First Drive: The 2025 Toyota Camry Is Ruthlessly Competent

Competency across the automotive industry is at an all-time high. Fast cars have never been faster. Efficienct cars have never been more efficient. Trucks have never been truck-ier. And SUVs have never been more utilitarian. Mission briefs have been iterated and focused-grouped to an exacting endpoint, and consumers are the better for it.

Despite that relative excellence across the board, a few nameplates have simply been doing "great" for longer. Within the midsize sedan segment, that descriptor may best be applied to the Toyota Camry.

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Long the poster child for quiet, competent transportation, the Camry has never sparked the driving fanatic in us the way, say, the Mazda 6 did. Former editor-at-large Sam Smith described the previous, eighth-generation Camry as "beige excellence," a damning accolade, but also, the more you thought about it, a noble one, too.

Toyota's stalwart sedan, the king of its domain, is now in its ninth generation. Headlining the generation is a new drivetrain layout, the fifth-generation Toyota Hybrid System (THS 5) that will power all Camrys-the first time we've seen this model go entirely hybrid. Though it rides on the same TNGA-K platform as its predecessor, the Camry now sports new exterior and interior styling plus a host of tuning tweaks, some of which we'll delve into later.

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Specs: 2025 Toyota Camry XLE AWD

• Price: $36,020/$40,780 (Base/As-Tested)
• Powertrain: Hybrid 2.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine with three electric motors (two in the front, one on the rear axle)
• Combined Output: 232 hp
• Layout: All-wheel-drive, four-door, five-passenger sedan
• EPA Fuel Economy: 46 mpg city, 46 mpg highway, 46 mpg combined
• Competitors: Honda Accord Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

Toyota has simplified the trim lineup for the new car, now offering LE, SE, XLE, and XSE variants. While in San Diego to sample an array of Toyota products, we got to wheel the XLE and XSE. The two models represent higher-spec versions of the Camry's core personalities-"luxury" with the XLE and "sport" with the XSE. The XLE rang the register for $40,780, while the XSE ran to $41,295.

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Toyota's decision to make every Camry a hybrid feels significant but smart. The automaker has nearly three decades of hybrid experience that it has been able to apply to this fifth-generation system, which pairs a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter inline-four with a CVT transmission and two electric motors up front to offer 225 horsepower to front-wheel-drive Camrys.

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All Camrys will now also offer all-wheel-drive as an option, instead of siloing the feature into certain drivetrains, as Toyota did in the outgoing version-one of the benefits of simplifying from three engines (four-cylinder, six-cylinder, four-cylinder hybrid) down to one.

In the new AWD models, instead of a mechanical connection between the front and rear wheels, the all-wheel-drive system uses an additional electric motor on the rear axle that kicks on when extra traction is needed. AWD Camrys also get a slight bump in power, up to 232 hp. (Note: The additional output doesn't come exclusively from that third electric motor; think of these hybrids as having a "pool of power" to draw from. The third motor, with the help of some technical tuning, makes the pool seven ponies larger.)

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Technical jargon aside, know this: When you force all buyers into a hybrid drivetrain, your engineers then have to make the system feel as natural as possible. Hand-offs between gasoline and electric motors must feel almost imperceptible, as must the juggling act of switching from coasting regeneration to braking regeneration to actual brake pad application.

Dancing through this complex web of parameters is tricky, and Toyota's engineers spent extra time on the feel of the braking system, adding an additional pump to the brake booster to help blur the line between regenerative braking and the natural feel of a pedal squeezing calipers. Though pedal feel is still a touch indirect, the handoff between regen and real squeeze is entirely invisible, something you can appreciate when crawling along in highway traffic on commutes.

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Juggling the tasks of charging the battery, powering the wheels, turning on and off, and all the in-betweens has, in the past, been a real pitfall of most hybrids-even those from Toyota. Now, unless you're searching for it, those switches happen almost entirely in the background. The four-cylinder and CVT pairing are still raspy when you boot it, but even that noise is more subdued than it used to be.

A little bit of music bumping through the XLE's optional nine-speaker JBL audio system (part of a $4760 package that also netted a head-up display, vented front seats, a panoramic glass roof, and more) drowns any engine drone out entirely.

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At which point you'll reach the Camry's zenith. This side of $80,000, no vehicle commutes as effortlessly. The quiet, remarkably efficient hybrid drivetrain returns between 44 and 51 mpg, depending on your configuration. The Camry XSE AWD, the least efficient model (44 mpg combined), manages to match the combined mpg rating of the 2024 Accord Hybrid Touring, even though the latter is front-wheel-drive only. The acoustic-laminated windshield and front-row windows seal out enough of the outside world's dull roar to make drives feel additive, not diminishing.

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The cabin now features redesigned, more comfortable front seats as well as a new trim design that, on the XLE, makes use of a textured knit material that Toyota calls "Dinamica." Its application on the dashboard and door cards provides a premium feel, although it still falls a touch short of the Accord's living quarters.

Although the Accord Hybrid is nearly an inch wider than the Camry, the latter still feels like it makes better use of its space. The past two generations of Camry, in particular, have felt wide from behind the wheel, but in a good way. This new one continues that trend. Second-row seating is as lavish as in the front row, which is great considering the likelihood that many new Camrys end up as taxis or Ubers.

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For those Camrys not destined for the ride-share realm, the XSE grade might entice a few buyers with its more athletic presence. The XSE gets unique color-matched mesh for its lower front fascia, as well as a lower "splitter" and rear bumper treatment. It also gets a racy red leather interior, which I'd bet will be this car's most divisive feature.

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The athleticism extends beyond the skin, too. The Camry SE and XSE also get unique suspension tuning with a larger front roll bar and unique dampers for better handling. We threw an XSE AWD around some winding roads just north of the Mexico border and found the car to be rather playful, if you're willing to wrestle with it. For the 40 future Camry XSE owners who attempt to hustle their car, rejoice: It's more fun than expected.

But sticking within the Camry's core competency feels like the better move, which is why the Camry XLE gets our nod. The surprisingly fun interior (which still features plenty of buttons and knobs!) paired with a driving experience that asks nothing of you, even over several hundred miles, was a reminder of why this nameplate remains top of the pile, even if it is a shrinking one.

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As I was preparing to write this review, I talked with executive editor Eric Weiner, who had recently spent time in the Accord Hybrid. We were comparing notes when he hit me with this line: "The Camry just sort of does everything well."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

2025 Toyota Camry XLE AWD

Price: $36,020/$40,780 (Base/As-Tested)

Highs: Jack of most trades, master of mile-munching. Nearly imperceptible hybrid drivetrain, as it should be. "Fun" and "interior" are not words we'd normally pair for a Camry, but the new one embraces the combination.

Lows: Free-breathing four-cylinder can still be drony if you're listening hard. Your loud friend will probably knock you for buying something "boring."

Summary: Sometimes it's fine to let your sensible side win. The Camry won't let you down, kind of ever. This new one takes a great foundation and builds upon it to make something even better.

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