2016 Toyota Camry

Overview: Competent and mostly inoffensive, the Toyota Camry was the go-to driving appliance for 429,355 buyers in 2015, making it once again the best-selling car in the United States. Despite its appliance-like lack of verve on the road—which contributed to the Camry finishing last in our latest comparison test of family sedans—this is a sensible machine with lots of space for people and cargo, decent manners, plenty of available technology, and an optional hybrid powertrain that makes it an upstanding four-wheeled citizen for the environmentally conscious. A significant update for 2015 brought more aggressive styling, as well as numerous other tweaks aimed at honing its on-road character. A gaping maw with chrome grille slats dominates the front of most models, while the sportier SE and XSE trim levels call out their stiffened chassis underpinnings with a blackened mesh grille.

Nonhybrid Camrys employ six-speed automatic transmissions. The volume powertrain continues; it’s a 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 178 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque. Pricing for the base LE model, which the EPA rates at 25 mpg city and 35 mpg highway, starts at $23,905. The Camry hybrid’s 1.6-kWh nickel-metal-hydride battery is too small to allow for any significant electric-only driving, and its droning continuously variable automatic transmission drops the hybrid’s fun factor even lower. But with its 2.5-liter four-cylinder contributing to a combined system output of 200 horsepower, the Camry hybrid is a bit quicker than the standard car, able to hit 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. As hybrid buyers expect, it’s also more efficient, with city/highway figures as high as 43/39 mpg on low-rolling-resistance tires (we averaged 31 mpg with a 2015 hybrid test car). Low gasoline prices and a starting tag of $27,625, however, make recouping the hybrid’s price premium a long-term venture. Those seeking some hot sauce with their beige can look to the available 3.5-liter V-6 that was installed in the Camry XLE test car we drove for this review. Pumping out a healthy 268 horsepower, the V-6 car can scoot to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds at 100 mph. Available only in the well-equipped XLE and XSE versions, V-6 Camrys start at $32,205 and are rated at 21 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. Your fuel economy may vary, though, as a previous XSE V-6 test car actually returned a better real-world figure than the base 2.5-liter four (24 mpg to the four-cylinder’s 23), and the XLE V-6 we drove for this review returned an impressive 35 mpg in our new real-world, 75-mph highway fuel-economy test.

What’s New: Given its overhaul for 2015—including a strengthened chassis, an updated interior, and revised styling—the 2016 Camry is largely unchanged. Along with minor trim adjustments, all versions now come with Toyota’s Connected Navigation Scout link for the standard Entune audio system, which allows for the navigation function of a paired device to be piped into the Camry’s head unit. And if you like blue, there’s a new SE Special Edition model, which starts at $26,550 and includes a standard power sunroof, special 18-inch wheels with black accents, contrasting blue stitching and seat inserts, blue-accented gauges and trim, and model-specific floor mats. Exterior paint colors are limited to a vibrant Blue Crush Metallic or Blizzard Pearl white. Our XLE V-6 example carried a $35,170 sticker, including the $805 Entune-JBL premium audio system with navigation, the $750 Advanced Technology package (adaptive cruise, auto high-beams, forward-collision mitigation, and lane-departure warning), blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert for $500, and a few smaller extras. Expect Toyota to introduce an all-new 2018 Camry late next year, which likely will be lighter, have more technology, and feature a turbocharged four-cylinder in place of the optional V-6.

What We Like: The impressive thrust from the V-6’s 268 horsepower is the Camry’s party trick. But the Camry also is a highly practical vehicle, with a capacious 15-cubic-foot trunk (13 cubes for the hybrid) and one of the most accommodating back seats in the class. As with any good appliance, its general ergonomics are straightforward and user-friendly. Camrys also are well equipped for their price and carry Toyota’s reputation for quality and reliability, even if Toyota’s race team wishes it had had more of the latter at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. And with its production facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, the Camry scores high as one of the more American-made vehicles on the market.

What We Don’t Like: Despite Toyota’s efforts to enliven its driving behavior, the Camry still quickens the pulse as much as a Sunday-afternoon nap spent “watching” the middle laps of a NASCAR superspeedway race. It lacks the handling composure and steering response of the Honda Accord and the Mazda 6, and the updated structure still doesn’t feel as tight as, say, that of the new Chevrolet Malibu. The mushy ride that hampers the Toyota on twisty back roads somehow doesn’t translate into cushiness during the daily commute; the Camry transmits sharp impacts into the cabin (both with vibration and with noise transmitted up through the suspension) far more than it should. In other words, there are competitors that both ride and handle better than the Camry. Toyota’s 2.5-liter four is uninspiring and strains to move the Camry at a competitive pace, and the six-speed automatic can feel lethargic when the driving turns aggressive. We also wish the interior materials were of higher quality and the seats were more supportive. The family-sedan segment is hotly contested, and there are a slew of more interesting competitors available with similar practicality, pricing, and features. The Camry, although adequate and easy to live with, only excels at being innocuous.

Verdict: The commuter’s finance-and-forget-it sedan of choice.

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Specifications >

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

BASE PRICES: LE, $23,905;
SE, $24,675;
XSE and XLE, $27,145;
Hybrid LE, $27,625;
Hybrid SE, $28,830;
Hybrid XLE, $30,975;
XSE V-6 and XLE V-6, $32,205

ENGINE TYPES: DOHC 16-valve 2.5-liter inline-4, 178 hp, 170 lb-ft; DOHC 24-valve 3.5-liter V-6, 268 hp, 248 lb-ft; DOHC 16-valve Atkinson-cycle 2.5-liter inline-4, 156 hp, 156 lb-ft + permanent-magnet synchronous AC electric motor, 141 hp, 199 lb-ft (combined power rating, 200 hp, 1.6-kWh nickel-metal-hydride battery pack)

TRANSMISSIONS: 6-speed automatic with manual shifting mode; continuously variable automatic

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 109.3 in
Length: 190.9 in
Width: 71.7 in Height: 57.9 in
Passenger volume: 101–103 cu ft
Cargo volume: 13–15 cu ft
Curb weight (C/D est): 3300–3560 lb

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 21–43/31–39 mpg

C/D TEST RESULTS FOR:
2016 Toyota Camry SE 2.5L
Zero to 60 mph: 8.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 22.4 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 8.3 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 4.6 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 5.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 16.2 sec @ 88 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 112 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 180 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.83 g
Curb weight: 3297 lb
C/D observed fuel economy: 23 mpg