Day-by-Day Review: 2012 Toyota Camry XLE

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2012 Toyota Camry

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When I picked up this week’s tester, a 2012 Toyota Camry in XLE trim, I headed out on the highway and across the city. A 30-minute highway drive, which is a great “Hi, nice to meet ya” kind of drive after picking up a new vehicle. I noted the average fuel economy was hovering in the 7.9L/100km range for the duration of the trip, which I thought was impressive.

At the time, I still wasn’t sure if it was the 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine powering this car, or if it was the V6. I hadn’t attempted to really stuff my foot into the pedal and the engine felt effortless and smooth, so I assumed V6. Turns out my assumption was wrong: for 2012, you can now get the 2.5-litre four-cylinder in the XLE, and for a little while it had me fooled into thinking it was a V6, and that is perhaps even more impressive than the fuel consumption!

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The XLE model was previously only available with the larger engine. Toyota has now eliminated that restriction, as have many other manufacturers, allowing consumers to pick up a loaded vehicle without having to shell out for the larger, less-efficient engine.

Standard features on the XLE include 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, navigation system, eight-way driver and four-way passenger power-adjustable heated leather seats, dual illuminated vanity mirrors, leather-wrapped steering wheel, simulated woodgrain trim, pushbutton start, rear reading lamps, glass breakage sensor, power sunroof, and anti-theft system.

The 2012 Toyota Camry is also now equipped with a front passenger knee airbag and rear seat side airbags in addition to the slew of airbags present in all vehicles. Other safety devices such as ABS, traction control and stability control, which are now mandated safety devices on all new vehicles sold in Canada, are, of course, included too.

2012 Toyota Camry XLE
MSRP as tested (excluding destination): $29,900

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Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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The interior of the new 2012 Toyota Camry seems so much more grown-up than that of the previous generation. The leather-stitched dash and wood trim certainly add a more sophisticated look, although most Camry shoppers will not be ponying up for the so-equipped XLE version. The buttons and controls are still large enough to use but not in-your-face with a typeface so large it can be seen from space.

The radio controls on the centre stack touchscreen are easy and intuitive to use, and the system can read your e-mail to you — although if it is that important, just pull over and stop, but I digress.

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If you need a lot of trunk space, look no further. While you may want to consider the Volkswagen Passat, as it has a trunk larger than some Vancouver condos, the trunk in the Camry is equally impressive, swallowing my curling broom with over a foot of width to spare! The trunk is officially rated at 436 litres; for reference, the Passat’s is 450.

The rest of the interior is what you would expect in this class. Roomy for both front and rear passengers alike. Some features worth noting include the sliding armrest — which makes long drives a breeze — and the intuitive controls.

Like most Camrys before it, this new one is somewhat nondescript. The design keeps it simple, however, which is a formula that has worked for Toyota for a while.

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Although many would consider the Toyota Camry a great highway cruising vehicle, myself included, I have noticed that wind and road noise is actually more prominent than in the Mazda3 I drove last week. The Mazda felt like a vault, with next to no noise getting in from the outside.

I’m not saying the Camry is noisy; it is far from that, but in this regard, the Camry is not vault-like, like some of its competition. The Optima SX I drove in the fall, for instance, was whisper-quiet out on the highway. All that being said, the Camry will satisfy most buyers in this regard.

The 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine feels more powerful than you would expect; it moves this large sedan smoothly and easily. Put your foot down hard, and you can tell it is a four-cylinder as it thrashes a bit, but there’s more than enough power for passing.

Although not sporty, the Camry offers enough driver feedback to keep you awake. Although steering feel is light, it offers up enough sense of the road, and the brakes are easy to modulate and quick to grab when needed. The car is easy to maneuver in parking lots, and of course the backup camera helps in this regard, but for a rather large sedan, sight-lines are good.

As I mentioned yesterday, perhaps there is nothing exciting here but the new Camry delivers what the majority of buyers want in a mid-sized sedan: comfort, predictability and enough room for stuff.

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I’d like to reiterate the fact that the trunk in the 2012 Toyota Camry is absolutely massive! I carried home several bags of wood pellets and not only did they fit, the trunk still looked empty with them in there. It was impressive.

Even more impressive, though, must be the achieved real world fuel economy. This week was very typical in regards to my driving routine. In fact, I think I may have spent a little more time tooling around parking lots this weekend than I normally do.

The 2012 Camry still managed to offer up an incredible 8.5L/100km average for me. Considering the winter tires, the winter weather and the less-efficient winter gas, this is rather impressive indeed. So, if you need trunk space and good fuel economy in a mid-sized sedan, the Camry may be your ticket in a very tightly contested segment.

*Rating out of 5: