The 2025 Toyota Camry enters as the ninth generation of the midsize car that has been a best seller most of its life. For 2025, the Camry gets completely remodeled and becomes a hybrid by default.
Most of the things that have kept the Camry a favorite are still there. It gets high fuel economy, is easy and intuitive to drive, and it rides comfortably with a nice (but not too nice) interior. New for the 2025 Camry is wireless smartphone connectivity as standard and a host of driver assist and advanced safety systems.
The biggest change to the 2025 Camry is in its powertrain. Gone is the “Hybrid” model designation, since all Camrys are now hybrids, and gone is the V6 engine option. Instead, a similarly-powerful four-cylinder hybrid setup is the default.
That four-cylinder engine and electric motor combination outputs 225 horsepower in front-wheel drive. That’s the default setup. Adding all-wheel drive adds another electric motor and boosts HP to 232. Those are the powertrain choices for the 2025 Camry thus far. Given the chassis design of this new Camry, however, a plug-in hybrid may be coming as well.
Our chief complaints with the new Camry reside in seat comfort and headroom. The new Camry has good, but not great seating up front and the adjustability seems a little limited. Especially for the big and tall. At 6-feet and 3 inches in height, I had a tough time getting enough headroom up front. And it was impossible in the back seats. This is an issue I’ve had with recent Toyota car designs for several years now.
The Camry is otherwise an excellent sedan. It’s a little loud when accelerating hard to get up an onramp, but that’s not unusual for smaller displacement vehicles of this size. Most of its small SUV rivals have the same issue as well.
Where the Camry really shines is in its well-balanced drive feel and easy absorption of bumps and jangles. This is a smooth-riding sedan with a great hand feel for the driver.
Fuel economy is also a high point in the 2025 Toyota Camry. Toyota says it’s capable of over 50 mpg in mixed driving. We saw an average of 46.7 mpg during our time with it and got about 48.5 mpg during our 42-mile highway loop test. Given the high altitude here (6,400 feet), it’s not unusual for non-turbo vehicles to see a drop in MPG at highway speeds. That’s still better than any other non-electric midsize sedan we’ve driven.
As a daily and around town, the Camry is also very good. It’s surprisingly easy to get in and out of thanks to the wide-opening doors and abundant legroom. Trunk space is very good as well, fitting a week of groceries for a family of five without trouble.
The interior of the 2025 Camry has a nice feel that’s not too cheap and not too expensive. Quality materials and workmanship are apparent throughout. A new 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen is available in some Camry models and it features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto by default. It’s easy to operate and seamless in those connections. Very well done. Especially when the JBL sound system is in use. And if you get Toyota’s new Traffic Jam Assist feature, make sure to try it out. It can be a nerve saver.
With all of that, the all-new 2025 Camry does have some competition. The Kia K5 is an excellent rival worth considering as is the Tesla Model 3, which is more expensive, but very competitive.
The 2025 Toyota Camry is a strong contender in the midsize sedan market, though, and should still be a high seller.
This review originally published on DriveModeShow.com.
