A Closer Look at the 2013 Toyota Camry

The 2013 Toyota Camry carries on a long-standing tradition of giving buyers exactly what they want, with no surprises, at a price that’s affordable for consumers across multiple demographics. Yes, there are more stylish and more entertaining family sedans on the market, but few rival the Camry’s long-standing reputation for value and bulletproof reliability.

That’s not to say that the 2013 Toyota Camry is a compromise filled with mediocrity. Redesigned for the 2012 model year, the latest Camry variant offers up an impressive array of amenities, luxury touches and even a degree of driving enjoyment that seemed to be absent from earlier models. While exterior updates are best described as “evolutionary,” the interior of the latest Camry is a significant improvement over the previous model. There’s more attention to detail inside, coupled with higher-quality  materials and a stylish double-tiered instrument panel. Interior corners are pushed outwards, too, giving the 2013 Camry a spacious and airy feel within the cabin. Thinner front seats further add to rear seat passenger leg room, making the new Camry a better choice for those who regularly haul second-row passengers.

While Toyota builds the Camry with a range of engines (including a 2.5-liter four cylinder and a 3.5-liter V-6), those focused on fuel economy will want to opt for the Camry Hybrid, as it delivers both impressive fuel economy and reasonable performance. The Camry Hybrid blends a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor and a continuously variable transmission to deliver 41 mpg combined (39 mpg city and 43 mpg highway) in LE trim. Opt for the range-topping Camry Hybrid XLE, and the fuel economy dips slightly to 40 mpg combined (38 mpg city and 40 mpg highway) due to the car’s larger wheels and tires. With a combined output of 200horsepower, acceleration is more than sufficient no matter which Camry Hybrid version you choose.

Opt for the four-cylinder 2013 Toyota Camry, and the fuel economy drops to 28 mpg combined (25 mpg city, 35 mpg highway), while the more powerful V-6 version returns just 25 mpg combined (21 mpg city, 30 mpg highway). Of these two, our preference is for the four-cylinder version, which feels a bit livelier than four-cylinder Camry models past. Still, if your budget allows, we’d encourage you to shop the Camry Hybrid over the other available drivetrains.

Ride comfort has been improved across all models, and the list of available and standard features has been upped as well. All trim levels now get Bluetooth phone connectivity, as well as a touchscreen audio system, Bluetooth audio streaming, an iPod interface and a USB port. Available options include a voice command-based navigation system, JBL audio and Toyota’s Entune connectivity system, which allows users to take advantage of apps like Pandora.

If safety is a concern, the 2013 Toyota Camry scores well in most tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the car its Top Safety Pick status, but in the agency’s latest test (the small frontal-overlap crash test) the 2013 Toyota Camry received a rating of “poor.” The NHTSA gives the latest Camry five stars overall, with only the frontal-impact crash test returning a four-star result instead of a perfect score.



Source: Green Car Reports