Originally Posted By: artificialist
Will this new Camry have a much better engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission?
Long-awaited 2012 Camry, revealed, REALLY. sorta..
- Thread starter mareakin
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I doubt it'll have a different engine. The 2AR-FE 2.5L 4-cylinder in the Camry debuted in 2010. It's a honey of an engine; an extremely refined little mill. I'd call the fuel economy from it "good", given that it doesn't have direct injection on it, which some don't want anyway.
All Camrys have had 6-speed transmissions beginning in 2010, both manual and automatic.
Wife's 2.5L seems pretty decent. Hard to lug, and the 6 speed manual isn't bad either. Only thing I noticed is that a) needs a bit of revs to move (compared to my TDi that is) and b) seems like a fair amount of drivetrain lash. Let up and get back on, and there is a bit more span than I'm used to.
But it is a nice setup. Decent poewr, decent mpg--wife is getting about 32, while the rental LE/auto I had for a day mustered 23. [I may have driven that as the rental it was...]
2012 Camry Pricing and MPG numbers:
Camry Base: $21,955 (decrease of $45 from 2011)
Camry LE: $22,500 (decrease of $200 from 2011)
Camry SE I4: $23,000 (decrease of $965 from 2011)
Camry SE V6: $26,640 (exact same as 2011)
Camry XLE I4: $24,725 (decrease of $2000!!!! from 2011)
Camry XLE V6: $29,845 (exact same as 2011)
Camry Hybrid LE: $25,900 (decrease of $1,150 from 2011)
Camry Hybrid XLE: $27,400 (decrease of $800 from 2011)
The reason for the huge price jumps between I4 and V6 models is because the V6 models come with more standard options than the I4...not just a difference in the engine.
Speaking of engines, this is 2012's lineup:
2.5 2AR-FE I4 Gas: 178 hp across the board: 25 city/35 highway/28 combined
3.5 2GR-FE V6 Gas: 268 hp: 21 city/30 highway/24 combined
2.5 2AR Hybrid: 200 hp: 43 city/39 highway/41 combined
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From an insider at TN.
-Camry now gets the best EPA mileage, by a hair. The city mileage trumps all other cars.
-Camry Hybrid makes a very compelling case for itself, it's ONLY 3,400 more than non-hybrid LE and gets vastly better EPA mileage. 2011 Current Camry Hybrid 31 city, 35 highway. New 2012 Hybrid gets *43* in the city. That's amazing. That's 2 more than Ford Fusion. Camry Hybrid makes even more sense than "Prius v" which gets the same combined mileage.
Catch the official Camry launch here:
http://www.toyota.com/newcamry/
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Interior looks great in that pic.
As much as I am not directly in the market for one of these, I think they look good and I'd be curios to take one for a test drive.
I think the interior looks VERY good. And the fuel economy jump is rather dramatic too. The 2011 2AR-FE (with 169 hp) achieves 22/32. For 2012, with additional horsepower, it's 25/35? And still without DI or anything like that. That's great to me.
I'm also liking the new Camry Hybrid. The outgoing Camry Hybrid was clearly outclassed by the Fusion Hybrid in the fuel economy department. It was time for an update.
And, the reviews are in:
http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/driven/1110_2012_toyota_camry_first_drive/index.html
"In fact, combined fuel economy for the hybrid increases 25 percent, from a mediocre 33 mpg to a class-leading 41 mpg. Best of all, the Camry Hybrid is no longer painful to drive -- the soupy handling, artificial steering, bouncy ride, grabby brakes, and clumsy throttle response we complained about have all vanished without a trace."
Great fuel economy, 41 MPG!!! , *and* rides better.
The rear looks quite nice, although the front looks like a cross between the XV30 and the XV40 Camry. They could have made the front nicer to match the rear, if you ask me. If it wasn't for the Toyota badge, I would have thought it was a new Honda City, looking at that front end. Interior looks nice though, with a hint of the VW Passat in the dashboard design. 
"...the redone hybrid system is a remarkable improvement. For one thing, it's way more powerful. It'll dash from standstill to 60 mph in a commendable 7.6 seconds, Toyota says. That's right between the V-6 gas engine's 6.8 seconds and the four-cylinder's 8.6, and is brisk enough to feel like a lot of fun."
"...the brakes now feel natural, which his a big change from the abruptness of the previous version's transition from hydraulic braking to electronic, battery-recharging regenerative braking."
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