Striking and spacious sedan: 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid SE

How times have changed!

When the Toyota Camry first appeared on these shores 40 years ago, there was no such thing as an SUV. The Camry went toe-to-toe with sedans from the domestic manufacturers – GM, Ford and Chrysler.

The 2025 Camry does not have much competition from that quarter. None of those giant companies sell a four-door family car (except for the Cadillac brand in GM’s portfolio)!

Actually, the field is pretty sparse with very few affordable four-door-sedans on the market aside from a few from Asia and a single entry from Germany.

There is, of course, a reason for this mass exodus. Everyone wants a crossover, a tall wagon-like conveyance, most with all-wheel-drive. More than 90% of them are based on a jacked-up, front-wheel-drive platform based on or shared with a car.

Toyota has refused to buckle under to that trend. It does offer a full slate of crossovers, but it continues to build cars for Toyota and Lexus. Not only build them, but drastically improve them with each generation.

The latest Camry is a perfect example of Toyota’s continuing dedication to and improvement of the sedan. In fact, it is almost perfect.

This striking and spacious sedan got a full redesign for 2025. It is bristling with new-age technology and the attendant benefits. And if consumers could tear their eyes away from that crossover, they would find the new Camry is an absolute bargain!

According to the Statistics Canada, the average price for a new vehicle in Canada as of February 2024 was $66,979. In March, the average used vehicle cost $38,451!

The sticker on the 2025 Camry in SE Upgrade trim, is $39,946 – including delivery. That’s no plain-Jane stripper, either.

That includes power windows, central locking, dual-zone automatic climate control, power sunroof, heated steering wheel and front seats, full-speed automatic cruise control, 18-inch alloy wheels, eight-way power adjustable driver seat, six-way manual passenger seat, tilt & telescope steering column and even a garage door opener.

You can charge your smart phone on the standard wireless charger.

Oh yes, the 2025 Toyota Camry also has all-wheel drive and astonishing fuel economy!

That’s because it boasts the 5th generation of Toyota’s vaunted hybrid system.

It was relatively easy to see less than 6.0 litres/100km on the road and about the same in the city.

Those are numbers very few full hybrid vehicles can attain. But when the Camry runs out of electricity, the 2.5-litre gas engine comes into play, and you can continue on your way for more than 900 kilometres before looking for a regular old gas station.

The icing on this cake is that the 2025 Camry has come in for a makeover. New duds inside and out. The exterior styling is decidedly current with plenty of sharp edges. A full-width swath between the ultra-narrow LED headlights dominates the front end. Inside there is a similar upscale feel more like Lexus than Camrys of the past.

This is 2025 and we have come to expect a full array of safety features. Even at this price, Toyota laid on the works.

The Camry gets the latest version of Toyota’s Safety Sense (TSS) suite – version 3.0. That includes emergency steering, lane tracing and road sign assist. The pre-collision system benefits from blind spot monitoring, and the rear cross traffic alert will prevent you from backing into an oncoming vehicle. It will alert you if it detects a pedestrian or cyclist in your path.

And let’s not forget – The Camry is a Toyota and therefore can be expected to last for decades.

OK, so it’s no sports car. Pushed hard into an off ramp or sweeping turn and understeer sets in quickly. But if handling is tops on your list, you are in the wrong space.

The fuel-sipping drivetrain will get you to 100 km/hr from rest in about eight seconds which is OK, certainly quicker than a lot of more expensive vehicles with this much people space. But none of them can match this fuel economy.

The engine sounds a bit coarse under sustained full throttle use, mostly because of the use of a continuously variable automatic transmission.

The Camry is all hybrid for 2025. The V6 engine is gone from the upper trim levels. Every new Camry gets a 2.5-litre four-cylinder paired with a hybrid system. The combined output on the entry-level front-drive model is 225 horsepower, up from 208 last year.

Opt for the all-wheel-drive version and the second electric motor added to power the rear wheels ups the ante to 232-horsepower, 22 more than last year.

The ride is smooth and composed, noise levels low and there is lots of room for five full-size adults, including headroom.

The trunk is smaller than you might expect from a car of this size, but that is because of the space required to house the hybrid’s battery pack.

The ninth generation Camry continues to offer exceptional quality, reliability and, in hybrid form, exceptional fuel economy. It also stands out in a car-per-dollar comparison.

FACTS & FIGURES – 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid SE Upgrade AWD

PRICE

Base: $37,950

As tested: $39,946 including freight

SAFETY

LED headlights with automatic high beams, lane tracing assist, road sign assist, full-speed automatic cruise control, pre-collision system, blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, auto-dimming rear view mirror

INFOTAINMENT

20-cm infotainment screen, Wireless charging, six-speaker audio system, satellite radio, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, five USB charging ports

STANDARD EQUIPMENT

Power sunroof, garage door opener, 18-in alloy wheels, heated front seats, eight-way power adjustable driver seat, six-way manual passenger seat, dual zone automatic climate control, heated steering wheel, tilt & telescope steering column

SIGNIFICANT OPTIONS

None

MECHANICAL

2.5-litre four-cylinder, hybrid synergy drive, 88-kW motor, 1.04 kW lithium-ion battery, 232 horsepower, 163 lb.-ft. of torque, regular fuel, continuously variable transmission, all-wheel-drive. NRCan rating (litres/100km city/highway): 5.3/5.5

DIMENSIONS

Length, 4,895 mm; wheelbase, 2,825 mm; weight, 1,609 kg

COMPETITION

Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy