Toyota launches new Camry sedan
Manufacturer reckons it will win back sedan sales with a new, more aggressively styled, eighthgeneration Camry range. Rob Maetzig files from the car’s media launch.
Remember the Toyota Camry? It used to be one of New Zealand’s favourite cars – a mediumlarge sedan that, while never quite up there with the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore in terms of sales, still enjoyed a strong following as one of the best frontdriven vehicles on the market.
But in more recent years the Camry has been hit hard by a combination of the advent of the SUV and development of a reputation that it’s a boring old car, and as a result sales have fallen to well below 1000 a year, with many of the customers taxi operators.
These days chances are that if you’re going to catch a cab to an airport, you’ll end up riding in a Camry, the model almost certainly a hybrid.
Yes, a hybrid. Personally it has always mildly surprised me how few people know you can buy hybrid versions of the Camry. Maybe it is because they don’t look like hybrids – all that petrolelectric technology is hidden under a conventional bodyshell rather than something that looks all futuristic.
It’s all been a little unfair, really. The last-generation model, which had been built in Australia, was a nice drive both in petrolengined and hybrid forms. This was particularly the case with that model’s final facelift – it really did ride and handle well.
And interestingly, while Camry sales have been relatively low in New Zealand, it’s been the bestselling car in the US for the past 15 years – with last year’s sales totalling a massive 400,000 units.
Now there’s new potential for things to change somewhat, because there’s a new more aggressive-looking and betterperforming eighth generation Camry arriving in New Zealand. And it’s a goodie – so much so it has just been a finalist for the World Car of the Year.
Built in Japan using the brand’s new-age scalable Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) architecture, it went on sale in the US in July last year, and in Australia as soon as that country’s Toyota assembly operation was closed down in November.
For the New Zealand market a total of five versions of Camry are being launched. Entry version is a $35,990 GL which is powered by a 133kW 2.5-litre four cylinder engine that carries over from the previous-generation model, and which is mated to a six-speed automatic.
Then there are three hybrids, specified to GX, SX and ZR grades, all powered by a new TNGA ‘‘Dynamic Force’’ 2.5-litre engine that combines with the hybrid system to develop 155kW of power, while at the same time achieving a 19 per cent improvement in fuel economy.
This engine uses Toyota’s latest direct injection and electronic variable valve timing, and that and other factors combine to give it an unusually high thermal efficiency of around 41 per cent. Normal engines are around 30 per cent.
Transmission is a new e-CVT that features stepped shifting and improved ‘coasting’ ability to lower fuel use.
The Camry hybrid’s engine is already receiving international recognition. It was included in the prestigious Wards Auto 2018 top 10 best engines list for excellent overall performance. It boasts a combined fuel consumption figure of between 4.2 and 4.5L/100km depending on the grade, and CO2 emissions are 96g/km which is the same as the smaller Corolla hybrid. The hybrid prices range from $41,490 to $49,490.
At the top of the Camry lineup there’s a $47,990 V6, which replaces the previous Aurion. Powering the car is the same 3.5-litre quad-cam V6 as that aboard the Highlander SUV, and it offers 224kW of power – a 12 per cent increase – and 362Nm of torque. At the same time fuel consumption has been reduced by 4 per cent, with a major reason being introduction of an eightspeed automatic transmission.
With this model, which is the most powerful naturally-aspirated Toyota sedan ever offered in New Zealand, the average fuel consumption is 8.9L/100km and CO2 emissions are 202g/km.
Prices for this new Camry range are several thousand dollars less than the recommended retail prices of the old models, and in fact they are not much more expensive than the special retail prices Toyota NZ was offering for the old Camrys during their run-out phase. They are a strong indication of what’s going to be offered via the new no-haggle pricing structure Toyota NZ is introducing as part of what it calls the Drive Happy Project.
But is the new Camry a happy drive? Relatively short spurts in a hybrid and a V6 from Auckland to Hampton Downs during a media event introducing the car, followed by fast circuits around the track itself, showed it is an improved car.
As we said, the sedan is one of the first Toyotas to be built on the TNGA platform, and it feels more solid. Front suspension features redesigned MacPherson struts and the rear has an all-new fully independent double wishbone setup. Wheelbase is 50mm longer, front track is up to 10mm wider at the front and up to 30mm wider at the rear, and vehicle height has been reduced by 25mm. All this contributes to better handling characteristics.
The car looks better, too. While the sedan remains obviously a Camry, it now boasts a far more athletic look via its lower bonnet and roof, new front grille that is differentiated depending on model, large front air intakes, and distinctive strakes on the rear flanks. SX, V6 and ZR variants also come with a sports body kit, and there’s a boot lip spoiler on the V6 and ZR. The entire range now adopts LED bi-beam headlights and daytime running lights.
The interior is distinctively different, with Toyota’s latest invehicle multimedia system integrated into the centre console. There’s good use of soft-touch and premium materials, and while black is the main trim colour, the V6 version offers a bright red leather interior as an option. There’s also more room, thanks to the 50mm longer wheelbase.
From the safety perspective, all Camrys now feature Toyota Safety Sense, which is a package which includes a pre-crash safety system with autonomous emergency braking, lane departure alert with steering assist, all-speed dynamic radar cruise control which can slow the car to a standstill if necessary, and automatic high beam.
The ZR hybrid also adds blind spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert.
At the media event, Toyota NZ’s general manager of product planning and new vehicle sales Neeraj Lala forecast the bulk of of Camry sales will be the hybrids - the company now calls them selfcharging hybrids to differentiate them from plug-ins, by the way - which will account for more than 70 per cent of the Camry business.
But with this eighth-generation model this is the first time the Camry fleet has included fourcylinder, hybrid and V6 versions, and it will be interesting to see what the acceptance will be of all of them. TNZ is reckoning on sales moving over the 1000 mark. The quality of the car, combined with Toyota NZ’s new Drive Happy Project pricing structure, may well see that easily achieved.