I bought a 2025 Camry hybrid almost 4 months ago (bought it early December, live in Michigan) and have put 7000 miles on it so far. I did a little experiment with oils in those 7000 miles. I wanted to hear and feel the engine and see if there were any differences in how it drove, MPG's, etc.
First 1600 miles I had the factory 0W-8 in it, and then swapped it out for 0W-20. Then I tried 0-30, and finally 5-30. Conclusion: 0-8 is never going in it again - had metallic engine sounds and was fairly loud. 0-20 was a bit quieter and less harsh, but not by a lot. 0-30 seemed quieter once again and no harsh sounds. And the biggest change I thought was going from the M1 AFE 0-30 to PP 5-30. With 5-30, the engine was very quiet, and harder to tell when the engine was kicking off and on while driving. Was a little scary actually how quiet it was at times. Hitting the gas I got the sense there was more pressure in the engine... sounded stuffy, but if there was more drag, it didn't affect the MPG's.
MPG's were the same most likely with all oils. It was warm out when I had the 5-30 in there, and I got well over 60 mpg on a few 15 mile trips on paved backroads going 55 and under. This car likes to default to the lowest RPMs whenever possible. Cruising steady at 55mph, it is around 1000. At 80mph, if the highway is flat and I'm just maintaining that speed, it runs at about 1400 RPM. Is there anything to think about in regards to low RPMs and oil weight?
Crazy experiment I guess, but I like the way it sounds and drives with the 0-30. So I went back to 0-30 and now will run it around 4000 miles before changing again. Was just trying to see what she liked to drink.