Driving impressions of the 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE

[williamsagency]

Hey everyone. First let me say, how much I really enjoy this site..very informative. After having two Priuses I now own a 2010 TCH bought new and is nearly 2 years old now. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, my car. However, I decided I would consider purchasing a 2012, not that I needed it, but I wanted it. My wonderful dealer in my small town where I bought my '10 from finally got a '12 XLE in, and let me take it for a spin recently.

Here are my impressions:

The first noticeable difference is it has slightly more pep than my '10.
The ride, however, is not as good. It could be because the XLE had those awful Bridgestones and I have Michelin Primacys.

The salesperson touted the '12 has these aerodynamic little fins attached all around the vehicle for more stability, especially in the wake of tractor trailers on the interstate. Well, the '12 was buffeted more than my '10.

The '12 does seem to get better gas mileage, but not enough to really wow me. The '12 is lighter and actually feels like it. I prefer the heavier feel of my '10.

The '12 does not have the temp control on the steering wheel, nor the auto windows all around.

The instrument cluster on the '12 is somewhat confusing upon first glance. It's not as clean as the '10.

I was definitely not impressed by the Entune system. The navigation component is basically like a Garmin you attach to the dash. I fully expected it override the radio when giving directions, but it did not, as most in car navs offer. The apps feature offered many things I would probably never use. I have never connected an iPod to my car in the nearly two years I've owned it. I do use the bluetooth freature, however.

The '12 was as comfortable to drive as my '10. I am 6'5, so space is important.

There was lots of wind noise from the moonroof. My '10 does not have a moonroof, which is what I prefer...one solid piece of metal (less to rattle and break).

The '12 does have a button to deactivate the traction control, which the '10 does not. I know lots of people have inquired about deactivating the system. I guess Toyota listened.

Overall, in my opinion, the '12 is a great vehicle worth considering, and I am still considering trading. But, its not something I am saying I just gotta have. Toyota has built a quality car as usual, but I think I really missing the wow factor that simply blows me away.

I would love to hear other opinions on this vehicle. Thanks so much in advance for reading.

Happiest of Holidays!!!!!!!

[ukrkoz]

hah, I started reading your post, got to "my beloved dealer" part and almosy posted - iff it, another salesman pitching that Camry - but you did well! thanks for decent and honest post.
btw, 2011 has TSC override button too.
bless your heart, you just confirmed what I said before - it is NOT totally redesigned and new vehicle, and perks are not worth getting into a new loan prison. btw, wait till it breaks in, and rattles and squeaks will start showing.
thanks, man/m'am!

[williamsagency]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I do try to be honest. For someone who doesn't already own a 1st generation TCH, the new one might blow them away. But most folks actually love their current TCH and probably won't see the need to get a 2nd generation vehicle. Also, thanks for the traction control correction.

[mush10]

I picked mine up a few days ago and I am very impressed. I picked up a XLE Hybrid and have been very impressed. I have been through a few too many cars this year trying to find the right balance of gas mileage and comfort/features. This fit the bill nicely. First tank in cold weather, and a heavy foot I am averaging close to 38 mpg's. I am very impressed and hope it continues to improve. I would be happy to answer any questions as I pop in from time to time.

[ukrkoz]

Originally Posted by williamsagency

Hey, thanks for the reply. I do try to be honest. For someone who doesn't already own a 1st generation TCH, the new one might blow them away. But most folks actually love their current TCH and probably won't see the need to get a 2nd generation vehicle. Also, thanks for the traction control correction.

and honesty is always appreciated. it's hard to come by commodity. personally, I do not see any principle betterment in 2012 TCH to even check it out. few more horses I simply do have with K&N air filter in my 2007. I do average 38 through 42 mpg. I do stream music off my cell phone and instead of that utterly ridiculous DVD nav am using either Garmin or Google Navigation.
With that said, as I bought mine for roughly half ticket price original owner paid for it, why even bother.
Also, I consider that particular hybrid drive design not the best anyway. I have a different one in mind, but need to let those models filter through leases, then I'll get one.
As of others having awesome experience with 2012 - well, sure. Give her about 30 000 miles, then come back and we'll talk. They all do drive awesome when they have only 50 miles on ticker.

[williamsagency]

Currently I have 34K miles on mine with absolutely no problems or complaints. I average around 42mph. Mush10, is this your first hybrid vehicle? Congrats on your purchase! I'm positive you will enjoy it as much as we enjoy ours. I would love to continue to hear from you as you break it in.

[mush10]

Thanks, Williamsagency. I had a Kia Optima Hybrid for about 3000 miles this year and had enough. I got into the Hybrid game because I drive about 25,000-30,000 miles per year. I do not really want to change the way I drive too much and the Kia gave no advantage. I am learning some techniques to help and if I can stay anywhere between 36-40 this would be a huge win coming from a car that I was getting 20.4 in. I will certainly keep checking in on my experiences. I find a lot to like about the car and technology in it thus far. I had an Acura TL with a solid Tech package and the Camry really holds its own.

[williamsagency]

I'm not familiar with the Kia. I did test the Fusion Hybrid, and was not impressed at all. Come to think of it, the new Camry reminds me of the Fusion in terms of performance. The increased mpg was not enough for me to definitely decide at this point.

[CamryHybrid2011]

Got mine 2 days ago and today was able to do my first 50+ miles round trip mix of highway and highway with stop lights.

41-42 MPGs on the above trip - driving it in Eco mode. I think this is great for just a new car before breaking the engine in etc.

In addition it had great comfort, was very quiet, feelt luxury. had the power to accelerate when you need it (though I was not pushing the car as per the break in recommendations not to accelerate too fast etc).

Very comfortable - amazing at such as I am a big guy and can easy get in/out of the car. No need bend my head down. Seat can be quite high (my XLE has no moonroof package which provides almost one extra inch height of the ceiling).

Really very happy. The no key entry is nice, and I really like the navigation actually (though its just the base Entune/Nav no JBL for $1050 MSRP add on).

One problem I had... you need to watch the speed... I was doing 65 MPH (on a highway) and was thinking to accelerate more as it felt like 40MPH or slower... I could have been doing 85 MPH (I did not of course) and feel no sweat from the engine. So you really need to watch the speed with this one... or you will quickly get it to 85 MPH or more so powerful it feels.

Seats are very comfy... a pleasure to seat in them.

Thank you Toyoda-san for designing such a good car for me!

If you are out there looking.. go and give it a try. Don't know why anyone will buy regular XLEs...

Good luck!

[williamsagency]

Congrats on your new wheels! I know you will love it. Keep us posted, please.

[ukrkoz]

Originally Posted by williamsagency

I'm not familiar with the Kia. I did test the Fusion Hybrid, and was not impressed at all. Come to think of it, the new Camry reminds me of the Fusion in terms of performance. The increased mpg was not enough for me to definitely decide at this point.

though Ford claims its own Hybrid drive, Toyota sold them a significant number of patents and licenses for it.
Mazda, which is/was in big kahutz with Ford, is moving away from Ford Hybrid drive and is switching to Toyota, as did Nissan, in their Altimas. Honda has their original drive, Hyundai claims it too.
I am waiting for Infinity M3 series Hybrid. That's a whooping car.

[CamryHybrid2011]

Made yet another 50 miles trip, and had a chance to get to know more the many features this car offers.

My bottom line: go get one! It is like driving a Lexus but paying much less for such, not having the novorich Lexus driving "stigma" (joking) and having all the real useful features (actually many more than I will use on a daily basis). Not to mention the current and next year Lexus model will be based on the old Camry technology, no Entune etc features so for now, this is the best buy around.

gas is 42-43 MPGs, driven in Eco mode (car needs break in as per manual which suggests anyway not to stress it by driving too fast or pushing to accelerate at max while it is in its first few 100s miles of driving). Eco mode is quite fine for me, I have not felt any lack of power or any issue at all. Still the car is very quiet (was driving it without radio on just to hear how quiet/noisy it is) and it is very smooth ride.

While this replaces a very old car, I had driven many rentals through the years (Ford, Kia, Hyundai, old Camry, Lincoln TownCar, Chevy, Pontiac G6, etc) - this is the best feeling I even had. It is very spacious inside, more than the old Camry (I have only driven Camry rentals - I am a big guy and I fit very well no bending while in/out the car so to avoid hiting my head on the roof frame - took it without the moonroof - really the power driver's seat can go up and down quite a lot - for short drivers - I can sit as high as I want with it).

I really do not want the leather - bad feel in winter/summer, and the fabric seats and design looks great and feel great.

I am not sure why first OP was not that exciting - this car has many improvements, yes it is a Camry and if you buy a Camry its because of a reason. If you want a Lexus - its not like Toyota does not know to add many bells and whistles but do you really need all of them and at what a price - you will pay way more for such (no Lexus yet based on the new Camry Hybrid platform - may come latter maybe 2013 model?).

I have not yet used all the features in the car, I like the simplicity of the navigation screen (no need 3D for me - when I read a map I see it in 2D and it does have pop out street names to add which is nice, as well as many other features).

Radio sounds very fine - I do not want an expensive audio system in a car anyway, so no need for the JBL especially as it forces the moonroof (per Camry configuration restrictions). If I want a super good audio system I will get one at home (have it). The sound is very good and HD Radio even makes it better vs. normal FM (which sounds nice too). HD Radio comes with the Entune system.

Not sure why williamsagency was not that excited about this car. I was also able to get a $1000 debit card as part of the promotion going on... so the price I have paid - Out the door in NJ of about $29854 with such additional $1000 promotion is great given all the features and benefits.

Insurance for me was not bad either - just about $350 extra over the base insurance I have (I have a clean record, and my car has both engine immobilizer and alarm, part of the Convenience Package - which helps with the insurance cost) for a total of $880 (I took the $1000 deductible as the difference between this and $500 deductible is not worth the price difference - over $1000 cost with such and you know if you go for small dents you wont file a claim anyway).

So this is the quick report of my experience. I will take it to longer trips (180 miles I have on a weekly basis or so) and report in other places.

I also did try a Prius just to see how I "fit" into a smaller car. (I am a big guy...) It felt bad. It is as if I got shoes that are 1 or 2 numbers smaller than what I need for my feet or almost for me was like being inside a shoebox (I am a big guy). I do not know why people will buy the Prius no that the new Camry Hybrid is out. Yes I know there is a perception the Prius is the right thing for young 30 something generation concerned with the environment etc. But with the new Camry and at the actuall MPGs I got (42 or so - will have to know the real number once I fill the gas tank and calculate the actual miles vs. gas so this is only based on what the car has calculated for me MPG wise) why would you try to get a Prius and, probably very hard, get to the 50MPGs posted number? Not to mention less features (no Entune) and smaller space, and... very weak engine/motor combination - the lack of power is very much known for the Prius, but with the 200 HP and high torque new Camry, there is no need to get a Prius no more and still have very good MPGs and pay similar price for more features. Makes no sense to me to go for a Prius other that what people have in their mind since the days that the Prius came first. No need for such now with the new Camry hybrid as it is good enough and way more feature rich and comfortable.


For now, I say go buy one now - while price is low. Do not wait to spring as prices will be higher based on my experience from last year. $1000 promotion is still going on this week you need register to get one of the 140 daily certificates and this will end this week but you have to buy the car by Jan 3rd 2012.

Hope its helpful and good luck to all!

[2012CamryXLEHybrid]

We test drove the new 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE last night.
Very impressed with the ride overall.
Replacing our 1995 Camry that has 307,450 miles on it. It has served us well and needs to be retired before something major goes wrong.

Started out trying to talk my wife into a Prius, but with some the new 2012 Camry mileage and one biggy for us that the car as made in Georgetown Kentucky. Sticker said the Hybrid was 60% USA and 40% Japan. The gas powered Camry was 75% USA and 25% Japan.

The Camry on the lot was the wrong color for my wife, so we are waiting for ours to show up within the next week. Salesperson very helpful, and said will get us up to speed on all the whistles and bells when we pick-up the new car.

Looking forward to see how the gas mileage does with my wife driving.
See if I can geek her into driving a little slower !! I use a 2003 GEM neighborhood electric vehicle around town.

NEW CAMRY HYBRID OWNER

[mush10]

I am really enjoying mine as well. I have about 650 miles on it and still averaging around 37.8 which for me is incredible. I really have no complaints at this point.

[MatrixPC]

Well, mine just have about 400 miles in there, and I'm really happy with the purchase so far. Gas tank still show 1/2 full. Yesterday, 35 miles trip home from work in traffic, the tiny screen show avg 53.9 miles/gal. WOW ...