2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid

By Alex Forrest

This is a dramatically different new Camry. 

Big changes have been made to it in almost every way except for its name, with the most noticeable being its far more distinctive and engaging appearance. 

To say the Camry is comfortably ahead of the competition in sales is an understatement. In 2017, there were 23,620 copies of the Camry sold in Australia, which is several thousand more than the rest of the medium car segment put together.  

Still, the proliferation of good-handling and stylish medium sized cars such as the Mazda6, Subaru Liberty and Skoda Octavia were making the previous Camry look increasingly in need of an all-round sharpen-up. 

So, along with the revamped looks, the Camry also gained a whole new platform, called Toyota's New Global Architecture (TNGA). Toyota has said this actually enables the Camry’s more adventurous design, as well as improving its handling through better weight distribution.  

Hybrid versions of the Camry – which we reckon are the pick of the Camry clan – have a redesigned hybrid system which is more efficient and makes slightly more power. 

The hybrid system’s battery has also been moved from the boot to under the rear seat, which has liberated more boot space and lowered the car’s centre of gravity. 

In addition to all this change, Toyota has also brought back the V6 Camry after a hiatus of 11 years. This replaces the V6 Aurion, which was Toyota’s previous V6 sedan offering before it ceased production in Australia in October 2017. 

We road tested the four-cylinder Camry, and then the Camry Hybrid. 

The hybrid was the standout, primarily because it is a smoother, quieter, better performing car which happens to also use less fuel than the petrol-only one. Which seems a lot given the hybrid is only $1200 extra.

All variants of the new Camry get a suite of safety gear as standard, which includes autonomous braking and active cruise control. Rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitoring are also standard. 
 
This is the boost in safety gear, technology and looks that the Camry needed, which in hybrid form now makes it a highly convincing package.