A car made for economical and comfortable transportation largely succeeds, but it hasn't got a clue what fun means.
2025 Toyota Camry XSE review by The Road Beat
Words and pictures: Mitchell Weitzman
In some ways, the new Camry fulfills its mission to easily be the best Camry ever. If you're a Toyota loyalist, due to the tremendous trust and dependability they've built with customers through the years, you will simply melt and swoon over the new Camry. For all others, this is just another Camry, meaning an accomplished and viable form of transportation that does so without soul in a myriad of blandness. For the misfortune of the 2025 Camry, I reside firmly in the latter category, as I actually yearn for any kind of semblance of fun in my vehicles, but I at least can appreciate what the Camry can do well. And boy do those attributes come at a heightened price.
This is an all-new redesign for the 2025 model year, replacing the existing version that has been on sale since its MY2018 release date. After seven years, that most recent generation of Camry now floods US motorways, signaling strong sales success. To create the new 2025 Camry, Toyota has thrown on a new face and butt, but have curiously kept the middle 2/3rd of the sheet metal exactly the same. The resulting look is one that appears to be two different cars given how Toyota has implemented its new sharp design language at the extremities, but kept the round and comparatively fat middle region. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for me, this is a lazy overhaul that lacks harmony throughout the body. Some models also have this strange and garish mesh lower front fascia that doesn't work very well on bright colors I've seen (it barely gets a pass here).
Inside I'm more optimistic, with a general lift in overall quality in just about every quadrant your eye passes over. Worth mentioning is the presence of the XSE badge on the rear, signifying this to be the top-tier of new Camry offerings and in turn also the nicest Camry ever. Space is accommodating in the front and rear, and the seats are comfortable, too. The leather-wrapped steering wheel feels good in the hand, and the center display screen is large and easy to use. Overall, this is a decent place to be for a Camry, and it's consistent in that there are no obvious weak points, but rather a consistent 'good.' Not great, and certainly not as luxurious as competitors like the refreshed Hyundai Sonata when it comes to materials, but good. However, the steering wheel controls are a complete mess and overdone with excessive buttons, and I also particularly don't like the shiny lower controls on it that smudge from your fingers. The digital gauge cluster is the usual mess of cluttered Toyotaness and with unintuitive means of customizing anything. And despite the tick up in outright cabin quality over previous Camrys, it is just a bit boring still, with not standout design elements that are worth talking about. You might think, "what about that venetian blind-like trim piece on the dashboard?" Yes, there is a piece of trim that charges some visual command, but not in the good way, looking out of place from another car.
Lots of safety systems are present, as well as the kind of desirable standard equipment all motorists would expect now in 2024 and beyond. Yet, this new Toyota also receives their horrid 'PDA,' that is, an active driving assistant that behaves like radar cruise control, but it's on all the time even if you're not on cruise control. If you're on a downhill stretch of road, even a country road, and the Camry thinks you're following someone too close, it will apply the brakes needlessly, so much so to the point where it had me adding throttle to override it, which seems way more dangerous than helpful. Luckily, you can turn this abysmal feature off through the complicated and overcrowded steering wheel buttons (but curiously, not through the settings on the main display).
Mechanically, every new Camry is now a hybrid, which is the correct move by Toyota. Power increases to 225 horsepower for front-wheel drive models and 232 for all-wheel drive versions. The gains are immediately noticeable and appreciated, giving the Camry some desperately needed spunk when you hit the go pedal. What is perhaps more important to me, though, is the updated engine's newfound refinement. Toyota four-bangers are notorious for their rough and crude sound, mimicking a garbage disposal at times, but this 2.5L four-cylinder plays in the background quite nicely, and when it does make its presence known, it both feels and sounds smoother and not like an auditory hernia. To keep score, this new Camry now needs seven seconds flat to reach 60 MPH from rest, aligning itself right with the Prius in terms of acceleration. But if you remember the outgoing V6 model this XSE replaces, that is a full second slower to 60 MPH.
While the window sticker shows an impressive 47 MPG combined for this XSE, that number is a far cry from reality, with the XSE delivering a still-terrific 39 MPG during our week together of gentle, daily driving, but that is a significant shortfall from those promised claims. In reality, the newest hybrids from Toyota all seem to return worse mileage than their immediate forebears from just only a couple years ago, but the relative and lively upticks in performance are welcome enough to be worth the tradeoff.
Concerning actual driving, a department where typical Camry drivers would overlook, the Camry is competently complacent. Don't take that as a total dismissal, because the Camry is a fine form of transportation, just one without any kind of earnest. The steering is medically deceased, without an ounce of life nor pulse to be felt, which discourages quick and enthusiastic driving, but the front wheels at least respond accurately to inputs. Ride quality is good, however, remaining comfortable enough for occupants over a variety of road surfaces, and there's little in the form of disruptive wind nor road noise. It's just that when you aim the Camry's nose for some corners, you'll find there's no appetite for apexes to be found here, lacking precision and composure when you attempt to yank and bank. Handling doesn't outwardly deteriorate to understeer until some speed is had, owing some thanks to the grip of modern tires, but the Camry is never happy doing so, preferring a leisurely trot to running. A signal of this lack of finesse can be felt during hard transitions, where the Camry will not change direction as immediately as competitors and you can tell how much weight loads up on the outside corner after the fact. Now, if you're thinking, "who cares," I'm sorry, but both Honda's Accord and the aging Mazda6 each deliver the driving goods through unexpected prowess when it comes to handling. Toyota is uninterested in such aptitude, but that's likely okay for most, if not all, of their drivers and customers.
Is the new 2025 Camry an improvement? Yes, yes it is. I don't care much for how it looks nor how it drives, but it does its job of economical and comfortable transportation quite well. Toyota knows its customers, and if this is what they want, then fine. Be happy. Yet, I don't think anybody can be happy once they see the price tags of some of these new Camrys, with this range-topping XSE model coming at a whopping $42,195; That is a lot for a Camry. If you're the type that doesn't settle, I would easily look at alternatives that more fun to drive, or come with a more enticing and luxurious interior. Refreshed, but not revitalized, the new Camry is still bland, but it's at least a better bland.
2025 Toyota Camry XSE
Price as-tested: $42,195
Pros: Typically impressive hybrid fuel economy; Improved interior
Cons: Mismatched exterior; Expensive; Lacks dynamic verve
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