2012 Toyota Camry Summary
2012 Toyota Camry Overview
The Toyota Camry is a perennial bestseller, and is often the top of sales charts year after year. The combination of a wide price range, several models that appeal to a variety of customers, and Toyota's reputation for quality make it a tough act to follow, and a benchmark for all mid-sized sedans.
The 2012 Toyota Camry is completely new, with a new exterior, new interior, and a revised model lineup. The sharply styled exterior is an improvement over last year's generic lines, but is still subtle and unobtrusive. The same goes for the interior, where Toyota has a higher quality of material emphasized in its redesign, and with good results.
The 2012 Toyota Camry also features a range of engines that at first sounds familiar, but are actually reviewed. The 2.5-liter four-cylinder, 3.5-liter V-6, and even the hybrid engine all have to be adjusted for better fuel economy. All Camry models get a six-speed automatic transmission with the exception of the hybrid, which continues with a continuously variable transmission.
Toyota dropped the price of most of its Camry models, the 2012 Camry will surely remain the car to beat in the mid-range sedan, even in the face of increasingly fierce competition from around the world.
2012 Toyota Camry The Range
Body style: Four-door sedan
Engines: 2.5-liter inline-4, 3.5-liter V-6, 2.5-liter plus electric motor
Transmissions: six-speed automatic, continuously variable transmission (hybrid)
Models: Toyota Camry L, Toyota Camry LE, Toyota Camry XLE, Toyota Camry SE.
2012 Toyota Camry What's New
Toyota updated the 2012 Toyota Camry with a revised exterior, updated interior, and more fuel efficient engines.
The 2012 Toyota Camry sports a new front grille, bumper, and fog light housing. Though the 2012 Camry is dimensionally unchanged from the 2011 model, the exterior lines and roof are more angular and sharper, giving the Camry a smaller, sportier appearance. In the back are more contemporary taillights, while the Camry Hybrid model offers more truck space thanks to the redesigned hybrid battery system.
Toyota updated the interior with richer-looking, higher-quality hard and soft plastics, chrome trim, and quality-looking cloth and leather seating. Design touches such as a stitched-look dash cover and faux wood inserts enrich the interior as well. Toyota engineers enhanced the Camry's cabin quietness with strategically placed sound-absorbing materials and an active noise dampening system.
The Camry's three engines -- four-cylinder, six-cylinder, and hybrid -- receive upgrades in fuel economy and power. Non-hybrid Camry models come equipped with a semi-manual transmission shifter while the Camry SE has shifters on the steering wheel as well. Pricing on the base L, LE, XLE, and hybrid model remain the same from last year's model or dropped for 2011.
2012 Toyota Camry Exterior
While dimensionally identical to the 2011 model, Toyota designers and engineers heavily redesigned the 2012 Toyota Camry with a more contemporary and sporty design. The sedan sports a new grille, headlamps, and fog light housing (standard on the XLE and SE models); a new taillight design, and an overall more sharp, precise profile. Chrome trim accents the LE and XLE models while the SE sports exclusive front and rear spoiler and grill. Overall, the sedan looks smaller and lower than it really is. Four new colors are offered to the 2012 Toyota Camry with two of them -- Attitude Black Metallic and Clearwater Blue -- brand new to the Camry and U.S. market.
2012 Toyota Camry Interior
Air-conditioning, power windows and door locks, and cruise control are standard. Eight-way power driver seat, leather interior, and dual-zone climate control are available; SE comes with sport fabric on the seats and doors, plus blue gauges.
2012 Toyota Camry Performance & Handling
Toyota engineers tightened the 2012 Toyota Camry's shocks and stiffened the suspension to let in more road feel than previous models, though the Camry is by no means a sport sedan. The 2012 Camry's electrically assisted power steering won't delight enthusiasts, but it has been programmed to provide more feedback and improve vehicle response. Four-cylinder, V-6, and hybrid engines deliver plenty of power, and the Toyota Camry SE's V-6 actually sounds pretty sporty when the gas pedal gets stomped.
2012 Toyota Camry Safety
Toyota adds a front-passenger knee airbag and rear-seat side airbags to the 2012 Camry, increasing the number of standard airbags to ten while continue to include dual-stage advanced SRS front airbags and side curtain airbags. A Blind-Spot Monitor system is now available for the 2012 Toyota Camry XLE model.
2012 Toyota Camry EPA Fuel Economy
Toyota Camry L: 25 mpg city/35 mpg highway
Toyota Camry LE: 25 mpg city/35 mpg highway
Toyota Camry XLE: 25 mpg city/35 mpg highway (four-cylinder), 21 mpg city/30 mpg highway (six-cylinder)
Toyota Camry SE: 25 mpg city/35 mpg highway (four-cylinder), 21 mpg city/30 mpg highway (six-cylinder)
Toyota Camry Hybrid: 43 mpg city/39 mpg highway
L Sedan
Sticker Price: $21,955
LE Hybrid Sedan
Sticker Price: $25,900
LE Sedan
Sticker Price: $22,500
SE Sedan
Sticker Price: $23,000
XLE Hybrid Sedan
Sticker Price: $27,400
XLE Sedan
Sticker Price: $24,725
