Preview and pricing: 2012 Toyota Camry

Consumer Reports News: August 23, 2011 02:08 PM

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Toyota introduced its all-new, seventh-generation Camry today, unveiling a line-up that promises incremental improvements across the board while cutting retail prices.

Clearly, Toyota is not straying far from its popular formula with the new car. It even takes a close look to see that the styling has evolved beyond the front and rear fascias. The exterior dimensions are near identical, but the interior is freshened, with changes throughout.

The engines essentially carry over, with the Hybrid variants seeing the most improvement.

The base Camry will be fitted with a 178-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Toyota estimates that it will be EPA-rated at 25 city, 35 highway mpg, a notable increase over the 22/33 rating for the 2011 model.

The top engine will be a 268-hp, 3.5-liter V6 engine. Fuel economy is claimed to be 21 city, 30 highway mpg, just a notch above the 20/29 rating for the 2011 sedan.

The Hybrid features a 156-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. In LE trim, Toyota cites 43 city, 41 highway mpg, signaling a large, 30-plus-percent increase from the current 31/35 rating. New for 2012, the Hybrid will have an EV mode to allow the car to be driven a low speeds on purely electric power for up to 1.6 miles.

Some numbers that do change are the prices.
Camry L: $21,955
Camry LE: $22,500 (down $200)
Camry SE: $23,000 (down $1,000)
Camry XLE: $24,725 (down $2,000)
Camry SE V6: $26,640
Camry XLE: $29,845
Camry LE Hybrid: $25,900 (down $1,150)
Camry XLE Hybrid: $27,400 (down $800)

At the announcement event at Paramount Studios backlot, Toyota officials announced that the 2012 Camry will pace the Daytona 500 race. They added the trivia bit that the Camry has more U.S.-sourced content than any competitor in NASCAR. (In watching the webcast event, I couldn't help but think the Camry looks like a NASCAR template car right from the factory.)

We expect to share more details and our first impressions of this significant new car soon, and we will add Camrys to our 2012 test program after they go on sale in October.