2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid: first impressions

2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid (Photo: Michel Deslauriers, Auto123.com)

Performance-wise, the result is acceleration that feels midway between the conventional 4- and 6-cylinder Camrys. Passing power is pretty good, thanks to the quick-reacting tranny and the electric motor's torque. The Camry is no match for the Accord Hybrid, but as you can see, Toyota never meant for them to be direct competitors.

Having driven previous-generation Camrys, I can attest that this new one is even smoother and quieter than the old ones. The steering feel is fluid, very fluid, and fits the car's relaxed-driving mission perfectly. Road noise is virtually non-existant, and the car makes just about any road feel as smooth as silk.

While driving, I fiddled with the digital readout located in the centre of the speedometer. It displays the fuel economy average, a bar graph indicating the lowest fuel consumption you've achieved during the trip, and an illustration of which engine is currently in action (or both). There is

2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid (Photo: Michel Deslauriers, Auto123.com)

also a real-time consumption gauge to the left of the speedo, with a zone underneath the '0' marking, indicating that you're running on electric power only. Once you speed up to about 50 km/h and keep a stable velocity, the Camry runs on battery power alone and shuts off the gas engine.

I was surprised at how quickly and smoothly the conventional engine stops and starts in a fraction of a second. At stoplights, the car is tomb-like quiet, and when you drive off, the engine fires back up seamlessly. The only peculiar sound I heard was a slight hissing when braking, which recharges the battery, but was nothing intrusive or unpleasant. Besides a smaller trunk and narrower pass-through to the rear seat (the batteries need space), Toyota has, in my opinion, succeeded in creating a hybrid Camry that feels like any other non-electric Camry.

At the end of the drive aboard the Camry, I lowered the fuel consumption average from 11.0 to 8.9 L/100 km (I didn't figure out how to reset it while driving), and the lowest I achieved was about 6.2 L, which is pretty

2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid (Photo: Michel Deslauriers, Auto123.com)

good. Turning off the engine, the readout even rewarded me with an "EXCELLENT!" mention for my driving. Thank you. With a 65-litre tank and the 5.7 L/100 km rating, you could potentially drive over 1,000 km without refuelling.

After lunch, Toyota took us to the small airport on Toronto Island for some side-by-side acceleration comparisons. The Camry Hybrid outaccelerated the four-cylinder Camry LE by about a half-car length to 100 km/h, and 80-120 km/h passing accelerations were also quicker. The hybrid wasn't much faster than the LE, but flat-out speed isn't the car's mission anyway.