2012 Camry Hybrid LE vs XLE

[molson.david]

^.
Wait for mid cycle refresh.
Restyle will have LED and new grill/headlights.
.

[molson.david]

Tried to buy TCH last Saturday:
They didn’t have any LE’s in stock. 6 of them in bound coming next week (base LE 27+K MSRP) +wheels and roof = 29K, so I drove XLE with no leather ( 31K MSRP).
Nice car, powertrain much quieter and smoother than gas powered camry.
After 20 min drive, (battery fully charged, normal driving style, all city, no AC) average trip MPG was 31.5MPG. better than my LE, but far away from 41 posted on sticker.
Don’t wanna buy base LEh (want at least 6.1 radio and maybe roof) but cannot testify paying 31+ for XLEh, even with discount it still gonna be 29.5 or so, plus both times I drove TCH average trip MPG wasn’t even close to 40, so I’ll keep polluting air for at least couple more years.

[venzoid]

Did you do a full trip reset? It took me a while to find this otherwise all the idling at the dealership creates a low average fuel consumption. I exceeded the posted numbers on my test drives in coolish weather in mixed driving.

[molson.david]

Did you do a full trip reset? It took me a while to find this otherwise all the idling at the dealership creates a low average fuel consumption. I exceeded the posted numbers on my test drives in coolish weather in mixed driving.

yep, I did reset trip comp both times. I was surprised MPG didn't hit sticker numbers.
I was driving like I normally do (for some reason 95% of the hybrids I see on the roads drive, especially on take offs and HWY’s like "driver died 10 miles ago” .
sorry TCH drivers .
I know it saves gas, but creates a lot of problems for drivers behind these cars.
Now I’m doing 50/50 mixed driving and my MPG stays around 28-29, city only 24-25.
I’ve got 45.1 on trip comp screen once, but it was early Sunday morning on HWY-no traffic, at 55-60 and I was very gentle with gas pedal.

[swingman]

wouldn't your engine be off when idling anyway? wouldn't think that would drag down the mpg much.

[venzoid]

Originally Posted by swingman

wouldn't your engine be off when idling anyway? wouldn't think that would drag down the mpg much.

Well, when I test drove the salesman went out to warm the car up. Crank the heater up etc. So by the time I get everything adjusted the engine has been cycling on and off to charge the battery and heat up the cabin. It also takes a while to figure out all the hybrid screens and reset fuel consumption figures to get an idea of what the car will deliver according to your driving style.

[venzoid]

On the canadian toyota site (toyota.ca) there is a link for the display audio. It seems very impressive with voice recognition etc and customizable settings for the car.

[MapOfTaziFoSho]

Originally Posted by molson.david

Tried to buy TCH last Saturday:
They didn’t have any LE’s in stock. 6 of them in bound coming next week (base LE 27+K MSRP) +wheels and roof = 29K, so I drove XLE with no leather ( 31K MSRP).
Nice car, powertrain much quieter and smoother than gas powered camry.
After 20 min drive, (battery fully charged, normal driving style, all city, no AC) average trip MPG was 31.5MPG. better than my LE, but far away from 41 posted on sticker.
Don’t wanna buy base LEh (want at least 6.1 radio and maybe roof) but cannot testify paying 31+ for XLEh, even with discount it still gonna be 29.5 or so, plus both times I drove TCH average trip MPG wasn’t even close to 40, so I’ll keep polluting air for at least couple more years.

I'm getting 40 no problem in the winter...you must drive like an ass.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by venzoid

So what does the LE have in place of the 6 inch touch screen? (I haven't seen an LE yet). Is it smaller and not a touch screen?

Have we already turned the corner with feeling good about a touch screen? I've had a video camera with a touch screen that only lasted for a year. How about 10 years? I don't think knobs wear out... my neighbour's been a knob for years and he's still going strong!

Just a regular "single line" LCD radio headunit (i.e. like any other Toyota in the past 10 years).

Our 7" touchscreen on the 2005 Prius is still going strong.

Originally Posted by swingman

Hybrid LE has bluetooth..at least in the US (listed with audio system as BLU Logic® Hands Free System)

On the LE,
does the steering wheel having any controls (audio or otherwise)?

Not listed in features but when looking at the pics, the left side of steering wheel appears to have controls for something (just missing controls on right side)

Note that BLU Logic is different from Toyota's integrated bluetooth handsfree system.

BLU Logic is dealer-installed (even if it's "standard" equipment. Just like how a cargo net or mudguards are done at the dealer when they prep the vehicle) and you'll have this control unit that replaces one of the blanks with an up arrow, down arrow and a phone icon.


Toyota's bluetooth handsfree system uses steering wheel mounted controls with a VOICE button, and a rocker switch with a "handset on" and a "handset off" icon.