The 2018 Toyota Camry will go on-sale in Australia in November offering a more “dynamic” appearance and beefier hybrid and V6 engines.

THE 2018 TOYOTA CAMRY will go on-sale in Australia in November. Pricing and final specification still hasn’t been released. The headline grabber for the new Camry is the fact it sits on the brand’s new Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) which we’ve sampled under the C-HR, clearly the best driving Toyota since the 86.

In a statement, Toyota said: “This lightweight and high-strength structure improves torsional rigidity by 30 per cent, enabling Toyota to apply its engineering and design strengths for a more dynamic character with added emotional appeal in the way Camry looks, feels and drives”.

The new Camry will offer LED head-lights, double -wishbone rear suspension and an electric parking brake as well as cost-optional 19-inch alloy wheels, 10-inch colour head-up display, 8-inch touch-screen audio display and 7-inch multi-information display in the instrument cluster.
Toyota’s advanced safety suite is standard, including a pre-collision system with autonomous emergency braking, all-speed active cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist, automatic high beam, a reversing camera and seven airbags. Select variants will also come with blind spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert.

Toyota Australia’s executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said “Driving enthusiasts in particular will appreciate the next-generation hybrid Camry that is engineered to provide spirited performance and driving enjoyment along with impressive gains to fuel efficiency.

“At the same time, Camry retains the proven, dependable and safe reputation that has made it Australia’s top-selling mid-size car for almost a quarter of a century,” he said. But that could be about to change with SUVs now proving more popular with buyers than passenger cars, and many fleet buyers moving to smaller vehicles and away from ‘big’ passenger cars.

Buyers will be able to choose from a hybrid drivetrain, V6 and a four-cylinder petrol unit. The latest Toyota Hybrid System combines an all-new 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder D-4S direct-injection petrol engine with lighter, smaller and more efficient hybrid components. Normal, Eco and Sport driving modes can be engaged even in electric-only (EV) operation. Hybrid system combined output is 155kW. A 3.5-litre V6 engine (221kW at 6600rpm and 356Nm of torque at 4700rpm) will also be available with D-4S direct injection, paired with a new eight-speed direct-shift automatic transmission.

Camry’s styling features a “dynamic silhouette with deeply sculpted character lines, an extended roofline and a longer, wider stance with lower bonnet and roof lines that reflect the car’s lower centre of gravity”. Interior space has been maintained by lowering the occupants’ hip points and therefore seating positions; Toyota said that boot space in the hybrid variant has been improved by relocating the batteries from boot to underneath the back seat.

Question: The new Camry reads like it’ll be the best one ever, but is it too little too late for Toyota with the world moving towards SUVs?