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| Toyota Camry Hybrid |
“Do you recognize how briskly you were going?” the officer predictably asked. i used to be dumbfounded — before I’d been pulled over, the drive had been a complete blur. Outside of speed traps, the Camry beats Buster Bluth at being neither seen nor heard. That’s why customers am fond of it and enthusiasts hate it, and why I had paid scant attention to hurry limits or blue-and-white Crown Vics. Substitute a hazelnut latte for amphetamines and Terry Gross for Super Soul, and that i was Kowalski.
After I got off with a warning, the remainder of my week with a Cypress Pearl (gray) 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE (MSRP $30,021) was predictably uneventful. It’s a competent cruiser with a giant back seat and unobtrusive technology on the dash and underneath the hood, however the sedan incorporates a few shortcomings that keep it from being a pantheon of practicality.
On the road, the Camry proved to be pleasant and relaxed — good for drivers who care a lot of concerning the destination than the journey.
Outside, I found the Camry’s new look to be a colossal improvement over its predecessor, that suffered from identical bulbous front finish and tail that had unfold across Toyota’s lineup sort of a scabies outbreak at a Vegas motel. Designers smoothed down the older car’s outstanding schnoz and squared off the decklid for a cleaner, handsome look. From a distance, its lines were vaguely paying homage to the previous Alfa 164 — and not unattractive within the least.
The interior was a mixed bag. I counted eleven completely different styles of plastic — from taxi-grade pleather to a shiny oil slick surrounding the middle stack. A French-stitched dashboard cowl looked most incongruous on top of the onerous, grainy glovebox. And though engine and tire noise weren’t noticeable at speed, there was a major quantity of wind noise over forty five mph.
The automobile I drove was equipped with Toyota’s Entune infotainment system, that depends on a smartphone’s knowledge affiliation to run apps like Bing and Pandora on the big bit screen. Entune can eventually run different programs, like OpenTable and MovieTickets.com, and is free for 3 years and $5 monthly thereafter. whereas net optimized for in-car use is healthier than futzing around with a phone, I’m unsure why Toyota needs users to travel through the additional step of downloading the Entune smartphone app before syncing phone and automobile. Audi, for example, simply uses Bluetooth to hijack any data-enabled phone’s net affiliation.
Even Entune-equipped Camrys surround the massive bitscreen with chunky buttons and dials — sensible for changing the station or temperature by touch and feel, and ideal for gloved hands in wintertime. Those glittery plastic knobs could create the Camry’s dash seem like a mid-’90s Aiwa boombox, however the setup is much a lot of practical than one where often-used choices hide deep at intervals graphic menus.
On the road, the Camry proved to be pleasant and relaxed — good for drivers who care a lot of concerning the destination than the journey. Highway cruising was an absolute joy, though the soft suspension and light-weight steering masked somewhat an excessive amount of road feel for my style. Even in energy-saving Eco mode, acceleration was aloof from exhilarating however quite adequate for highway merging and spending maneuvers. And though the redesigned automobile has lost weight, each ounce of its near-3,500-pound curb weight was noticeable underneath serious cornering.
Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive has come back a protracted means from the first Prius, with barely noticeable transitions between battery and internal combustion.
In a mixture of highway and town driving, I managed a good thirty eight.1 mpg. Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive has come back a protracted means from the first Prius, with barely noticeable transitions between battery and internal combustion. Though they’re still perceptibly unconventional, even the regenerative brakes and CVT shed variant the nonlinearity of their forebears. If a driver had somehow missed all the hybrid-only badging on the skin of the automobile and therefore the varied hybrid-specific displays overflowing from the dash, he or she may not even understand the electrical motor and batteries lurking beneath.
I hardly noticed myself, till I had to place an oversize item within the trunk. whereas there’s a Container Store’s value of cubbyholes and hideaways throughout the automobile, the situation of the hybrid’s batteries prevents the rear seats from folding down. in an exceedingly midsize sedan aimed toward families, that’s a significant downside.
Suddenly, the equally priced nonetheless oddly formed Prius V created total sense to me. It offers an identical driving expertise and nearly the precise same fuel economy because the Camry Hybrid. It’s larger than the quality Prius and has lots of area within the backseat and trunk. concerning the sole place where the Camry Hybrid has the V beat is one.8 further inches of width. As a three-box sedan, the Camry Hybrid would possibly create the higher taxi, however the Prius V is a lot of sensible overall.
Better still may be the upcoming 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. I haven’t driven it, however i think that its movie-star beauty and estimated fuel economy of forty one mpg should be keeping Toyota’s sales team awake at midnight. in contrast to the Sonata and Optima hybrids, the new Fusion’s rear seats fold down, too.
The Camry’s detractors usually have confidence arguments tinged with refined elitism: something that’s well-liked should even be pedestrian. Though the 2012 Camry Hybrid didn’t get my heart racing, it proved specifically what it guarantees to be: a cushty, roomy sedan with stellar fuel economy. There’s completely nothing wrong with that.
Until now, Toyota has restrained its critics by taking business recommendation from noted economist Curtis Jackson III: Let ‘em hate and watch the cash collect. It’s worked to this point, however with increased competition each on the horizon and at their own dealerships, it’s time to step things up. The Camry Hybrid willn’t need to win over enthusiasts — however it does need to beat its rivals on the sales floor.
ref: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/06/toyota-camry-hybrid/
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