The situation is like after school. Often this happens when an ugly gray mouse studied with you, and you come to a graduate meeting 15 years later, and instead of that mouse, a vamp lady whose eyes burn like the rays of the July sun on the Sochi beach.
Yes, the new Camry has changed quite a lot. Although it can be said boldly, it has completely changed. Not the rays of the sun, of course. But if you do not leave that same Sochi beach, then the new Camry is rather churchkhela. Earlier, in distant childhood, for five cents, you could gobble up a meter boa for a long time from thick grape juice with hazelnuts, grinding your milk teeth on a strong kapron in the core. Now it’s a short snake (or even a coppers) with a small hazelnut, which is as if specially grown for this. It would seem that the changes are not for the better, but no. There are now so many types of this churchkhela that Michelin stars can be safely credited to some tents on the Sochi market for the variety of tastes and the nature of production. That is, nostalgia is perhaps wonderful, but the brand’s attractiveness is growing.
A similar story happened with Camry. Previously, it was a kind of member of the cart for bureaucrats at various levels and, as a rule, commercial garages. And that was the appeal of the model. The lack of taste in the Russian consumer a few years ago was catastrophic. Now - a little better, but also not dramatically. Still in favor of “Merina”, “Behi” (especially “He-5”, for example) and “Lehus”. In this series, by the way, Camry also had a place to be. The model was the leader in segment D, is and will certainly remain. And that's why.
The exterior of the new Camry is a symbiosis of conservatism and futurism of the elder brother (Lexus). Yes, Camry has become closer to its premium relative. And it catches the eye. Wide contours, lines in the style of takumi masters (who are working on the Lexus), a muscular profile with a stamping closer to the stern. All this made the Camry more aggressive and stylistically much more attractive than its predecessors. If Lexus grows the radiator grill in the vertical axis, Toyota has added centimeters of the grill horizontally, thereby indicating the sportiness of the front.
At the stern, modern design trends touched the lights, which not only acquired LEDs, but climbed significantly onto the rear wings, receiving the now boomerang form factor. It looks really good.
The interior of the new Toyota Camry, as well as the exterior of the sedan, has undergone dramatic changes. A new steering wheel, new seats, a dashboard, a front panel, a dashboard, etc. That is, again, a completely redesigned interior can be stated.
Want to surprise the consumer? Do something unusual, out of the ordinary. Toyotovtsy did. They made the front panel unlike anything. Moreover, they did not slip into complete “futurism” and did not make the keys touch, for which many thanks to them. The controls of the multimedia system are mechanical buttons and “twists”. Everything is within reach of the hands, everything is clear and simple.
That is, there were no questions to ergonomics. In the top version (and we had just such a test drive) between the wells of the speedometer and tachometer there is a wide electronic display on-board computer with the function of outputting multimedia information. In the trim levels, there will also be an electronic display, but a smaller one.
There was no less space on the back sofa, but there was one “but” in the face of the transmission hump in the middle. Yes, like on gimbal cars. Engineers explained this by the features of the new GA-K platform, which, incidentally, will form the basis of the new generation of RAV4 and Highlander, but later. So, this is required not only for the convenient location of the nodes, but also to maintain a high level of safety of the sedan. Here he is very tall, which is the pride of Toyota engineers. This explains some weighting of the car, despite the new platform and aluminum hood. Will have to come to terms.
Under the hood of the new Camry is a 3.5-liter 249-horsepower gasoline engine. The maximum torque is 356 Nm, which is very good for such a body. According to the passport, the car accelerates to hundreds in 7.7 seconds. We could not help but verify this statement, but instead of the standardly acceptable one and a half seconds in the black, we got an average of minus 0.2 seconds, which was very surprising. In general, fans of abrupt starts and Camry will no longer be an easy opponent. An 8-speed automatic transmission is used as the transmission.
Acceleration to 100 km / h (dynamics), gearshift and average consumption
On the other hand, for those who operate the car in the city, a 2.5-liter engine will suffice. The transmission here is a 6-speed automatic, known to Toyota fans. The basic equipment under the hood received a 2.0-liter engine, also known as camcorders.
How the new Camry rides. This is where everything came together. The fact is that the author of this material from previous generations, to put it mildly, was not enthusiastic. In addition to roominess, there were not many advantages in the car. Status? This is for old bureaucrats from the nineties. Or those who wanted to seem so (for some reason). For the rest of the consumer, the Camry gradually lost its appeal.
In the new generation, there is no trace of the old impressiveness. Now it is quite a driving, quite tough car with an acute reaction on the steering wheel. Driving a Camry was not just fun, but fun. Enter a steep turn without demolition of the rear axle, go around the cone for a short period, bite into a mountain serpentine. Now it can be said about the Camry. Opponents of this approach can answer, they say, now she began to resemble the German temper.
Yes it is. And that’s great.
To summarize this way: the new Toyota Camry has become a car not only for the passenger, but even for the driver. We can safely say that even more for the driver than for the passenger. A drive appeared in it, the work of designers showed up, freshness of decisions appeared in the salon. The result, with a high degree of probability, will be at least the preservation of leading positions in the segment, and, as a maximum, the involvement of a new young audience in the camp of camryvods.