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Old 2nd September 2013, 21:24   #61
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

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Originally Posted by nitinbose View Post
Note, but what would be the cost of battery replacement after the 8-10 years? If the cost less than 50% of the residual value of the car, the cost is considerable, else its still an expensive proposition.
Toyota Prius battery pack costs $2538 + labor to replace. It is anyway warrantied for 10 years/150k miles.
Regarding, the resale value, Prius had a very high resale value few years back when carpool lane access was possible. Even now it is quite high compared to Corolla or Camry. Camry Hybrid in US is relatively new, but the resale value is similar to regular one.
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Old 3rd September 2013, 17:30   #62
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

There was a waiver of Customs duty on Lithium Ion battery for Hybrid vehicle in 2012-13 budget. Earlier , I believe when Prius was launched in India, the customs duty on Li Ion automotive battery was 100%

http://www.oncars.in/Car-News-Detail...exemption/2034

But globally, Toyota does not use a Li Ion like other EVs or PHEV makers like Nissan or Chevrolet.They use Ni MH developed by, I think Yuasa.

Assuming that there has been a similar waiver in Ni MH batteries also, that would waive off about 2538 USD from the vehicle ? Maybe Toyota is keeping this in its kitty to be passed on later
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Old 4th September 2013, 21:56   #63
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

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It's not a plug in hybrid so you don't charge the battery though a plug point.

If you read the review, the battery gets charged via the petrol engine or by regenerative braking.
Since the camry has a full EV mode, any reason why Toyota does not add a charger to the car for charging from mains 220V electric supply?

Seems like a relatively easy addition. Even slow charging with auto cutoff/ overcharge protection will be great for overnight charging and help drop petrol bills for the daily commute.
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Old 4th September 2013, 22:51   #64
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

powered rear blind, manual blinds for the (rear) side windows

Is it legal now?Or is the Camry circumventing the law by not having anything stick to the window?
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Old 4th September 2013, 22:56   #65
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

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powered rear blind, manual blinds for the (rear) side windows

Is it legal now?Or is the Camry circumventing the law by not having anything stick to the window?

Yes it's legal since it's not on the glass like you said and really doesnt hamper visibility. Also, Camry is not the only one. My Altis has the rear one, VW Passat has side and rear and so does the Superb. All high end german cars also have them.
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Old 5th September 2013, 07:43   #66
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Originally Posted by Vid6639 View Post

Yes it's legal since it's not on the glass like you said and really doesnt hamper visibility.
I remember reading that curtains are not allowed even on rear windows. Guess one can get away if blinds come factory fitted.
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Old 7th September 2013, 14:11   #67
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

Superb! Just hope it does decent sales and more people get versed with this wave of Hybrid tech. This reminded me of the Megafactories episode showcasing how this particular engine is made, down under in Australia. Toyota seem to have ramped up the same way here and augurs well for future products.

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Old 8th September 2013, 04:31   #68
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

What is with Toyota and airbags in India ? Do they have some sort of crazy idea that the population of India can be reduced if they offer lesser airbags on our cars so that our chance of survival is lesser ? USA-spec Camry (regardless of which variant and whether or not hybrid is present) gets 10 while the Corolla gets 8. Indian Camry Hybrid which is supposed to be the Hybrid LE variant gets just 4, while the regular Camry and Corolla do with 2.

Check out:
http://www.toyota.com/camry/#!/models
http://www.toyota.com/corolla/#!/models

Last edited by MHG : 8th September 2013 at 04:32.
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Old 17th September 2013, 01:27   #69
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

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What is with Toyota and airbags in India ?
I didn't compare the air bags, but I did notice the difference in the interiors. When I saw the Toyota Camry in India, I thought they retro-fitted a Toyota Camry (a $24k vehicle) with the interiors of a Lexus LS460 (a $102k vehicle). What puzzles me is Toyota's positioning of the vehicle in India - the Camry's spot would seem like a spot for a SWB Lexus.
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Old 22nd September 2013, 22:14   #70
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

Had gone for a test-drive of the Camry Hybrid just to check the petrol+electric motor combo.The first thing I noticed was the start-up,its different from our normal cars.Not a single sound of the starter motor,the only way of coming to know whether the car has started is to look at the small screen onthe odometer which says "ready".Also the brake feel is a bit different and needs getting used too. Did'nt get to test all the features.The car is a 4-seater,its impossible for the fifth person to sit upright due to the controls on the centre armrest.All in all a very good chauffeur driven city car!!
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Old 9th October 2013, 16:41   #71
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

A side-by-side comparo : Hybrid on the left, regular Camry on the right.
Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)-img_1722_edit.jpg

cya
R
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Old 22nd October 2013, 20:51   #72
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

Being a current owner of the Camry, Toyota called us over for a test drive of the new hybrid. Beautiful car in person. I actually love the front grill. The standard Camry, though it looks like a Lexus, there's just way too much chrome.
Anyways on to the car, it does not feel any faster with that 202BHP possibly because the car is much heavier. More often than not, I drive out during the peak hours of the day and am stuck in traffic. The ECO mode that is electric only is perfect to conserve petrol. Absolutely quiet as well.
Being 21, I don't enjoy being chauffeured around too much but I have to admit I wouldn't mind sitting on the rear bench in this. The reclining perforated seats are incredible.
Though I doubt an upgrade to the hybrid, it was an absolutely fantastic day in a fabulous machine.
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Old 11th August 2014, 19:52   #73
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

BHP-ians,

Test drove the Hybrid Camry yesterday. The ride comfort in the rear seat is as good as an E-class and far superior to my present Superb. The quietness of the engine catches you by surprise especially when in electric mode. The leg room at the rear is, I would say, about 1.5 to 2.0 inches less than a Superb apples to apples but still much better than the A6 or E Class (never sat in a 5-series hence can't opine). I drove the car over my daily commute route whose every broken piece I know by heart and the smoothness of the suspension is very complimentary. I only wish Toyota provided the option to plug the car into the 220 volt mains and get the batteries re-charged overnight. I have had a 15 amp socket installed at both my parking spots in the expectation that the world will gradually move towards hydrids and all-electrics eventually. -- Narayan
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Old 30th August 2014, 15:57   #74
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

Dear BHPians, writing this for the benefit of those who may be interested in some more inputs on the Camry Hybrid. Commenting on only those topics that were of interest to me.

TD conditions: I test drove the Hybrid Camry for a second time today for 70 minutes or so in both W.W. and WO.W modes ie With Wife and With Out Wife modes. Drove about 32 kms through city traffic and highway traffic, through smooth roads and 5 kms of broken roads and on an unpaved village road.

The hybrid piece: The battery of the hybrid stores enough range for about 2 kms of driving on battery alone before the petrol engine kicks in to top up the charge. The battery acts strictly as a complimentary power source only for the conditions of slow speed, constant high torque, continuously varying low speed conditions. So the segments in our driving cycle where the petrol engine burns a disproportionate amount of fuel it gets replaced largely in whole or sometimes in part by the electric motor. So typically in slow city traffic, stop start at the traffic signal, moving from your parking lot etc are the modes of electric-only with the petrol engine clutching in only when you accelerate beyond 40 kmph or when climbing uphill or when the battery charge falls below a certain level. Silence levels are very good. Indirectly the quietness adds to the comfort factor on long journeys in the city especially.

Braking: I was concerned about the braking which is a combination of traditional friction brakes and regenerative brakes. As this was my 2nd test drive I was fully familiar with the feel. So while the feel is different from a conventional car most of us will need only one drive to get used to it.

Ride Comfort: The ride quality as mentioned in my previous post is E-class good. This time I sat in all 3 positions to check ride quality - driver, front passenger, & rear. In my opinion, and no offense to any owners on this forum, the ride quality especially for the rear seat is much better than the BMW 5 Series, as good to a little better than the Audi A6 and fully comparable to the E-class. A fly in the ointment -- the rear seat is too far back inclined in my opinion even when the variable recline is kept in the most straight position. I am sure Toyota did their ergonomic research on this but this aspect kept bothering me through my 10 minutes in the rear seat. If wife decides against this car the rear seat is likely to be the reason. The arm rest does not fold back into its cavity perfectly. This makes life difficult for the occasional 5th passenger. This could be a cause of concern for some depending on usage patterns. This is not a concern for us as we rarely ever will have a 5th passenger till our grand kids come along 8 to 9 years on! But for a Camry to have an ill fitting arm rest seems very odd.


Acceleration:For the highway section drove on both the NH8 and the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. For those of us who value comfort and practical acceleration over sheer driving oomph the overtaking energy delivered by the Camry Hybrid is very comfortable even when driving in 'ECO' mode. On the highway sector of the TD I overtook trucks and other slower traffic while accelerating from around 80-85 kmph to 105-110 kmph in ECO mode without a challenge on several occasions. Even on good highways I rarely go beyond 100 kmph and hence didn't try and find out what the car will be like at say 140 kmph. Will leave that to be tested by other peppier drivers.


Gear change: The automatic gear change is very smooth much smoother than say the A3 I test drove about 2 weeks ago. My educated guess is that the torque of the electric motor in some way smoothens over the change by providing some 'fill in' torque for a fraction of a second. Experts can comment and educate us on this.


Air-conditioning: Strong and happy. Full 3 zone with the rear passengers being able to set their temperature separately (my home minister loves this feature). She feels warm at 18 degrees and I feel cold at 25 so clearly some moments of discord could lie ahead.

Quality of Interiors: This is the piece that remains a question mark in my mind. The quality and finish of the interiors is no doubt good but it is not better than our Skoda Superb. So we are not going to get the enjoyment of feeling that we are in a more luxurious car and feed the illusion that we are moving up in life. The Volvo S.80 which I am also looking at to replace my Skoda Laura (2006 model) has interiors that gave us the 'wow this is mouth watering' factor. The S.80 interiors, in my opinion, had seats, leather and central console which were superior to the E class.


Some members may question the wisdom of looking at 2 cars in two different price ranges for the same purchase. In my head I don't divide cars into segments the way automobile companies do. Instead I determine the need & usage of my joint family that I am trying to fulfill with a floor set by a minimum standard of interiors (for that use) and a ceiling set invariably by the upper end of the budget. In this case we are looking for a high comfort - high leg space car that will do 22,000 kms per year, mostly carrying around family passengers at the back all of whom are in the 40s to 80s age group with the minimum quality of interiors at the Superb/Camry/new Octavia standard and the budget up to Rs 70L.

2 weeks from now I plan to test drive the Volvo S.80 & V.40. Will share my experiences on this marvelous forum.
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Old 30th August 2014, 17:15   #75
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re: Review: 7th-gen Toyota Camry Hybrid (2013)

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post

Acceleration:For the highway section drove on both the NH8 and the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. For those of us who value comfort and practical acceleration over sheer driving oomph the overtaking energy delivered by the Camry Hybrid is very comfortable even when driving in 'ECO' mode. On the highway sector of the TD I overtook trucks and other slower traffic while accelerating from around 80-85 kmph to 105-110 kmph in ECO mode without a challenge on several occasions. Even on good highways I rarely go beyond 100 kmph and hence didn't try and find out what the car will be like at say 140 kmph. Will leave that to be tested by other peppier drivers.
How did you find the acceleration with the ECO mode OFF. This mode is quite good on the highway since the accelerator doesn't feel as lazy and the petrol motor is quick to join in.

Quote:
Gear change: The automatic gear change is very smooth much smoother than say the A3 I test drove about 2 weeks ago. My educated guess is that the torque of the electric motor in some way smoothens over the change by providing some 'fill in' torque for a fraction of a second. Experts can comment and educate us on this.
That's cause the gearbox is not really a conventional gearbox. Where the A3 you drove had 6/7 physical gears and clutch that engaged them, the Camry has a unique transmission known as E-CVT. The E-CVT manages the power delivery from the electric motor as well as petrol motor and then supplies that using a very complicated gearbox system.

Quote:
In this case we are looking for a high comfort - high leg space car that will do 22,000 kms per year, mostly carrying around family passengers at the back all of whom are in the 40s to 80s age group with the minimum quality of interiors at the Superb/Camry/new Octavia standard and the budget up to Rs 70L.
Your choices of the Camry and Volvo S80 are perfect. I don't think there's any car better than these 2 below the S class when it comes to rear seat comfort.

Since you are looking at the Camry, I would also suggest you take a peek at the Santa Fe. Since your running is high, a diesel makes sense. The Santa Fe I found has better interior quality than the Camry and comes somewhat close to the Superb. That is if you are ok with an SUV type vehicle.
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