High in Financial and Environmental Value
With Honda discontinuing its Accord Hybrid, Toyota is left in an enviable position. Its Camry Hybrid may very well attract buyers that would otherwise have gone "green" in a Honda showroom.
Green Camry moved by Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain
The widely accepted fragility of our planet has implanted in many of us a consciousness that either guides or guilts us into reducing our environmental impact. In my case, the guilt factor is operative. Regardless of what may motivate one to embrace a "greener" lifestyle, the Camry Hybrid is a good start.
Toyota has plenty of experience with hybrid systems- just look to the Prius for confirmation. It has been in production for eight years and has established an outstanding record for efficiency and reliability. The latest Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) technology is what powers the hybrid Camry. It's defined as a "full hybrid system," which means the two modes of power - gas and electric - can operate together or independently.
Shortly after picking up this week's tester, I was consumed by a stagnant line of traffic in which four lanes merged into one. For more than 10-minutes, I crept along at a snails pace; the type of driving that feels so wasteful when a gas engine is chugging away at a tank of liquid gold. I felt quite smug though knowing that I wasn't burning a drop of fuel or placing hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. My Camry was inching along solely on battery power.
Once traffic began to move, the Camry's 2.4 litre 4-cylinder Atkinson Cycle gasoline engine cut in and away the Camry quietly scooted. The sophisticated gas engine features variable valve timing and dual balance shafts. It operates very unobtrusively although a mild shudder can be sensed when the engine shuts down or restarts.
The gas engine is affixed to a continuously variable transmission (CVT), which keeps it operating in its most efficient range. The power it produces is melded with a powerful electric motor, effectively creating 187 horsepower, which Toyota claims is sufficient to move the Camry from nil to 96kph (60mph) in 8.9 seconds- and that feels about right.
The Camry Hybrid is by no means lacking power but it's not going to "wow" the audience either. Yet power is developed very smoothly and without interruption or dead zones. Highway passing performance is adequate to take on the big rigs when necessary.
With Honda discontinuing its Accord Hybrid, Toyota is left in an enviable position. Its Camry Hybrid may very well attract buyers that would otherwise have gone "green" in a Honda showroom.
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| It looks like an ordinary Camry until you peek under the hood. |
Green Camry moved by Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain
The widely accepted fragility of our planet has implanted in many of us a consciousness that either guides or guilts us into reducing our environmental impact. In my case, the guilt factor is operative. Regardless of what may motivate one to embrace a "greener" lifestyle, the Camry Hybrid is a good start.
Toyota has plenty of experience with hybrid systems- just look to the Prius for confirmation. It has been in production for eight years and has established an outstanding record for efficiency and reliability. The latest Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) technology is what powers the hybrid Camry. It's defined as a "full hybrid system," which means the two modes of power - gas and electric - can operate together or independently.
Shortly after picking up this week's tester, I was consumed by a stagnant line of traffic in which four lanes merged into one. For more than 10-minutes, I crept along at a snails pace; the type of driving that feels so wasteful when a gas engine is chugging away at a tank of liquid gold. I felt quite smug though knowing that I wasn't burning a drop of fuel or placing hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. My Camry was inching along solely on battery power.
Once traffic began to move, the Camry's 2.4 litre 4-cylinder Atkinson Cycle gasoline engine cut in and away the Camry quietly scooted. The sophisticated gas engine features variable valve timing and dual balance shafts. It operates very unobtrusively although a mild shudder can be sensed when the engine shuts down or restarts.
The gas engine is affixed to a continuously variable transmission (CVT), which keeps it operating in its most efficient range. The power it produces is melded with a powerful electric motor, effectively creating 187 horsepower, which Toyota claims is sufficient to move the Camry from nil to 96kph (60mph) in 8.9 seconds- and that feels about right.
The Camry Hybrid is by no means lacking power but it's not going to "wow" the audience either. Yet power is developed very smoothly and without interruption or dead zones. Highway passing performance is adequate to take on the big rigs when necessary.
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| The gas engine's activation and deactivation are almost undetectable. |