Bought a new 2026 Camry SE

[ChrisMU]

Very nice! Should be 20 years of near trouble-free ownership. Those black overlays are expensive so you might find a buyer for them. Did you cross shop the Accord?

So far I’ve removed the rear “HEV,” “SE,” and Toyota logo overlays. I think the black “CAMRY” lettering on the trunk lid might not be an overlay, so I may wait until I buy the lettering in chrome. I’ll probably leave the black exhaust tips on the car. I tried removing the overlays as delicately as possible, but they all cracked.

For new cars, I was initially interested in the non-hybrid versions of the Civic hatchback, Mazda 3 hatchback, Toyota Corolla hatchback, and the Hyundai Sonata, as well as the Camry. The non-hybrid version of the Accord is a DI-only turbo if I’m not mistaken, so that gives me pause, even though I like the styling. I was hesitant about hybrids in general, but if I was going to get one, it would be a Toyota. I can’t ignore how many Priuses (Prii?) I see with 300K+ and/or used as Taxis. A lot of hatchbacks were on my list because I grew up with an ‘83 Mercury Lynx wagon and ‘91 Mercury Tracer wagon as the main family cars. There’s a lot of utility for the money in a wagon/hatch. If Toyota still made something like the Matrix for the US market, it would have been considered.

After the first deal went south due to price, my wife was trying to convince me to try a Corolla sedan, but it’s hard to go from an Avalon to a Corolla. She’s also convinced that Toyota can do no wrong, so the Civic and Mazda 3 were out. I already had reservations about the Sonata since I’m not sure how much Theta II DNA is in that engine.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

After the first deal went south due to price, my wife was trying to convince me to try a Corolla sedan, but it’s hard to go from an Avalon to a Corolla. She’s also convinced that Toyota can do no wrong, so the Civic and Mazda 3 were out. I already had reservations about the Sonata since I’m not sure how much Theta II DNA is in that engine.

I can say that my daughters boyfriend has a '21 Sonata with 2.5L and that has GDI with MPI. I can also say that it sits very low like further to fall into and harder to climb out of than my '17 Accord. It's low. He scrapes going in and out of my driveway with the overhang in front of the wheels. More than 1 person and it just scrapes in middle of the car.

The upper trim Camry's look very nice. Great color. Congratulations. Now if they just made it in a manual transmission again...............

 

[Delta]

So far I’ve removed the rear “HEV,” “SE,” and Toyota logo overlays. I think the black “CAMRY” lettering on the trunk lid might not be an overlay, so I may wait until I buy the lettering in chrome. I’ll probably leave the black exhaust tips on the car. I tried removing the overlays as delicately as possible, but they all cracked.

For new cars, I was initially interested in the non-hybrid versions of the Civic hatchback, Mazda 3 hatchback, Toyota Corolla hatchback, and the Hyundai Sonata, as well as the Camry. The non-hybrid version of the Accord is a DI-only turbo if I’m not mistaken, so that gives me pause, even though I like the styling. I was hesitant about hybrids in general, but if I was going to get one, it would be a Toyota. I can’t ignore how many Priuses (Prii?) I see with 300K+ and/or used as Taxis. A lot of hatchbacks were on my list because I grew up with an ‘83 Mercury Lynx wagon and ‘91 Mercury Tracer wagon as the main family cars. There’s a lot of utility for the money in a wagon/hatch. If Toyota still made something like the Matrix for the US market, it would have been considered.

After the first deal went south due to price, my wife was trying to convince me to try a Corolla sedan, but it’s hard to go from an Avalon to a Corolla. She’s also convinced that Toyota can do no wrong, so the Civic and Mazda 3 were out. I already had reservations about the Sonata since I’m not sure how much Theta II DNA is in that engine.

I test drove a Corolla the same time as the '26 Camry. I definitely did not like it one bit. Cramped interior and with the CVT it was really buzzy.

 

[Hohn]

I guess the first guy has never heard the phrase, "do you want part of something or all of nothing?"

I love that saying.

I use a variant of it when people complain about high prices and such. "Expensive and available beats cheap and unobtainable every time."

 

[97K15004WD]

Does it need to identify you when you get in the car, like the new Subie's do?

And what about the other safety features?

 

[Leo99]

I test drove a Corolla the same time as the '26 Camry. I definitely did not like it one bit. Cramped interior and with the CVT it was really buzzy.

Yes, just sold my in-laws Corolla after they aged out of driving. My old Camry is much nicer than a newer Corolla. I think my 05 Corolla was a nicer car than a 2012 Corolla.

 

[Mr.GTRSpecV]

Nice colour. Very similar to my 2000 BMW 528i.

I know people cover their license plates when they post photos. But I wonder why. Should we also cover up our license plates whenever we're driving so no-one can see them?

I have often thought the exact same thing, every time you leave the house they are on full display to the whole world.

Ever seen someone furiously scribbling down all the plates in a parking lot so they can “find” people later? I haven’t. LPRs don’t count that’s LE related.

Nice car OP.

You guys drive around in your localities.

Let's say you drive in the state of California only, you have exposure to 30M + people, and we can break that down down into a smaller number if you don't leave your specific metropolitan and surrounding area.

Now, let's say you travel state lines, the exposure increases, sure. But posting it on the internet, well, now you're exposed to 1 billion + folks. Also, what's posted on the internet, stays on the internet forever. Not sure how tech savy some of you here are, but that plate number can be easily picked up through custom software whether it is directly or indirectly searched for.

Again, there are all types of people on the internet and on this forum. My suggestion was just that, a suggestion. If you guys want to post your plates online, knock yourselves out, it's your game to lose.

 

[odie]

Great color ! . Gray is the way .

 

[ChrisMU]

Does it need to identify you when you get in the car, like the new Subie's do?

And what about the other safety features?

I don’t think it has to identify me. I’ll have to ask my brother what he thinks of that Subaru feature. He has a new Forester Hybrid.

I’m still getting used to it. One thing I notice, similar to my wife’s IS350, is that it wants to guide the steering wheel between the pavement lines. That’s all fine and good until there’s construction and it wants to guide me toward the workers and machinery instead of the mandatory off-ramp.

I only use the adaptive cruise control when I’m on a winding road with no passing zones and ma/pa kettle going 20 under in front of me. The auto-braking freaks me out when it wants to brake for no reason or for something that’s happening in the next lane over.

I like the blind spot monitoring, but that feature isn’t infallible either. Like the rear view camera, it’s good used in conjunction with old fashioned looking back/at mirrors.

I can’t remember if I have rear cross traffic alert, but it was a nice feature on the Avalon.

I like that the wireless charging pad works, even with an OtterBox phone case. Not a safety feature, but nice.

 

[odie]

Hate to mention this , but TOYOTA announced a recall on 8/6/26 for the CAMRY hybrid with the 7" ( 12.3" excluded ) screen that may go blank on start up and cause other issues . It affects '25 and '26 . Look at the door jam ( door frame ) on drivers side for date of production . Hopefully it's not yours . Very good looking car .

Supposedly , the FIX is a free software update at a TOYOTA dealer . Go here for details .

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2026/TOYOTA/CAMRY%2520HYBRID%2520HEV/4%2520DR/FWD#recalls