[bigron]

Oh Toyota!! What did you do to that front end? That blue whale chin inspired front bumper or lack of it is so unappealing not to mention there is absolutely no cohesiveness between that front grill and the lower part. The older one was simple, clean and crisp.
Everything else obviously is great on this. A proper luxury package this.

[rrsteer]

A great car that I will never buy because of the way the front end looks. Lexus models from Toyota are bad looking, but this is a put off.

Also is this an official review or just a report from a drive? Reads like an official review and that is how the thread is labelled in the hot threads section, but the title says 'Driven: Toyota Camry Hybrid'. Anyways a great report.

[superbad]

Very well put together review, has covered all important points
A very well rounded car, especially for the chauffeur driven seths. Those not looking for the flash & dash of the Germans, but for understated elegance, peace of mind & bullet proof reliability of Toyota.
I still can't understand why Toyota needs to price it like a CBU or a CKD. Doesn't local manufacture lower the costs? Or is this further money milking (think Innova or Yaris)?

[vibmat]

The Camry is impressive but in India's badge-driven market INR 41 lakhs (onroad) seems too much for a Toyota sedan.

I can't think of anyone who would buy this instead of the more premium (badge) Germans. Probably those who already have all the other options might consider this. I just can't figure out what market do they want to target?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by GTO

I can certainly see why many people would buy it. Would I? Nope. I'd pick the elegant Passat over the Camry. The VW's Highline Connect variant is like 8 - 9 lakhs cheaper than the Camry OTR Mumbai & I like the Passat more.

I wholeheartedly agree with you GTO. BUT, what are your views on the future proofing side? The Camry is ideal for these green times with its electric petrol combo and where diesel registrations maybe banned from all Metros in say 5 years.

What are your views on buying a big luxury diesel sedan in 2019?

[sudeepg]

What an excellent review Chirag! The attention to the smallest of details is just terrific!! I guess car manufacturers can have Team-BHP folks for QA before they release the product. I'd have never noticed the gaps between left and right side of dash or the horn pad on the steering. The minutest of details of how MID functions and other functions of the car are just outstanding. I enjoyed reading the review thoroughly! Rated the thread a full 5 stars.

Like many of us, that grille is definitely not to my taste. It doesn't make the car look classy as it should be for that segment. But the interiors are definitely to my taste. The switches, fit and finish for the most part are very well done!

Also I am very pleased to hear about the car's performance. You mentioned that you used paddle shifters heavily on the open road. Was it because high speed overtakes are tricky or were you just having fun pushing the car in sport mode?

Those headlamps are damn good in terms of throw and spread. The beam seems very well focused.

Again, thanks for a wonderful review.

[Iyencar]

Lovely review for a lovely car. Glad to see Toyota getting serious about their hybrids here.

Toyota believes that hybrids are the way forward for our market and they also shared results of a study

So why not get the Prius here at a reasonable price? IMO this is some harmless virtue signalling here. When they'll launch a new gas guzzler like the Fortuner, they'll forget this study and talk about how that can conquer roads that don't exist.

Of the different fuels available, diesel hybrid vehicles are the most efficient

Isn't a petrol hybrid more cleaner though? I think that's as important as FE to the class of customers being targeted by these vehicles.

Originally Posted by GTO

The VW's Highline Connect variant is like 8 - 9 lakhs cheaper than the Camry OTR Mumbai & I like the Passat more.

That is quite the price difference! It would take very long to overcome that if we are looking just at fuel costs. Yes the Toyota is more reliable, but then let's not forget that the battery replacement is no longer covered in the extended warranty so add another couple of lakhs or so as mentioned by Turbanator in another thread. All in all this is targeting a very discerning customer who wants to wear his/her environmental consciousness on their sleeve.

[ackyash]

Waiting period here in Chandigarh is now almost 4 months after booking. People who booked in January still have not gotten their cars. This is nuts. Very poor planning by Toyota Bharat.

[voldemort]

Excellent review as always.

I probably missed this, but how much is the boot capacity (in liters)?

Originally Posted by vibmat

The Camry is impressive but in India's badge-driven market INR 41 lakhs (onroad) seems too much for a Toyota sedan.

I can't think of anyone who would buy this instead of the more premium (badge) Germans.

People who want both luxury and reliability might be willing to look beyond the badge. For instance, my dad might probably sell his Mercedes E-Class and buy a CR-V (likely)/Camry in a couple of years.

Yes it is overpriced, but what car isn't these days? I have a feeling Toyota might be able to pull this off. (Or not, like the Yaris and the Land Cruiser )

City, Civic, Innova Crysta, Mercedes C class etc are all overpriced in my opinion, but don't they all sell nevertheless?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Having done the Lexus review, do you think the premium that the Lexus offers is worth the money?

Having driven both, the answer = NO. The Camry is a proper luxury car in its own right.

Originally Posted by PPS

Surprised to see lower profile tyres in the Camry considering something like the E class comes with 55 profile tyres.

235 x 0.45 = 105.75 mm sidewall. You will definitely have to be cautious on bad roads.

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Also is this an official review or just a report from a drive? Reads like an official review and that is how the thread is labelled in the hot threads section, but the title says 'Driven: Toyota Camry Hybrid'. Anyways a great report.

So, I have like a 300 point review + photo checklist. If a car goes through that entire checklist, it's an Official Review. On the other hand, a review that covers only the important points (but not the full checklist) is a slightly more informal "Driven" style review.

Originally Posted by superbad

I still can't understand why Toyota needs to price it like a CBU or a CKD. Doesn't local manufacture lower the costs? Or is this further money milking (think Innova or Yaris)?

Agreed. This is perhaps the only segment where the Japanese car is more expensive than its direct European rivals.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

I wholeheartedly agree with you GTO. BUT, what are your views on the future proofing side? The Camry is ideal for these green times with its electric petrol combo and where diesel registrations maybe banned from all Metros in say 5 years.

If you buy a diesel car today, you can hold it for a minimum of 10 years in Delhi. And infinitely in most other states. I don't see that as influencing my decision at all.

Originally Posted by Iyencar

So why not get the Prius here at a reasonable price?

They're going one step ahead. Instead of getting the Prius here at a reasonable price, they're giving MARUTI hybrid technology . No better way of taking the tech mass market.

[ChiragM]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Having done the Lexus review, do you think the premium that the Lexus offers is worth the money?

Well, NO!

The Lexus gets more features like rear seat heating (not very useful in India). It also gets interior trim options and 14-way adjustable seats. The Lexus also has much MUCH better street presence than the Toyota.

The Camry comes with a better infotainment system with a touchscreen instead of a trackpad. It also results in more space on the centre console for 2 cup holders (Lexus gets one). The Toyota gets capacitive touch rear seat controls while the Lexus gets physical buttons. The ones on the Toyota looks so much cooler.

Is this worth the extra money? I don't think so.

Originally Posted by superbad

I still can't understand why Toyota needs to price it like a CBU or a CKD. Doesn't local manufacture lower the costs? Or is this further money milking (think Innova or Yaris)?

It could be because of the hybrid powertrain. The Passat and the Superb are cheaper, but the Accord Hybrid is way, way more expensive.

Originally Posted by sudeepg

Also I am very pleased to hear about the car's performance. You mentioned that you used paddle shifters heavily on the open road. Was it because high speed overtakes are tricky or were you just having fun pushing the car in sport mode?

Overtaking is never an issue, but better in Sport mode. The car is also way more fun with the paddles.

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Isn't a petrol hybrid more cleaner though? I think that's as important as FE to the class of customers being targeted by these vehicles.

Good point. So what the study shows is the efficiency and emissions from Well-to-Wheel. This includes processing of the fuels, and removal of the crude fuels from below the earth's surface. Considering all that, the diesel hybrids are cleaner and more efficient.

Originally Posted by voldemort

I probably missed this, but how much is the boot capacity (in liters)?

Toyota has not specified the boot capacity.

[docsr]

Nice review of a nice vehicle. I had test driven the Camry Hybrid a few days ago. I really enjoyed the drive as well as the rear seat comfort. The rear seats really cosset you and are very comfortable.
The issues that I had were:
1. no apple car play, and thus no google maps. The onboard navigation is not the best out there.
2. the front overhang and low lip was troublesome. I scraped it while getting off my porch parking - much to the consternation of the sales executive.
3. the ground clearance is seemed comparable to my current ride (a Octy 1.8TSi), however the long front overhang and long wheel base did worry me - though other than the aforementioned scrape, the car did not bottom out on my short test drive.

Others too have mentioned the low profile tyres on the 18 inch rims. Will it be a good idea to go in for higher profile tyres - what is feasible and what are the likely drawbacks of such a change?

[Iyencar]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Good point. So what the study shows is the efficiency and emissions from Well-to-Wheel. This includes processing of the fuels, and removal of the crude fuels from below the earth's surface. Considering all that, the diesel hybrids are cleaner and more efficient.

Thank you for that explanation! This is very interesting. I always thought diesel would be the dirtier fuel but this is something I would now read more about.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Toyota has not specified the boot capacity.

In that case please give us a picture of Mod Vid6639 in the boot ASAP. He is the only unit I've come to trust for determining the area of cramped spaces since joining this august forum.

[V.Narayan]

This model is so far ahead of my 2006 Camry that there is simply no comparison. I hate to say this but I am struggling to find a delta between this latest Camry versus my last generation Lexus ES. The baleen whale frontis piece not withstanding this is a superb car.

[karan561]

The Camry is currently sold out & Toyota is not accepting bookings due to shortage of supply.
Pricing is expensive (also do note the launch price was 36.9x which got a silent price increase i.e now @ 37.50) because they dont have enough battery packs available for the hybrids (Which also explains the shortage of supply)