Perhaps the most important thing about the new Toyota Camry is its hybrid drivetrain. It’s the only one available, with the conventional four-cylinder and V6 options dead for 2025. It’s a big deal, but for Toyota, a natural step.
“It’s exactly the right vehicle at the right time,” Camry chief engineer Mark DeJongh told Motor1, “and we really think customers are going to embrace it.” The fuel economy is so great, and we knew that with the new [Toyota] Hybrid System 5, we really had a chance to tune this drivetrain and get it to where it could be great.
The THS 5 is, of course, the fifth generation of the Toyota hybrid system that debuted with the Prius in 1997. To give a very basic overview, the THS is built around two electric motor-generator units (MGUs). MGU1 works as a starter for the engine and a generator for the battery; The MGU2 is a larger motor that can drive the wheels with or without a motor. In all-wheel-drive Camrys, these are supplemented by an additional electric motor that drives the rear wheels.
While the Prius uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, the Camry uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder evolved from the previous Camry hybrid. It now produces 184 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque. DeJongh talks a lot about finding efficiencies wherever possible, and for the engine, that resulted in switching from 0W-16 oil to a surprisingly light 0W-8 oil. The Camry also has a slightly smaller lithium-ion battery with just 1.0 kWh of capacity, but it now provides more power than before. The system power of the new Camry is 225 hp. The all-wheel-drive Camry develops 232 hp.
The most efficient model, the LE FWD, sitting on its 16-inch wheels, manages 51 mpg combined. While the least efficient, the XSE AWD returns 44 mpg. That’s a number we easily beat on our car commute.
DeJongh says: “[O]Once we decided to go 100% hybrid, we almost forgot that we were going to go 100% hybrid. It just didn’t become a thing anymore.
This speaks to the situation of Toyota and its customers. The Japanese giant did not focus on electric vehicles, but instead offered hybrid models, and this came at the right time. As backlash toward electric vehicles increases, so does consumer interest in hybrid vehicles. Going hybrid is a big step, especially for an important model like the Camry, which remains Toyota’s second most popular model in the United States.
Beyond the hybrid system, the new Camry relies on iterative updates.
“It’s Toyota, right?” » DeJongh says, “Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen. Little improvement, little improvement, little improvement.
There are naturally the expected updates to the infotainment and driver assistance systems, but DeJongh and his team have worked to improve the ride and handling of the SE and XSE models, as well as the Steering and brake pedal feel throughout the range.
“We’re kind of sending a message when we start, a message to the engineers and everyone who’s going to work on it,” DeJongh says. “Part of my message was: ‘SUVs have taken the place where sedans belonged, but we’re going to stay true to our sedan identity. » People who go in SUVs, we don’t try to get them… we don’t chase them; we make a real sedan. In fact, our motto was “the sedan to the core.”
The idea was simply to create a better Camry. Toyota knows well what defines this sedan, and it doesn’t stray from the formula.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” DeJohngh tells us. “As an engineer or someone who develops cars, you want to do something fun and outgoing, but like I said, ‘a sedan at heart.’ We follow what a Camry is and improve it a lot.
Perhaps the most important thing about the new Toyota Camry is its hybrid drivetrain. It’s the only one available, with the conventional four-cylinder and V6 options dead for 2025. It’s a big deal, but for Toyota, a natural step.
“It’s exactly the right vehicle at the right time,” Camry chief engineer Mark DeJongh told Motor1, “and we really think customers are going to embrace it.” The fuel economy is so great, and we knew that with the new [Toyota] Hybrid System 5, we really had a chance to tune this drivetrain and get it to where it could be great.
The THS 5 is, of course, the fifth generation of the Toyota hybrid system that debuted with the Prius in 1997. To give a very basic overview, the THS is built around two electric motor-generator units (MGUs). MGU1 works as a starter for the engine and a generator for the battery; The MGU2 is a larger motor that can drive the wheels with or without a motor. In all-wheel-drive Camrys, these are supplemented by an additional electric motor that drives the rear wheels.
While the Prius uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, the Camry uses a 2.5-liter four-cylinder evolved from the previous Camry hybrid. It now produces 184 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque. DeJongh talks a lot about finding efficiencies wherever possible, and for the engine, that resulted in switching from 0W-16 oil to a surprisingly light 0W-8 oil. The Camry also has a slightly smaller lithium-ion battery with just 1.0 kWh of capacity, but it now provides more power than before. The system power of the new Camry is 225 hp. The all-wheel-drive Camry develops 232 hp.
The most efficient model, the LE FWD, sitting on its 16-inch wheels, manages 51 mpg combined. While the least efficient, the XSE AWD returns 44 mpg. That’s a number we easily beat on our car commute.
DeJongh says: “[O]Once we decided to go 100% hybrid, we almost forgot that we were going to go 100% hybrid. It just didn’t become a thing anymore.
This speaks to the situation of Toyota and its customers. The Japanese giant did not focus on electric vehicles, but instead offered hybrid models, and this came at the right time. As backlash toward electric vehicles increases, so does consumer interest in hybrid vehicles. Going hybrid is a big step, especially for an important model like the Camry, which remains Toyota’s second most popular model in the United States.
Beyond the hybrid system, the new Camry relies on iterative updates.
“It’s Toyota, right?” » DeJongh says, “Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen, Kaizen. Little improvement, little improvement, little improvement.
There are naturally the expected updates to the infotainment and driver assistance systems, but DeJongh and his team have worked to improve the ride and handling of the SE and XSE models, as well as the Steering and brake pedal feel throughout the range.
“We’re kind of sending a message when we start, a message to the engineers and everyone who’s going to work on it,” DeJongh says. “Part of my message was: ‘SUVs have taken the place where sedans belonged, but we’re going to stay true to our sedan identity. » People who go in SUVs, we don’t try to get them… we don’t chase them; we make a real sedan. In fact, our motto was “the sedan to the core.”
The idea was simply to create a better Camry. Toyota knows well what defines this sedan, and it doesn’t stray from the formula.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” DeJohngh tells us. “As an engineer or someone who develops cars, you want to do something fun and outgoing, but like I said, ‘a sedan at heart.’ We follow what a Camry is and improve it a lot.