Toyota Camry XV70 SL (2017-2024)

I have not owned a Camry, but as a racing car owner/driver spanning 44 years, I think I know just a tad about cars. Over the past year or two I have had numerous trips in Camry Hybrid taxis, and I have been mightily impressed by even the high mileage examples. (And by "high" I am talking 600,000 Km plus) They have impressive torque (acceleration)… Read more

from any speed and yet, are light on fuel consumption while doing it. The other thing that really impresses me is their suspension, which remains "tight", as opposed to "bouncy", even at advanced mileage. Apparently a replacement battery would cost around $3000, as opposed to the battery of a fully electric Tesla which costs $30,000 to replace... and you don't have to plug the Camry into charge everynight! When I get over my obsession with sportscars, I will definitely be buying a Camry.

Grunty touring sedan with all the bells & whistles – 301 BHP. 1,600 kgs. Do the maths. That's more power than a turbo charged Audi RS3 5 cyl/2.5 litre, though admittedly with less torque. Weighs, what, 100 kgs more than a Golf GTI. On road, it ought to howl, but the 8 spd transmission takes the edge off what could've been a Grand Tourer had it been avaialble with an option for a manual transmission.… Read more ·  2

Nonetheless, a very smooth ride. Slightly lower, longer and wider than your standard Camry so you won't be taking speed humps @ 60 like my '94 Camry used to. On the outside, everything was fine with regards to finish. Typical Toyota build quality. Had the last one over 25 yrs and still drove like it just came out of the showroom. Can't say that for european cars. Only letdown was the factory issue alloys. Sold those on Facebook with 9 klms on them and bought a set of Speedy Wheels. Looks the part now. Inside. Faultless. Stitched leather interior. Fan vented seats. Radar collision detection. Rear cross traffic alert. Rear Camera res is reasonable but not outstanding. I had better resolution on my work vans when I bought $40 security HD cameras for reversing cameras. HUD is great. Memory settings for two people on the fully electric front seats. Rear USB outlets. The infotaintment/GPS 4 DIN console gives quick access to block level control of voice nav and the like with a mix of touch screen and conventional dial and button controls for aircon, and radio volume and the like, It's a system that works well. if you want a quick result, you can quickly activate aircon or turn down volume with one switch. Radio volume does not automatically reduce when engaging reverse. My work van does that! Sunroof. Spectacular. Engineers have thought of everything with a pop up wind diffuser to eliminate wind turbulence. Speakers are good. Admittedly not as good as say an Audi with17 speakers but good sound nonetheless. Haven't even adjusted the default settings for the equalizer so they must be OK. Haven't tried mp3s yet. Wife sat over the back and said it had the usual Camry legroom. Onroad it's a willing touring sedan. And that's in Normal mode. Haven't tried sports yet. Paddle shift is an option but if you're old school you can pull the shifter right and drive like a normal semi-auto. And yes, it will throw you back into the seat without a lot of provocation. Lights are good. My Corolla SX trade in had the LED inserts that I put in myself as the lights on that were abysmal. This one is outstanding with HID"s. Dual zone aircon. Left and right though. Not a front/rear split. On the plus side you can operate the aircon manually just like a conventional system without having to dial in temperature settings for each side of the car. Another plus. Simplicity meets complexity but you can choose either path. Lane assist is good. Doesn't try to grab the brakes and pull you in the right direction but just gives you an audilble alert. Blind spot monitor. Tick. Emergency automated braking. Tick. All sorts of other warnings for school zones and speed but you can disable all of these. Spare is half size. When it pulls up in the drive you cannot hear the engine. Wife loves it and won't let it go.

Update. Had to run the "half tyre" spare that's provided. First & Last time I do that. 200+ klms from home had run flat damage on my $370 Bridgestone that I had to toss with potentially 80k on a new tyre. 3 lessons to be learned from this experience. 1) Get a 6 sensor tyre pressure monitor for $75 on ebay. One for each car tyre and a couple for the trailer. That would've saved my tyre. 2) Go to my wheel guy and pick up a 205/R16/60 or similar for a spare. It looks like it will fit in the spare well. Measure it when I get back. The half tyre spares are speed rated to 80 k's: not much help on the open road! 3) Go back to the dealer and see why they want me to pay for a wheel alignment on a car that's done 1,500 klms and already showing signs of 'feathering' on both $370 ea front tyres. Obvious sign of "toe out" adjustment IMO. Getting that alignment issue checked by a certified MTA when I get back from this road trip then taking that report back to the dealer. I'm someone who does their own toe in/out adjustments on work vehicles and gets 100k out of front tyres (rear wheel drive).

Death trap – Passed out 2 times without A/C on. Toxic smells in cabin. Lock your widows and test your self. Initially I started coughing and thought the interior was airless. Once I started air con I had no problems! Show details

Boring but comfortable to drive, nice to look at and cheap to run- sensible choice – So if you're looking at hybrids the main trade off is excitement, unless you're spending hundreds of thousands on a super car. However, Toyota has come to the party and the face lift of the current gen XV70 line of Camrys is really turning heads. I actually have people walking past my car and stopping to have a look. I purchased the SL for $42k… Read more

in the ACT and for the price there really is so many features which make a comfortable driving experience. I now won't be able to live without a HUD in any of my future cars! So good features, nice to look at but the drive is good enough but as you'd expect it doesn't have enough punch to elicit any sort of excitement. The excitement comes when you look at the fuel usage, and after around 5000km I am running at under 5.5L/100km which is putting a few extra dollars in the pocket. Fixed price service averaging $195 a year for the first five years also makes this car seem even more economical.

So if you want to save some money I'd recommend not going down the Euro path and pop into a dealership and take one of the Camry hybrids for a spin. It might surprise you.

Went fron a Merc to a Camry – My husband traded in his Merc for a Camry best choice he ever made, so many issues with the Merc always owned Toyotas thought he would try a Merc but traded it in after 15months, he purchased a 2018 Toyota Camry very stylish with the grill similar to the lexus, the bonnet protector finishes it off nicely, it may not be as luxurious as the merc… Read more

inside but more reliable and services are capped for 5 yrs, my husband only wishes the side mirrors fold in like my Koba. The panoramic sunroof is fantastic, haven't worked out yet how to turn off the "please obey all traffic regulations " voice if you are speeding slightly. Still learning.