2023 Toyota Camry

Overview

The Camry is a mainstay of the midsize sedan segment, which has been losing both entries and sales in recent years as the world has embraced SUVs. Nevertheless, while the market has changed the Camry has continued to top the sales charts as the number-one selling passenger cars, a spot it’s held for the past twenty years. It has a well-earned reputation reliability, and it offers a hybridized version that returns exceptional fuel economy. The current generation of the Camry borders on stylish, especially when optioned with the Nightshade package—which adds bronze wheels for 2023—or the sporty-looking TRD trim. And while many of the Camry’s rivals, such as the Honda Accord and the Hyundai Sonata, have moved to four-cylinder lineups, Toyota’s midsize sedan can still be had with an optional 301-hp V-6. While it’s far from an exciting car to drive, its safety features, economical engines, and spacious interior make it a competent and easy-to-live with daily driver.

What’s New for 2023?

For 2023, the SE trim’s optional Nightshade package adds black headlight and taillight trim to match the black front grille, rear spoiler, mirror caps, and badges. The Nightshade also gains matte bronze 19-inch wheels that, surprisingly, don’t look out of place on it. You can add the package to Midnight Black, White, or Reservoir Blue—a new color. The rest of the Camry lineup gets more driver-assistance technology, including automatic high beams and a forward-facing camera that can read certain road signs and show them on the digital display.

Pricing and Which One to Buy

LE

$27,000 (est)

SE

$29,000 (est)

LE Hybrid

$30,000 (est)

SE Hybrid

$31,000 (est)

XLE

$32,000 (est)

XSE

$33,000 (est)

$34,000 (est)

TRD

$34,000 (est)

XSE Hybrid

$35,000 (est)

We’d select the XLE Hybrid, because we think it is the trim that best reflects what the Camry is best at: being an easy-going family sedan with almost-Lexus accommodations. Driven gently, it delivers excellent fuel economy. It rides well, steers accurately, and its standard leather interior is handsome, roomy, and well-equipped.

Engine, Transmission, and Performance

The standard four-cylinder engine pairs with a silky eight-speed automatic, but its acceleration numbers are disappointing. A less powerful version of that engine works with a battery and two electric motors to power the Camry hybrid, which is no more exciting to drive than the base powertrain. The real gem of this lineup is the velvety 301-hp V-6 that’s available on the XLE and XSE models as well as the TRD variant. We’re also happy to say that we no longer hate driving the Camry. It has a controlled ride and surprisingly responsive handling. The steering is pleasantly weighted and feels substantial when cornering and light when maneuvering in parking lots. We found the Camry’s brake pedal responsive and not too soft, even in the hybrid, in which it must meld friction with regenerative braking (where the energy from braking is used to recharge the hybrid’s battery pack).

Toyota

More on the Camry Sedan

Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG

The whole Camry lineup performed extremely well in the EPA’s tests, and a four-cylinder model did brilliantly in our real-world highway testing. The most efficient nonhybrid Camry models are the LE and SE with the four-cylinder engine, which earned EPA estimates of 28 mpg city and 39 mpg highway; the base LE hybrid earned ratings of 51 mpg city and 53 mpg highway. The hybrid’s upper trims sacrifice some efficiency at the altar of luxury, however, and models powered by the V-6 earned ratings of 22 mpg city and up to 33 mpg highway. A four-cylinder Camry SE returned 45 mpg in our highway test, beating its own EPA rating by 6 mpg—and making it the most economical nonhybrid car we’ve ever tested. It even beat the Camry XLE hybrid we tested by 1 mpg. For more information about the Camry’s fuel economy, visit the EPA’s website.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo

We’ve driven the Camry in both top-level XLE guise and in its more plebeian SE trim. Both are spacious and comfortable, and the XLE is downright luxurious. However, there’s a serious gap in material quality between the entry-level models and the more expensive versions, and the center section of the dashboard left some of us cold with its uninspired design. The Camry is a large sedan, and there’s plenty of cargo space and interior storage in both its trunk and in its cabin with the rear seat folded. It’s not the best in every storage category, but overall, it’s thoroughly competitive. Toyota relocated the Camry hybrid’s battery from the trunk to beneath the rear seats, so hybrid owners don’t have to sacrifice carrying capacity for the extra mpg.

Toyota

The Car and Driver Difference

Infotainment and Connectivity

Toyota’s touchscreen infotainment system—called Entune 3.0—is standard across the Camry lineup, with an enhanced version available as an option. Entune has loads of features and responded reasonably well to user inputs in our tests, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are standard.

How to Buy and Maintain a Car

Safety and Driver-Assistance Features

We continue to applaud Toyota’s decision to make driver-assistance technology standard on all Camry models. For more information about the Camry’s crash-test results, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) websites. Key safety features include:

Standard forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking Standard lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist Standard adaptive cruise control

Warranty and Maintenance Coverage

While rivals such as the Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Optima have longer warranty periods in this class, Toyota holds its own with two years of complimentary scheduled maintenance.

Limited warranty covers three years or 36,000 miles Powertrain warranty covers five years or 60,000 miles Complimentary maintenance is covered for two years or 25,000 miles

Specifications

Specifications

2021 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE

VEHICLE TYPE

front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

BASE PRICE

LE, $28,265; SE, $29,780; XLE, $33,165

POWERTRAIN

DOHC 16-valve 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-4, 176 hp, 163 lb-ft; permanent-magnet synchronous AC motor, 118 hp, 149 lb-ft; combined output, 208 hp; 1.6-kWh nickel-metal-hydride battery pack

TRANSMISSION

continuously variable automatic

DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 111.2 in

Length: 192.1 in

Width: 72.4 in

Height: 56.9 in

Passenger volume: 99 ft3

Trunk volume: 15 ft3

Curb weight (C/D est): 3700 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)

60 mph: 7.8 sec

100 mph: 19.2 sec

1/4 mile: 16.0 sec

Top speed: 116 mph

EPA FUEL ECONOMY

Combined/city/highway: 46/44/47 mpg

Specifications

2020 Toyota Camry TRD

VEHICLE TYPE
front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED
$33,050 (base price: $32,125)

ENGINE TYPE

DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injection
Displacement

211 in3, 3456 cm3

Power

301 hp @ 6600 rpm

Torque

267 lb-ft @ 4700 rpm

TRANSMISSION
8-speed automatic

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 111.2 in
Length: 194.6 in
Width: 73.1 in
Height: 56.3 in
Curb weight: 3588 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS
Rollout, 1 ft: 0.3 sec
60 mph: 5.6 sec
100 mph: 13.9 sec
130 mph: 25.8 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.8 sec
¼-mile: 14.2 sec @ 101 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 134 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 156 ft
Braking, 100–0 mph: 312 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.94 g

C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 21 mpg
75-mph highway driving: 29 mpg