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What if Toyota Camry is not a taxi, but a private car. Renounce the stereotypes

Toyota Camry has become almost synonymous with a sedan in the Russian market. Time passed, Korean manufacturers poured into the market, and now the legendary model has a lot of competitors. Many of which, like the Camry itself, often act as taxis. And it is also often (out of habit?) Purchased by government agencies. So she is still loved and we occupy a solid share in our niche.

What is Toyota Camry ready to offer in 2022? Let’s figure it out!

Characteristics

  • Engine: in-line, 4 cylinders, 2.5 liters, 92nd gasoline.
  • Power: 200 HP s., 243 N m.
  • Gearbox: hydromechanical, 8 steps.
  • Drive: front.
  • Tank: 60 liters.
  • Average consumption during the test drive: 7.2 liters per 100 km.
  • Drove: 976 km.

We meet by clothes

Pretentious, but with references to past models

Today, in order to look modern, manufacturers have to “show off” and make a very elaborate design. Toyota with its sedan chose the most compromise option. Yes, it is full of all sorts of little things in the design: a gill-shaped front with C-shaped inserts (they can be distinguished by a restyled version), intricate side lines and a small “fin” on the rear trunk. Surprisingly, at the same time, the silhouette is perfectly guessed and the fact that this is Camry is almost unmistakable. Bravo Toyota!

Immediately striking and ground clearance, with the naked eye, as they say. It is 155 millimeters here and this must be borne in mind, especially in winter. One way or another, the thresholds and bumpers will periodically get acquainted with the snow.

I hope it will not be news to you that there are two important places in the Camry: the driver and the rear passenger. After all, it is still a relatively affordable (even at current prices) business sedan. So I’ll tell you about the second row first.

On my test, I have a complete set with a 2.5-liter “Safety Suite” engine, and there are already various elements of increased passenger comfort in the back. Also non reclining chairs. You sit on the right or left and drown. They are low and with good ergonomics! And here it would be possible to finish … but wait, here they are, the comfort elements: mechanical folding curtains on the windows, an automatic curtain at the back (it still lowers itself if you turn on the reverse gear), but the most interesting thing is in the folding armrest in the center. Here you can control music, heating (the degree is one and it heats up very much), a rear curtain and a tilt of the seats. Add here your climate control (it is three-zone in the car) and two USB connectors. As you understand, it will not be difficult to sit down comfortably and immerse yourself in a smartphone or tablet.

I’ll visit: the rear lacks the ability to adjust the front passenger seat (only directly on the seat) and the ability to select the degree of seat heating. And the ventilation that the seats have in front would not hurt. All the chairs are leather.

Looking ahead, I’ll say that the cabin has a good Shumka and it’s easy to communicate even with the second row. And I’ll scold the door, which does not block the threshold and it very easily stains trousers.

The trunk in the sedan, as always, has a little difficulty loading due to the low level of the rear window. And I also had snow falling from it inside, so in winter it’s better to clean it off with your hand first (the brush is in the trunk!). At the same time, the volume is very worthy – just over 500 liters! There is a hatch for long cargo, but the snowboard, for example, did not fit into it, just as it generally did not fit into the trunk. I highly recommend taking care of the organizer, because there is a lot of space, there are hooks, but there is still a great chance of chaos. In the underground there is a dokatka and a jack.

A little about the equipment for the driver and front passenger. The main thing is a lot of physical keys! Yes, they could be bigger, yes, the knobs lack rubber (slippery). But, the right word, a modern machine in which only a touch screen is cool and convenient. But I can’t help but complain about the gloss that surrounds the physical keys … it gets dirty and scratched quickly.

There is only one USB port on the front, but the cigarette lighter socket is 12 volts and 120 watts. You can also connect a laptop (via an adapter). Wireless charging is also available, under it is a niche. There is a router in a deep and large armrest box! With the purchase of a car, they give Internet for a year with a limit of 10 GB per month. Yes, you can connect to it and, like at home, use Wi-Fi on the road.

Camry also supports Connected Services. We put a proprietary application, and you can see where the car is now, you can get a route and throw it into the built-in navigation. There is also a call for roadside assistance, an appointment for service and a travel history. There is an instruction for all indication signals on the tidy (reasonably grouped – by color), who now remembers all these symbols ?! The only pity is that you can not remotely warm up or cool the car.

The main disadvantage, more in visual and aesthetic terms, I think (and I’m not the only one) is multimedia. It works quickly, in general, is simple and understandable. But such an interface, including maps, is simply strange to do in our time. Considering that the car itself and the graphics on the digital tidy are modern. It would also be nice to turn the screen on the driver, he is also its main user.

A few words about digital tidy. Here, too, not without nuances. The image is a little blurry, as if he took off his glasses, and somewhat visually overloaded. Control from the buttons on the steering wheel.

What is the result? Surprisingly, calm and comfortable, in contrast to a very aggressive appearance. And in the white version of the Camry interior, it immediately looks more expensive! It remains only to redo the multimedia and the rest will be just nit-picking. Yes, by the way, Toyota, but where among the options is a sunroof?

On the road!

There are two scenarios: either you drive relaxed, or you heat up

I won’t open America to you by saying that we love to drive a Camry. I have a 2.5 liter engine and 200 horses with 243 N•m. No turbines, hydromechanical machine. And you know, it’s more about “carrying” than driving. A little imposing, relaxed and without unnecessary jerks. It also shifts its eight gears almost imperceptibly. Moreover, you don’t feel a lack of power, and even on a track with four people on board, you can confidently overtake a truck. And the rest of the time to go quietly and slowly. Here, by the way, adaptive cruise control with active steering. So with long hauls, you can, within reasonable limits, relax. Save petrol too.

But on the subject of imbedded, this is for you to V6 3.5. There are only 50 horses more, but the settings are different. In 2.5 there are no paddle shifters, the sport mode (on the gearshift knob) increases the sensitivity of the gas pedal and starts the engine at higher speeds.

I can not ignore the well-tuned electric drive at the helm. You don’t feel disconnected from the wheels. Fine! By the way, by default (I always reset all auto settings before the test) the lane keeping assistant is on. Given the state of the markings in winter, I would recommend turning it off until better times, because it sometimes tries to steer when it definitely doesn’t need to be done. At first I even thought it was such a boost. On the track, where the markings are better, you can turn on the full control of the steering wheel. Switch button on the right spoke.

In the end, about the steering wheel itself. Thanks to unification, here it is similar to RAV4, for example. But there is nothing to criticize him for. The grip is excellent, the levers are clear, the buttons are not read blindly in the best way, but you get used to it quickly.

Review

It’s still the same Camry, modern and comfortable

The version with a 2.5-liter engine (as, I suppose, with a 2-liter one) is clearly for comfortable movement or carrying someone. In a bright interior, you feel a certain peace and it’s even great that there are no hints of “sport”.

You can notice a very low consumption, 7.2 liters per hundred, which I got during the test, but I didn’t really stand in traffic jams. You can safely add 2.5-3 liters per hundred to them. But on the highway and using adaptive cruise control, you can easily get 6.8 liters. Which, coupled with the ability to fill in the 92nd gasoline, is very, very economical.

I will also note the issue of noise. Up to 90 km/h no problem, even with studded tires. But after the arch, they are already making a solid noise and noise from the door in the area of ​​​​the middle pillar has been detected. I wonder how it will be on summer tires, I’ll try to find out.

But as a result, Toyota Camry left a pleasant impression. I was even more strained by her somewhat notoriety in the capital and the number of inadequate owners of this model. And while driving, you immediately begin to notice them. But it was nice to get into it, it quickly warms you up and recklessly rides. Pleases with the good sound of acoustics from JBL and overall ergonomics. And there are no backlight flirting! And at the end of the test, it even became sad that sedans greatly lost the market to crossovers, they have their own charm and grace.

Pros:

  • comfortable and thoughtful;
  • many niches;
  • the convenience of all passengers;
  • roomy trunk;
  • peppy dynamics and perfectly tuned steering wheel, engine and gearbox.

Minuses:

  • visually outdated multimedia system;
  • I want better soundproofing.

May not like:

  • one degree of heating at the rear seats;
  • There is no rear seat ventilation.

Source: Trash Box

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