Toyota Camry Hybrid Review

Overall Rating

I've owned my 2007 Toyota Camry for over a year now. What made me purchase this Hybrid is for obvious reasons: Great fuel economy (35-38 Avg MPG), Design looks of Car is Appealing (doesn't look like the old egg shaped hybrids), Going Green(er) is the new thing. Many standard creature comforts in the luxury package, like heated seats, sunroof, leather seats, navigation system and for this package I thought it was worth the extra $3000 in sticker price if you can imagine keeping this car for a long time then why not have it fully loaded. It's only a few dollars more a month if financing.

Right off the bat I can say that if your only focus is having a good looking car with great gas mileage then buy it. However I found my Hybrid to have more interior & exterior road noise/sound levels than what I'm used to. The passenger seat on my car tends to have a ratteling noise when I'm on the freeway (dealer can't seem to fix problem). Although it's a mid-size family car you'll never be able to fit enough Luggage in trunk for your Family road trips. Too much of cheap plastic feel on front dash and console areas. Not too many interior & Exterior color schemes to choose from when buying. Have to change your driving style and habits in order to get the 40+ MPG that Toyota advertises on their sticker... Otherwise you may only find yourself getting about 33 MPG or less around town. Using the Nav is not totally user friendly or accurate from my experience. I also noticed that interior illumination should be lit in other areas like the door rest window and lock control buttons so I could see them at night.

Overall Reliability of the Toyota Camry Hybrid is "9" I've had no problems my first year so far.
Overall Performance "8" If you don't have lead foot you'll do fine.
Overall Value for Buck "8" If you can bargain for $2500 off MSRP.
Overall I give it "Two Thumbs Up" until something better enters the market.
I traded my Ultra Luxury Package 2001 Lexus LS 430 for the '07 Camry Hybrid (cried for months) so I had pretty much a lot to lose and can say many bad points about the Camry but I'll try to keep it real and not to go over board because I do miss my LS 430. I find this car to be very appealing and great for not making too many stops at the Gas Pump during the week.
Car runs quiet so sometimes you can't tell if the car is on or not. I noticed that engine never really feels hot so you really can't tell if your teenagers have lied to you or not (I use to put my hand on the hood to see if it was warm or not) about using the car.
I did find the car very different at first to drive but not difficult too drive and get the feel for handeling, performace, manueverbility and so on. Basically I found myself coming to the realization that I have to be the one to change my driving style to really like this car. So if you're wanting to change your life/driving style you can't depend on the car to do it for you.... you have to adapt to the car.
However, Toyota's are known for their reliability and longevity so only time will tell on these USA Hybrids will take the abuse the way Americans want their cars to drive.