2023 Toyota Camry SE Hybrid Nightshade - Review by Mark Fulmer

Camry Continues its "Engine-uity"

Mark Fulmer
Executive Producer, Editor
THE AUTO CHANNEL

Toyota's Camry turns 40 next year and its "middle-aged" profile is that of a healthy and strong leader in the sedan universe. This years hybrid powerplant and enhanced Nightshade package will undoubtedly be quite popular. Even with its stylish black-trimmed headlights and tail lights the fan favorite element is the 19-inch matte bronze wheels that convey a kind of aggressive sophistication that sure got a good number of head nods and positive adjectives from a diverse group of drivers. Camry engineers continue to improve its quiet ride by using noise suppressing tech and insulation techniques normally only found on luxury cars. And the interior with its refined styling and soft-touch premium materials follow that same tune.

The front seats are as comfortable as they look and provide good visibility and ergonomics, with a useful blend of analog knobs, touchscreen buttons, and pretty intuitive voice recognition commands.
Front Head Room 38.3 in
Front Shoulder Room 57.7 in
Front Hip Room 55.4 in
Front Leg Room 42.1 in

No problems in the rear seats for the wanna-be basketball and volleyball players.s Second Head Room 37.6 in Second Shoulder Room 55.7 in Second Hip Room 54.6 in Second Leg Room 38 in

The trunk offers 15.1 cubic-feet of space.

The Camry and its Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+ system is once again a IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK and has numerous systems that include:
Dual Stage Driver And Passenger Front Airbags
Lane Departure Alert (LDA) w/Steering Assist
Lane Keeping Assist
Curtain 1st And 2nd Row Airbags
Lane Departure Alert (LDA) w/Steering Assist
Lane Departure Warning Lane Tracing Assist (LTA)
Dual Stage Driver And Passenger Seat-Mounted Side Airbags
Airbag Occupancy Sensor
Back-Up Camera
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
ABS And Driveline Traction Control
Side Impact Beams

The Camry Hybrid SE contains a pair of electric motors paired up with a four-cylinder engine for a combined 208 hp. Its electric power adds the low-end torque as well as smoothing shifts, and what with the battery living under the back seat, cornering is has increased steadiness.

So if "ingenuity" can be defined as "the quality of being clever, and inventive." Then why, you ask, would I write that the Camry has "Engine-uity?"

I'm glad you asked.

A few years ago that I was testing a new Camry, cruising down Interstate 5 when I happened to glance down to see the speedometer reading 70 miles per hour. Then glanced at the tach which read just under 2000 rpm. That raised my eyebrows a bit, and nodding my head I thought, "Well, that's a clever engine..."

Fast forward to last week testing the new Camry Hybrid, and I'm seeing the same stats - and in addition seeing that the Camry's real-time fuel consumption was north of 45 miles per gallon.

That what I call engine-uity. (and you're welcome, Toyota, for a nice little phrase for your Marketing folks)