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New Models
DRIVEN: Two Toyotas Get Tuned In
Camry, America's favorite car, and the subcompact Yaris are revamped for 2012 as the leading Japanese automaker comes back.
Toyota Camry got a makeover for 2012 with a styling update and drivability improvements. (Photo: Toyota)
Two Toyota products came my way recently, the midsize Camry and subcompact Yaris, both of them all new for 2012 and both of them showing improvements.
First, the Camry:
Toyota Camry, the best-selling passenger car in the United States, is highly regarded as a sensible, reliable and family-friendly people mover. Most buyers of these cars do so because of the sedan’s lofty reputation for durability, and they are generally not interested in much more than a car that starts every time and is easy to maintain.
But among driving enthusiasts, Camry has been considered little than an appliance that may be high on practicality but low on the subjective scale of driving enjoyment.
In other words, Camry was boring. It desperately needed an update that would put it more in line with the advances made by most other automakers with such midsize cars as Mazda6, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Chevy Malibu and the new Chrysler 200.
Plus, the last generation Camry was noticeably cheapened in a number of aspects so that while they remained top-sellers, they lost any remaining buzz from young or engaged drivers. Still, there were 380,000 Camrys sold to U.S. drivers during 2011, more than any other car in the market.
Toyota did a major update of Camry for 2012, the seventh generation of the sedan, and it is much improved in many ways. While the latest Camry is still not likely to be on the top of the list for car fanatics, it definitely performs its utilitarian duties with more style and refinement.
Ride and handling are above par, at least they were in the XLE sedan that I drove. The suspension seems more firm and the steering more responsive, though both still tend toward the comfort side of the equation rather than sporty. No, this is not a sedan for dicing through tricky turns, but it does hold its own in normal driving.
I was pleased by the performance of the economical 2.5-liter inline-4 that delivers 178 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque. The engine ran smooth and felt strong enough for all practical purposes. According to the EPA, the car gets 25 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway, which is pretty good for a midsize sedan.
Camry also comes with a 268-horsepower V6, linked up solely with a six-speed automatic, as is the four-cylinder. There’s also the highly regarded hybrid version that scores 43 mpg in the city and 39 on the highway, EPA says.
The styling upgrade is minor but fairly effective, with a more dynamic look to the front end and more-expressive taillights. Nothing too exciting, and the Camry should fade unnoticed into the crowd.
The interior, however, is much better with a richer-quality feel to the materials, more-supportive seats and a more-interesting dashboard and gauges.
First, the Camry:
Toyota Camry, the best-selling passenger car in the United States, is highly regarded as a sensible, reliable and family-friendly people mover. Most buyers of these cars do so because of the sedan’s lofty reputation for durability, and they are generally not interested in much more than a car that starts every time and is easy to maintain.
But among driving enthusiasts, Camry has been considered little than an appliance that may be high on practicality but low on the subjective scale of driving enjoyment.
In other words, Camry was boring. It desperately needed an update that would put it more in line with the advances made by most other automakers with such midsize cars as Mazda6, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Chevy Malibu and the new Chrysler 200.
Plus, the last generation Camry was noticeably cheapened in a number of aspects so that while they remained top-sellers, they lost any remaining buzz from young or engaged drivers. Still, there were 380,000 Camrys sold to U.S. drivers during 2011, more than any other car in the market.
Toyota did a major update of Camry for 2012, the seventh generation of the sedan, and it is much improved in many ways. While the latest Camry is still not likely to be on the top of the list for car fanatics, it definitely performs its utilitarian duties with more style and refinement.
Ride and handling are above par, at least they were in the XLE sedan that I drove. The suspension seems more firm and the steering more responsive, though both still tend toward the comfort side of the equation rather than sporty. No, this is not a sedan for dicing through tricky turns, but it does hold its own in normal driving.
I was pleased by the performance of the economical 2.5-liter inline-4 that delivers 178 horsepower and 171 pound-feet of torque. The engine ran smooth and felt strong enough for all practical purposes. According to the EPA, the car gets 25 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway, which is pretty good for a midsize sedan.
Camry also comes with a 268-horsepower V6, linked up solely with a six-speed automatic, as is the four-cylinder. There’s also the highly regarded hybrid version that scores 43 mpg in the city and 39 on the highway, EPA says.
The styling upgrade is minor but fairly effective, with a more dynamic look to the front end and more-expressive taillights. Nothing too exciting, and the Camry should fade unnoticed into the crowd.
The interior, however, is much better with a richer-quality feel to the materials, more-supportive seats and a more-interesting dashboard and gauges.
2014 Cadillac CTS
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