Test drove new Camry: Why I would buy it over expensive German rivals

Both the exterior and interior of the Camry finally feel good enough to rival a Big German.

BHPian CEF_Beasts recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

2025 Toyota Camry ‘Elegance’ TD Experience

Wanted to check out the Camry (XV80) which is in its 10th Generation now (this generation is more like a 9.5 Gen rather than 10th Gen that Toyota is calling it globally, since it shares all major body panels and underpinnings with the XV70 9th Gen Camry) ever since the media launch was done.

Was waiting with bated breath for dealerships to get the latest Camry to finally be able to TD one.

The car became available with Harsha Toyota, Kadapa in the beginning of the second week of February and I called and fixed an appointment to TD the car for today.

What I Liked

• Solid Build Quality with premium touch points throughout the cabin, unlike the cheaper Innova HyCross.

• All seats have just the right amount of cushioning and are supremely comfortable. Ventilated Front seats work just like they should and my back was cooled within 5 mins in the scorching heat

• The knurled satin finish on the AC Vent knobs and knurled effect on the small LEDs on the HVAC panel is superb attention detail and added a very subtle yet premium touch.

• The 524L boot is well shaped and can take in lots of luggage, the subwoofer does protrude out slightly though.

• The space for knick-knacks in the centre console is extremely well thought of: 2 large cup holders right beside the gear-lever and some space ahead of the gear-lever which houses the wireless-charger as well. Hope some of this space would’ve been available in the HyCross as well!

• The legroom in the backseat is brilliant, coupled with a backrest that can be reclined electronically and the Boss button to move the front passenger seat forward make matters easy for the ‘Seth’. There is just oodles of space on offer, which a C-Class or an A4 can’t even compare to.

• Even with 4 people in the car, the Camry didn’t bottom out anywhere, eventhough the suspension is on the softer side and took all bumps in its stride with aplomb.

• The tan and black dial tone colours used for the interior just livens up the entire experience inside the cabin, the black roofliner is a good touch and goes exceptionally well with the tan coloured door cards and seats.

• Single Fully Loaded trim is on sale in India, unlike other countries where cheaper and basic variants are also on offer. Here in India the Camry feels like a premium car unlike your plasticky base variant Camry being used as a Über in UAE, the US or Australia.

• Very easy to drive, masks its size well from behind the wheel, just doesn’t feel like a ~4.9m long Sedan.

• A brilliant Sedan for someone looking for a sedate highway cruiser, that can return great fuel economy and at the same time be confidence inspiring out on the Indian Highways. The 220Hp combined power output will never leave you wanting for more oomph.

• A well calibrated and light steering wheel weighs up as speed increases brilliantly, the HyCross steering is still lighter than this.

• The new Hybrid Li-ion battery being used in the XV80 Camry is better and more efficient than the NiMh battery used in the HyCross / older XV70 Camry.

• With almost all manufacturers shifting to touch controls for every damn thing, it’s refreshing to see Toyota keep physical buttons for all the major controls in this day-and-age.

• Really appreciate Toyota for bringing their A+ game forward with the new infotainment system. It’s properly loaded with inbuilt maps, Wireless Apple CarPlay, Wired Android Auto and is lag-free to operate. FINALLY after years of complaining!

• The Camry like the HyCross and Vellfire gets the entire TSS (Toyota Safety Sense) 3.0 Suite but misses out on the most helpful Blind Spot Monitor in the ORVMs

What I Loathed

• The road noise filtering into the cabin just robs away the premiumness of the product, I don’t know if Toyota has skimped on cabin insulation or is it the tires being used that make excessive road noise. The HyCross doesn’t have this level of road noise intrusion inside the cabin.

• Ever since I have gotten used to an adaptive damper setup, the Camry’s suspension setup did feel a bit underwhelming at higher speeds where the car did feel floaty, even with those super low 45-profile 18 inchers.

• Considering International markets have the availability of a panoramic sunroof in the Camry, India inconspicuously gets a single pane sunroof, not that I care anyways, considering it’s a massively overrated feature.

• Considering this is one expensive Toyota, I would’ve expected much less of the engine - eCVT drone coming into the cabin compared to something like a HyCross. NVH and Engine refinement is something Toyota should’ve paid very close attention to considering this is sold as a premium car in India.

• The brakes lack the sure-footedness, although in typical Hybrid vehicle fashion, the initial brake pedal action results in vehicle regenerating rather than applying the actual brakes. Can’t immediately recall but the HyCross feels slightly better.

• At 58-61L OTR in India, this is one expensive car and 90% people spending this kind of money will undoubtedly stretch for the Big 3 Germans.

Time to break the monotony with some pictures that I managed to click.

Viewing the Camry head-on, the Hammer-head headlights design immediately hit you. Starting with the Prius this is going to be their family look, even the 2026 RAV4 is rumoured to get the same hammer-head design

One of the best angles to view the XV80 Camry

"Make Sedans Great Again", is all I uttered after clicking this picture

Low Profile 235/45/R18 94W Bridgestone Turanza T005 wrap these sexy looking Diamond-cut alloys

Another great angle to ogle at the Camry from

No connected tail-lights nonsense going on here, glad Toyota hasn't joined that bandwagon yet. Probably the the most boring angle to look at the Camry from

After the Vellfire, the XV80 Camry is the 2nd Toyota Hybrid to get the new HEV logo

The XV70 9th Gen Camry's Dashboard had started looking quite dated, with the 10th Gen Camry (9.5th Gen in reality) Toyota has managed to make the dashboard look contemporary and young

I was a bit skeptical about this layered segments on the passenger side of the dashboard, but in person looked quite good, similar to a guitar's strings

Glad to see that Toyota has offered their global UI on the Camry like they did with the Vellfire, feels very cohesive, is easy to operate and is absolutely lag-free. Other "real" Toyota cars in India can't hold a candle in front of this touchscreen.

The knurled satin finish on the AC Vent knobs adds a premium touch, Don't miss the knurled effect on the small AC lights. Classy Attention-to-Detail.

The Steering Wheel is shared with the New Vellfire (minus the wood), the buttons feel slighty hollow, not HyCross level hollow though. Didn't find the reason why only the lower Volume Rocker, Mode, Change Track and Voice command button is finished in Piano Black though

The Space around the Gear lever are very well thought of, no two ways about it.

The Eco, Normal, Sport, Auto-Hold and Electronic Parking Brake Buttons can be found below the Gear lever

Thankfully no blank buttons in the right side of the Steering Column; Electric Sunshade, Instrument Cluster Brightness, 360 Deg Camera View, Traction Control, Auto High-beam, Manual Headlight Leveler, Fuel Tank + Bootlid opening buttons can be found here. The Bonnet is opened with a sturdy lever located below the fuel-lid and tail-gate opening buttons.

Only the Driver's Seat gets 2 Memory presets; Lock/Unlock Button, Mirror Adjustment, window switches & Window Lock buttons are placed here. All Window Switches are illuminated in a cool White colour, something which the HyCross misses out on.

Both the Driver and Co-Driver Seats are 10-way Power adjustable which includes a 2-Way Lumbar Adjustment, and are Ventilated, making them very comfortable for long journeys. Only on the backrest of the front seats is there a suede finish on the outer edges, which is not present on the rear seats or anywhere else in the car.

The Co-Driver seat gets a boss button, for the 'Seth' in the rear to adjust it according to his requirement

The rear seats are the pièce de résistance in the Camry, they're supremely comfortable and are a joy to be seated in.

The Doors open wide and ingress & egress is fairly easy, there is a LED Puddle light present at the bottom and two cupholders.

Both Rear windows get Manual Sunshades, with the rear windscreen getting an electronically operated one.

The Rear Seat Controls in the armrest are carried over from the XV70 Camry, why change something that isn't broken.

The Rear AC vents are also carried over from the XV70 Camry, and look and feel less premium compared to the other touchpoints inside the car.

After opening the Door, one would notice satin finished sill plates present at the bottom, but only the front sill plates have 'CAMRY' written on them

The 524L Boot is very well shaped and deep. The opening for loading / unloading luggage is wide as well

Below the Boot floor there is a toolkit and Full-sized spare with an alloy present, no space-saver nonsense here

For some reason the keyfob of the Camry feels less premium than the Piano-Black ones available with the higher end HyCrosses, Fortuners and the likes. The Camry gets a key fob similar to the base GX variant of the HyCross ie. without any piano black buttons.

Conclusion

This thread is practically dead, Make Sedans Great Again, is what comes to my mind first. Pseudo SUVs have absolutely killed these beautiful Sedans. Kudos to Toyota India for still continuing selling the Camry in India, where any other manufacturer would’ve sold a SUV instead. I believe this has also got to do with the Fortuner in Toyota’s line-up. Bring a Highlander Hybrid into picture for India and the Fortuner will be the first SUV to take a beating, something which Toyota just isn’t keen on losing out on.

After the sexy new Prius, the Camry follows a very similar design philosophy and I’m a huge fan of how it looks! Both the exterior and interior of the Camry finally feel good enough to rival a Big German, other than the T Badge. This XV80 Camry feels more Lexus than Toyota in so many ways, “A Lexus with a T Badge” just became a reality.

The most important weapon in the Camry’s arsenal to take on the Big 3 German is its 2.5L 4cyl TNGA engine paired with a Li-ion battery pumping out 220Hp making it an absolute peach to drive in Sports Mode. Eco like the name suggests really blunts the throttle and the difference between Eco and Sports Mode is substantial, the HyCross doesn’t have such a substantial difference between the two modes.

In pictures the Dark Blue and Precious Metal Paint Shades really looked splendid and I was a bit dejected when the SA sent me pictures of the Platinum Pearl White TD Camry, but I was so wrong when I saw the car in person, the Camry carries the Platinum Pearl White colour very elegantly! The car is so understated and underrated that a Fortuner owner stopped beside you at a signal will be in absolute awe looking at the gracious lines and curves of the Camry!!

At 58-61L OTR (another major reason for this thread to be almost dead) depending on which state you buy the Camry in, is a lot of money but the Camry can hold on to its own compared to the Big 3 German, because it has the backing of the mighty T Badge. Reliability, Comfort, Space, Low Service Costs and most importantly strong resale value is what sets the Camry apart. If I had the money, this is the sedan I would buy over an A4, C-Class and maybe a 3GL as well.

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