as a very much better Camry and outstanding value for money and you’ll get a more accurate picture.
There are two versions. The standard car, which is well equipped, is priced at $36,990 while the Luxury is $39,990. Heavy discounts have been on offer but with a new and more powerful model due in the first quarter of 2012, Toyota dealers will now be even keener to shift Hybrid stocks.
Exterior and Interior Design
It is unfortunate that the Hybrid version of the popular Camry arrived too late in the model cycle to justify more exterior differentiation. The blue-tinged headlights and discreet badging are not very conspicuous clues to the enormity of the technological changes that lie beneath the familiar, smooth but essentially conservative styling. At least – unlike some of their predecessors – the ACV40R Camry and the AHV40R Camry Hybrid have not fallen out of the ugly tree and hit most of the sticks on the way down.
Alloy wheels of modest 16-inch diameter are standard and lift the car just slightly out of the entry level fleet category (remember the 1998 Falcon Forte?).
Toyota Australia took the opportunity offered by the Hybrid program to make further advances. While the new Hybrid Camry has much in common with the vehicle introduced in the US in 2006 and Thailand in 2009 it does incorporate some impressive local engineering which makes it superior.
Paradoxically, the extra weight imposed by hybrid technology made it possible to improve the weight distribution, with the heavy battery pack installed immediately ahead of the boot (which loses some 25 per cent of its volume).
Lexus-style instrument illumination adds some flair to the interior to lift it slightly above average. Even the entry level car gets a reversing camera and keyless stop/go.
You cannot quibble with the quality of the materials though or the fit and finish.
Accommodation
The cloth upholstery of the standard car is fine and the leather of the $39,990 Luxury model has olfactory as well as tactile and visual appeal. Toyota reviewed the pricing of the up-spec car in mid-2011 to add satnav and a sunroof to the already long list of standard equipment. Effectively, this amounted to a price cut of $4500.
A $3000 option pack is offered on the standard car. It packages satnav and premium audio (both standard on the Hybrid Luxury) but metallic paint remains optional at $400.
Unsurprisingly, the Luxury, which has all these items as standard, is now the bigger seller, although a majority of all Hybrids still go to government fleets.
There is plenty of room for five adults to travel in good comfort in a conservative but beautifully finished interior.
Despite the loss of 25 per cent of its volume, the boot remains quite large and access via a split-fold rear seat is a much appreciated feature, not available on the top-selling Holden Commodore.
Performance and Economy
With combined power of 140 kW from its (2.4-litre) petrol and electric engines, the Hybrid easily outperforms its petrol siblings. Torque is more difficult to quantify but the electric motor supplies 270 Nm.
Performance falls between a petrol Camry and a 3.0-litre Commodore, but the Hybrid is significantly quieter than both. The overall fuel economy is about the same as a mid-sized diesel or a light petrol car with the official combined figure being 6.0 litres per 100 kilometres.
The advanced constantly variable transmission has no belts, no pulleys, no torque converter and no slippage. It is an ideal partner for the hybrid configuration.
Toyota Australia executives make some intriguing claims such as if you drive 20,000 kilometres per year, the last 7000 of these are ‘free’ when the car is compared with a Commodore 3.0. But that will depend where the driving is done and by whom.
Drive a Hybrid Camry 50,000 kilometres per year and the story is more compelling, especially if much of that distance is around town where the electric motor makes a bigger contribution.
At a sustained cruising speed of 110 km/h, you would use about six litres per 100 kilometres compared with about 7.3 for a Falcon and 7.7 for a 3.0-litre Commodore. (Gearing and torque are important here as is the coefficient of drag and the Hybrid’s is now just 0.27, thanks to a smooth underbody, unique to this model and further proof of the Hybrid’s fantastic value added story.)
This is a notably refined car and is uncannily quiet when wafting along on electric power alone. You can do this for up to two kilometres at lower speeds. The petrol engine automatically stops and re-starts at traffic lights and in some trailing throttle conditions. There is only a faint vibration when it fires up again. How could you not love all this technology for such a small premium and yet buyers remain unconvinced!
Ride and handling
The Camry Hybrid handles well with barely discernible understeer. Toyota Australia engineers did a first-class job of re-calibrating the electric power steering and there is excellent feel at the rim.
Ride comfort is excellent, partly due to the wise decision to make 16-inch wheels standard. Larger diameter rims with lower profile tyres would dress this conservative looking car up but would make the ride firmer.
Rivals
Realistically, the Camry Hybrid competes for sales with its own relations and to date has been a comparative failure in the market. But it is superior in every way to a petrol Camry and, unless heaps of power matters to you, offers better value than the six-cylinder Aurion. Ford Australia offers fantastic deals on the XR6 Falcon, but this is a very different kind of car. The 3.0-litre Holden Berlina offers a closer comparison.
When you compare the $39,990 Hybrid Luxury with any other car in this price range, it comes up trumps on value.
Summary
The Camry Hybrid builds substantially on the familiar Camry credentials and unquestionably warrants greater success in the market. Try and you very well may buy.
Toyota
