Boldly Going

Where Few Mid-sedans Dare: Down (In Seating Position) And Out (There In Styling)

- Frank Markus

You have to applaud Toyota’s derring-do. Company scion Akio Toyoda has ordered his lieutenants to shake up the franchise midsize sedan. Leaden with a (deserved) sand-beige image, the Camry needed some invigoration and sex appeal, especially as more families were seen migrating from sedans to SUVs.

For 15 years, Toyota engineers have taken incremental, calculated risks while maintaining the core values that have kept the Camry atop the sales heap. Why change when the best-selling flavor of ice cream is vanilla, executives would parrot.

But those risk-averse days are gone. Example one is the Camry’s daring new sheet metal. Well, Toyota thinks it’s daring; buyers will judge how much you can spice up a family sedan. Toyota kept an optional V-6 while most competitors commit to I-4s. It also lowered the roof and seats by an inch, impairing a driver’s view over or through traffic and making it harder for gran and gramps to fall into and climb out of their new ride.

Who are these guys, and what other crazy risks have they taken? Have they forgotten the core competencies that everyone has affixed to the Camry nameplate? Curl up with a bowl of raspberry fudge gelato, friend, and you’ll find out.

Cabin and cockpit

Moving to the longer-wheelbase TNGA architecture somehow made the Camry fractionally smaller inside. Rear legroom and shoulder room both lose 0.9 inch, and front headroom drops about a half-inch.

It still feels big and airy with excellent outward visibility, thanks to the lowered beltline. Gas-only Camrys lose a negligible 0.3 cubic foot of trunk space, but the Hybrids gain 2.0 cubes and a 60/40 split-folding seat, thanks to banishing the battery to below the rear seat.

The primary and secondary controls are blessedly simple, with knobs and