Toyota Updates 2015 Camry, Sienna and Yaris - In Person Report From Steve Purdy +VIDEO

The Toyoda's Are keeping up with the Fords and the Hondas

By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Michigan Bureau

It aint’ easy keeping up with the competition in the automobile business. Even perennial leaders have to evolve to stay current. It seems such a short time since Toyota updated the Camry but I guess it’s been nearly three years, a typical time frame for a model refresh. We’re just back from sunny Florida where the Toyota folks showed us all the changes on the league-leading Camry sedan, Sienna van and the little Yaris subcompact.

Beginning with the commonalities, we note that all three basic platforms and their multiple powertrains are essentially unchanged with the exception that all the chassis get more spot welds throughout the substructure to add rigidness. The engineers explain that the extra stiffness allows upgrades to suspensions and makes the car feel more solid on the road. The other enhancement they all get is more sound insulation wherever it could be added. Camry gets both sound-deadening carpets and insulating “plugs” though out the inside of the doors where access holes exist to accommodate manufacturing procedures. Those holes are noise enhancers and must be mitigated.

2015 Toyota Camry

For 2015 Camry gets entirely restyled, inside and out. We’re told that every body panel, with the exception of the roof, is new. The grille and front fascia get the gaping look that reflects Toyota’s new styling language. That language is influenced by the latest Lexus designs but remains mostly distinct. Cutouts on either side of the front fascia offer a hint of high-end sports car design and they house LED DRLs. LED low and high beams are offered as an option. A more sculpted look with defined character lines along the side and on the hood provide more personality and distinction as do the larger, more complex taillights that imitate the Avalon. Overall, we give high marks to the new styling, though that is a subjective evaluation to be sure.

Inside everything seems simpler and more attractive with better materials. Even the base trim level gets softer, better quality materials and the top trim level gets details like faux-suede door panels and rich-looking shinny bits. We see lots of fashionable stitching in all levels and contrasting red stitching in the performance versions.

Camry’s powertrains are unchanged with the most popular 4-cylinder car dominating sales in most areas of the country. The 3.5-liter 6-cylinder provides considerably better acceleration than the four and even has a rich, throaty roar when pushed. Both powertrains do their jobs well with neither being a standout in terms of performance. Suspension is mostly unchanged as well with minor changes in anti-roll bars and the addition of upgraded brakes. After intensive customer research the decision makers at Toyota determined that style and design needed updating but function did not. Two new “sport” models are added to the pack, one with Hybrid and one with 6-cylinder powertrain.

We were able to drive all iterations of Camry, including the Hybrid, around the seaside roads south of Jacksonville. We immediately noticed the extra quietness and felt the upscale interior enhancements. Driving dynamics are unchanged and we felt no difference in the brakes. You can now get advanced driving enhancements like lane departure warning, pre-collision warning and adaptive cruise control for just a little bit extra. Toyota claims the Camry has now “the most premium interior in the segment.”

Prices range from the low $20,000 to the mid $30,000 range depending on trim level and options and the new Camry is just getting to dealers now.

2015 Toyota Sienna

Sienna represents the best in soccer-mom vans and it really needed little updating according to Toyota research. The outside of this third-generation van gets new grille and taillights in some trim levels and little else. Inside is where the news is made with an entirely new dash that stretches across the cabin with a simpler and more upscale look. From the gauge cluster to the HVAC controls, to the navigation and control screen, everything looks new and of better quality. A few new details are added, like a “knock-it-off-back-there” mirror built into the sunglasses holder on the headliner and a speaker in the back connected the microphone in the front that can carry the same message to the miscreants in the third row seats.

Sienna continues to be the only van in its class to offer all-wheel drive and it comes in 7- or 8-passenger configurations. It’s massive interior volume and cargo capacity matches the competition and it now can be had with advanced safety features like blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and all that other sensor-intense stuff. Sienna prices are also unchanged starting around 28 grand and going to just over 40 fully loaded.

Our drive in the Sienna revealed little we did not already know about its on-the-road behavior. In spite of its size it does not feel big; rather, it just feels car-like. The softer surfaces, better materials and attractive styling give us a more pleasant environment from which to schlep the kids and their stuff.

2015 Toyota Yaris

Perhaps most changed of the three is the European-designed, French-built, sub-compact Yaris that has evolved from a tepid-looking little rounded sedan to a spiffy-looking little sport-hatch (3- or 5-door) with wheels way out to the corners, expressive design details and a much more sporty character. A remarkably dramatic nose leads the way with a horizontal grille jutting into the headlights on either side and a pooched out Toyota emblem in the center. Yaris comes in three trim levels but all have the same powertrain (1.5-liter, 106-hp engine with either 5-speed manual transmission or 4-speed automatic), again, unchanged from last generation. Disc brakes all around appear for the first time on the sport model. Yaris is rated at an unimpressive 37 mpg on the highway and 30 in the city and starts at less than $15,000.

Among the many improvements for Yaris is one of the best front seats I’ve experienced recently. Even my unconscionably oversized torso fit comfortably into the well-bolstered, shapely seats, better than you might expect in a low-end car. Like its siblings Yaris also get a considerably nicer interior – no more cheap and tawdry for this little car.

We found the manual transmission car exceptionally fun to drive but with the automatic it seemed excessively buzzy. The automatic transmission downshifts readily and it revs to redline rather quickly but we had too little power to be impressive.

With both the Camry and Yaris sedans the Toyota product planners deserve kudos for resisting the pervasive trend in car design that encourages those coupe-like, low-roof designs (“squishy windows” as our publishers wife Bette calls it) that make it hard to get in and our without bumping your head or mussing your quaff. Even the subcompact Yaris was easy in-easy out.