Toyota Camry : Official Review

[_raVan_]

Excellent review Jaggu, but the product in itself is a dampner. In the looks department, the previous gen looked better. In the features list, Toyota could have done and offered so much with the car. Pricing itself is a big disaster, but comes as no surprise considering the price of the other cars from its stable.

Good luck Toyota with your new Camry.

[GTO]

Just a random thought that came to me right now : Why Toyota didn't pick up its learnings from the Fortuner?

1. IIRC, the Fortuner was launched at Rs. 18.45 lakhs and lower than the likes of the Pajero, Captiva etc. All other SUVs cut their price overnight. The low introductory price was one of the contributors to the Fortuner crazy following.

2. The Fortuner had silly brakes. Toyota eventually recalled the earlier Fortuners and improved the brakes on the later models. 3 years later, they equip the Camry with the same safety equipment as an Etios. Why?

[methecupid]

Alas!

I was looking forward to convincing my ol' man to buy this, and this package makes my job that much difficult.

Contradicting to what everyone here is saying, i don't think Toyota is known to envelope its patrons with a lot of gizmos and eye popping antics; the Fortuner looks more boney than 5l cheaper XUV, the Altis matches gizmos of a segment lower et al. Therefore, fancing the Camry to take on the D2 world with pyrotechnics is wrong. What it has always set to do is to commute its passengers in supreme comfort from Point A to Point B. For the rest of the public, you have the stylish Sonata and the luxo-barge Superb.

What is disappointing is the gross negligence of safety, 2 airbags???? The i20 comes with an optional 6! And as mentioned in another thread, whatever happened to the newly introduced 2.5 D4D? It would have been prudent for Toyota to have waited another couple of quarters and plonked the diesel heart. This will be relegated to the auto museum in a few yrs time. But before that, maybe --- just maybe, in out garage.

[microaubin]

Loved the review. And three other things

1. Lockable Glove Box:- Really need this especially in India. Don't recall seeing it in the current crop of cars except Maruti Omni.
2. Electric seat adjustment button on the side of the front seat so the rear passenger or driver can adjust the front seat easily.
3. Steering wheel looks cool

Dont know why the killed it before they could even sell it. At that price the competition is already a winner. Just 2 airbags? Even lower priced deisel sedans have killed it.

Sure it looks Lexus-ish but its no Lexus. Gone are the days when Toyota meant solid reliability. Its just reliable now and the Koreans and other Japs aren't far behind.

Toyotas maybe cheap to maintain compared to the Germans but still is an expensive proposition for the the average buyer. Maybe Altis owners would agree with me.

Having a petrol heart might be fine, but in the end it would all boil down to the equipment it packs.

[Parthasarathig]

Wow TBHP is on a roll here. 2 reviews within a week and hopefully many more in the pipeline. Good to see our forum being the first to release reviews among others.

That said, lets get back to the topic of the review. DUD!!! What was Toyota thinking? New model priced higher than the outgoing CBU version. whaaaaaat ?!?! :shocked: Will the loyalists buy this? I dont think so when the rest of the competition offers more vfm.

2 airbags?- Is this a joke?
No traction control, but thankfully they've bettered the boat like handling.

In a car of this price range one would expect sunroof as standard. Heck even hatchbacks come with sunroofs. And no sun blinds either. WOW nice going toyota.

Dont like the chrome either. The front view is garish with that overdose of chrome. And im not a big fan of this 1 family 1 design philosophy that the manufacturers are following these days. Makes it hard to distinguish the cars from the same family.

BTW is the wood veneer real one? It kinda looks too shiny and plasticky.

Exposed wires in a 20lakh+ car? Not done toyota. I could continue with the list of features i dont like in the car but not in the mood. Yet again my choice in this segment still remains the Jetta and the Superb. Just selling a car for its reliability without any good features, makes it all the more easy to flop in the modern day car market, where brands try to entice customers with more and more features within the same price band.

Looking at the positive side however, congratulations and best wishes to moderator Navin on the new car and waiting eagerly for his ICE updates to make the camry more interesting.

And thanks to moderators Jaggu and Stratos for this review. Makes me happy to see tbhp coming out with reviews regularly. Keep up the great work guys!!

Originally Posted by GTO

Just a random thought that came to me right now : Why Toyota didn't pick up its learnings from the Fortuner?

. 3 years later, they equip the Camry with the same safety equipment as an Etios. Why?

Edit:
Saw GTO's post just now. The only answer i can think of for your query is "Wakudoki, Wakudoki." :

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just a random thought that came to me right now : Why Toyota didn't pick up its learnings from the Fortuner?

1. IIRC, the Fortuner was launched at Rs. 18.45 lakhs and lower than the likes of the Pajero, Captiva etc. All other SUVs cut their price overnight. The low introductory price was one of the contributors to the Fortuner crazy following.

2. The Fortuner had silly brakes. Toyota eventually recalled the earlier Fortuners and improved the brakes on the later models. 3 years later, they equip the Camry with the same safety equipment as an Etios. Why?

Add to this the inability of Toyota to understand the importance of Diesel engine equipped cars in India has led to the following:

Unable to convince HQ for diesel engine plant: Toyota Kirloskar

I believe they are treating the market dynamics of Indian car market same as that of China, which is a petrol car dominant market. Hope they take a leaf from Honda's story & make amends soon.

[vb-san]

Originally Posted by GTO

Just a random thought that came to me right now : Why Toyota didn't pick up its learnings from the Fortuner?

1. IIRC, the Fortuner was launched at Rs. 18.45 lakhs and lower than the likes of the Pajero, Captiva etc. All other SUVs cut their price overnight. The low introductory price was one of the contributors to the Fortuner crazy following.

2. The Fortuner had silly brakes. Toyota eventually recalled the earlier Fortuners and improved the brakes on the later models. 3 years later, they equip the Camry with the same safety equipment as an Etios. Why?

Either they are too confident that the Toyota brand name can push a premium-category product with substandard safety standards, or maybe they are just bothered of the profit margins. I would believe it’s the latter. Just checked the Camry specs here in Singapore and neighbouring Malaysia. The car comes with 4 airbags, ABS+EBD, VSC etc. So there is a clear discrimination in the CKD kit supplied for Indian market.

[tj123]

2 airbags for a car of this size is not justified even the older generation base versions(US one) have curtain airbags front and rear end besides the regular ones.
For every ones info the 2012 Camry L (base version) in US has a standard 10 air bags and cost around $ 22 K MRP. I don’t know why we pay so much back in India. It is partly due to our ridiculous taxes and definitely Toyota seems to be cashing on its brand name and making Indian customers pay more for some chrome and minus the vital safety features.

I feel after deleting all these expensive safety features this car could have been priced lower by Rs 3-5 lacs. Now with the current prices this class leading car will be a dud soon

[mkpiyengar]

I think Toyota wants to follow Honda of the past, when City ruled the roost.
Being overpriced and with minimum features. However, Honda never compromised on safety features, being std across all models.But then there was virtually no competitor for City, here we have accomplished cars like Superb and Accord...

So here we have Toyota providing alloy wheel for stepney, while skimping on safety. Even the top-end Verna has 6 airbags if I recollect correctly.

Bold attempt to sell the car only on brand image and reliability !!

Cheers
MKPI

[dezrskb]

Too much chrome !! Is this with only 'Indianized' version or do even Americans love chrome?
If there was a diesel version and if this was the price of diesel, may be many would have gone for it. Also seeing the underpowered engine they are selling Altis-D with, may be if there will be a diesel version, I guess that also will be underpowered and Toyota hopes to sell it using the badge name !
Going by this price and escalating petrol prices, fewer and fewer will buy this !

[GullwingGT]

Frankly speaking,any positives that this car had is killed by this kind of pricing.Really don't know what Toyota was thinking while pricing it,Instead trying to gain some share in the luxury space they are moving away from it.If its CKD then why don't they try with Innova's diesel engine or the Fortuner's,is it not possible??

[Nitrous Power]

As everyone has mentioned previously, Pricing is completely wrong. And, 2 Airbags, this was not expected from TOYOTA at all. Even earlier generation Camry had 6 airbags as standard.

Having said that, the major surprise is the Handling of new Camry. I drove new Camry in USA just a few weeks ago, and trust me, for the first time I felt that I am not driving Toyota. It handles too good or Toyota. At the same time, the ride comfort is not compromised at all. If pricing was right, this would have sold but not with current pricing.

People asking for diesel, Note that Toyota does not have diesel engine for Camry at all. It is only available in Petrol or Hybrid only.

[smartcat]

That's head's up display - are the numbers just a reflection on the windscreen from the device on the dashboard?

Anyway, excellent execution of the interiors - possibly the best in the segment. That stitched leather dashboard and sumptuous wood finish all over is a treat for the eyes.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Skoda Superb offers so much more at a lesser price. Yes, the Skoda can’t match the reliability or after-sales of Toyota. But if you want reliability, why not consider the ol’ Accord or the snazzy new Sonata that is also significantly cheaper?

My thoughts exactly... yes, Toyotas are virtually bulletproof, but other than that I can't think of a single reason to plonk down close to 25L on this thing.

Originally Posted by GTO

Toyota loyalists will bite. I think this car has been launched more to keep Toyota fans within the brand family. Say, those upgrading from an Altis or those who already have a Fortuner in the house. Hoteliers who were attracted to the Camry because of EPCG benefits will stay away though.

I agree again... and that leaves Toyota a pretty tiny piece of the pie, I'd imagine.

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Plastic like wood veneer, minimal safety features and petrol...
The car isn't going anywhere, Toyota won't be bothered with a waiting list anytime soon.
Toyota needs to get a big size diesel sedan from wherever they can. This lame attempt should have been canned and the Vios should have been launched with a diesel.

I imagine it's strategically important for them to be in the D2 space, but they had a great opportunity to take the fight to Skoda and Honda but they've gone and blown it. Expect massive price cuts on this thing within a year or so.

Originally Posted by _raVan_

In the looks department, the previous gen looked better.

I agree with you completely. Other than that plasticky front end the previous gen Camry had a lot more personality than this one.

Originally Posted by mayjay

One of the news reports (Business Line) mentions that the earlier car was priced at 21.58 - 23.73 lakhs. That was a CBU. This is a CKD and it is priced at 23.8 lakh. Maybe they are charging for all that chrome!
Designwise, its quite dull to look at what with those straight lines and grown up Altis look.

I burst out laughing at your crack about the chrome!!
And thank you for commenting on the design... it's just so... BLAND. It honestly looked like they took an Altis, put it in a 3-D photocopier and set the size enhancement to 125%. The older (Gen2) Camry may have had that ridiculous plasticky front end, but at least it had some character and some funky bits. This one's got... nothing. Not one single remarkable aesthetic feature whatsoever.

Originally Posted by dkaile

1. Sacrilegious to see only 2 airbags for a car of this class. A glaring safety omission by Toyota.
2. No Sunroof option and many other small luxury items missing like non-cooled and non-padded glove box etc.
3. Reversing Camera as a paid accessory and not standard.
4. Petrol only!!!
5. No MT option for enthusiasts.

It's not often you see the word 'enthusiast' anywhere in the general vicinity of the word 'Camry', but I agree with you about some of these touches missing. I mean a 16L Cruze has a sunroof as standard for God's sake, and a 10L Verna has a reverse camera thrown in. Tsk tsk.

Originally Posted by GTO

Just a random thought that came to me right now : Why Toyota didn't pick up its learnings from the Fortuner?

1. IIRC, the Fortuner was launched at Rs. 18.45 lakhs and lower than the likes of the Pajero, Captiva etc. All other SUVs cut their price overnight. The low introductory price was one of the contributors to the Fortuner crazy following.

2. The Fortuner had silly brakes. Toyota eventually recalled the earlier Fortuners and improved the brakes on the later models. 3 years later, they equip the Camry with the same safety equipment as an Etios. Why?

Arrogance, perhaps? Who knows. Perhaps they feel that without a diesel they can't really compete but "we need a presence in the D2 segment so we might as well release this thing and then offer massive discounts on it in 6 months."

[lloydofcochin]

Another excellent review from the mod team.

Oh finally there is a not so boring looking Toyota

Of all the Toyotas launched in India for me the only one which was not boring to look at was the Fortuner.

Toyota seems to be charging a premium for a brand and that erodes the value of what is being offered to the Indian customer.

With a Petrol only engine I don't see this Car setting the sales charts on fire but as others pointed out earlier the hardcore Toyota fans will be the only one's to bite.

And thank God that they didn't make those 2 Airbags too optional