I have never seen the Camry sportier than it is now. It looks like it swapped souls with the Accord with its low profile and sleek looks without giving up the stuff that made it one of the elite executive sedans in the local market.
Let us start with the exterior, highlighted by a very aggressive front, which is unusual for the Camry, but not entirely out of place in this eighth-generation body. The striated hood stands out because of its muscular surface and the way it contrasts with the slim ‘Keen Look’ nose with the blue Toyota logo in the middle, which signifies this is a hybrid electric vehicle. At the bottom is the much larger part of the grille, framed on either side by chrome border accents.
There is a soft kink by the bottom edges of the daylight openings complementing the sharp character line and the smooth surface by the rocker panel to make the sides look sexier.
The rear gets the same blue badge below the lip spoiler on the top of the hood and the hybrid badge at the bottom, just above the shapely rear bumper.
It has full-LED lighting (automatic headlamps, daytime running lamps, fog lamps, rear combination lamps with black accents), a moon roof, 18-inch alloy wheels, and more strategically-placed chrome accents around the body.
In my opinion, there is nothing to fix with this body. It looks good from all angles and is dripping with appeal. Because of the unpredictable hump sizes (and shapes) in this country, maybe it needs a bit more than 140 mm ground clearance, but that will take away from its sportiness, so on second thought, hard pass.
Toyotas were some of the very first vehicles to use smart keys. Have it on you, reach for the handle, and before you even touch it, the locks pop open. I love the ease-of-use factor.
Even without touching it, I could tell it had padded tops. It had leather upholstery in most parts, but even the plastics were of good quality. The cockpit layout is as snazzy as the body. I especially like the curvy silver accents that frame the center stack on either side, the piano-black surface, and even the minimal faux wood trim.
Even with its lower center of gravity, Toyota learned from its sports cars and helped make its highly (power) adjustable leather seat feel much better and more importantly, comfortable. The backrest was firm and had a lumbar cushion, while the seat base had great thigh support to reduce leg weariness.
For VIPs sitting in the second-row seats, expect a power-recline feature, a couple of USB ports, air vents, power controls to adjust the passenger seat (on the backrest's side), and second-row window manual sunshades. As this is Toyota’s top-of-the-line sedan, I wish these sunshades had power controls like the rear window. The center dropdown armrest has cupholders and touch controls for the A/C, infotainment system, and other amenities.
While there is no shortage of premium materials in the cabin and comfort is extremely high (high NVH suppression), I find the nine-inch touchscreen monitor old. A newer, more vivid, edge-to-edge display would be better. At least it has Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth audio streaming, and a nine-speaker JBL system. It also has a wireless charger, but I wish for a wider pad because braking will shift it out of place, which stops the charging.
Getting used to the quiet hybrid setup has a drawback. Everything sounds loud — even the 2.5-liter engine sounds noisy when it is more silent than most. It kicks in when the battery loses charge and at higher throttle input (during overtaking maneuvers and when I picked up the pace). Max system output is 211-PS and 221-Nm of torque. Drive goes to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission. Fuel consumption is an impressive 22.4 km/l in mixed driving conditions.
Acceleration is steady while it runs on batteries but gets incredibly exhilarating when the engine kicks in, even in Eco Mode. I did not bother switching to Normal or Sport as I know both heighten throttle response to make the drive sportier.
The instrument panel has vivid dials, but its best feature is the seven-inch TFT configurable display. But as good as it is, a heads-up display lets me check the speed without taking my eyes off the road, so I stay under the limit, which is easier said than done in this Camry.
Handling feels easy on the arms but not too light to lose driver engagement. Plus, it feels stable around corners because the batteries (under the rear seats) keep the vehicle stable during turns.
Toyota Safety Sense is probably one of the most discreet safety suites on the market. It has Pre-Collision System, Automatic High Beam, Lane Tracing Assist, Lane Departure Alert, and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, but its alerts barely break driver concentration and are exceptionally subtle.
There are a few things it could improve on, but in its current form, even if the Accord was still here, I would give the P2.417 million 2022 Toyota Camry 2.5 V HEV the crown for sportiest (and most efficient) mass-market executive sedan in the market.