2021 Toyota Camry Hybrid XSE Video Review: MotorTrend Buyer's Guide
The Prius people have applied their fuel sipping technology to their best selling sedan. But
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 This is the 2021 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid.
00:07 That's right, the Prius people have applied
00:11 their fuel-sipping technology
00:13 to their best-selling midsize family sedan.
00:16 But is a hybrid Camry any good?
00:20 Let's find out.
00:21 The Toyota Camry is an institution.
00:28 It has been on sale for longer
00:30 than many of you have been alive.
00:32 This is the fourth best-selling vehicle in America.
00:35 However, it's the number one selling car
00:38 and it has been for quite some time.
00:41 The Camry competes in one of the most mature
00:43 and cutthroat segments there is, midsize family sedans.
00:47 And it goes up against some real heavyweights,
00:50 the Honda Accord, the Nissan Altima,
00:52 the Kia K5, Hyundai Sonata, Subaru Legacy,
00:55 and yet it outsells each and every one of them.
00:59 The hybrid version is of course,
01:00 gonna give you great fuel economy,
01:03 but without all the baggage that comes
01:04 with something like a Prius.
01:06 Plus, you know, it looks like a sedan.
01:08 It has a big backseat, it has a trunk,
01:11 and the XSE trim level is here to spruce things up a bit.
01:14 It's gonna be a little bit sportier,
01:16 it's gonna have a nicer interior,
01:17 and supposed to look nicer on the outside.
01:20 There's no friendly way to say this,
01:24 but that face is a mess.
01:26 I mean, look how aggressive this is,
01:28 and for what reason?
01:29 So much going on, it never ends,
01:32 and then there's just some weird things,
01:34 like you know, the camera there,
01:35 it just looks like a zit right here.
01:38 These are fake, why are they here at all?
01:40 I just don't get it.
01:41 Then there's this line, which starts in the middle
01:44 of the gas cap, and then goes forward
01:47 and dies right under the word hybrid.
01:49 Like, why not carry a strong character line
01:52 all the way to the headlight?
01:53 It's just a lot going on,
01:54 and I don't think for very good reasons.
01:56 The wheels, which are part of the XSE package,
01:59 they do look quite premium and upscale, and that's good.
02:03 Coming out back, definitely the best angle of the Camry.
02:06 Has a little diffuser, it's got double tailpipes
02:08 on one side, looks kind of sporty.
02:10 Toyota is obsessed with this like, dripping mascara thing.
02:13 You see it on Lexus's too.
02:15 They stuck it right here, it's not needed.
02:17 But again, you know, rear notwithstanding,
02:20 there's a lot going on design-wise,
02:22 and I'm really not sure why.
02:24 The friendly way to say it, perhaps, is challenging.
02:27 I'm inside the Camry XSE, and you know,
02:32 just like the outside of the car,
02:33 there are some random lines over the inside.
02:36 Yet, for whatever reason, these work.
02:39 I think it's because there's a more organic quality to them,
02:42 but it really is interesting.
02:43 Like, just different, neat, I like it.
02:45 I wish there was other colors besides six or seven shades
02:50 of gray and then black, like a little bit of color
02:53 would just make the interior pop.
02:55 There are some cheaper materials in here,
02:57 like listen to this.
02:58 That's a pretty hard piece of plastic,
03:01 but it's not abnormal for the segment
03:03 or for the price point.
03:05 This, you know, it's supposed to be leather
03:06 'cause you get the XSE, I don't think
03:08 that's actually leather.
03:10 But you know, again, overall, it's a pretty nice design.
03:13 If there's one thing that really bothers me design-wise,
03:15 it's this, the screen.
03:17 It just looks like you took an iPad
03:19 and just kind of glued it right above the vents here.
03:22 It's a touchscreen, yet it has redundant buttons.
03:25 So I guess that's good for functionality,
03:27 but it's also kind of like, you know, pick one.
03:29 Everything's a touchscreen because of the iPad.
03:32 You know, it has one button.
03:33 This has 10.
03:34 It also has two knobs, I like that.
03:36 It has a volume knob and a separate tuning knob,
03:39 which is great.
03:40 Functionality-wise, it's the same old Toyota story, right?
03:43 It's dated, it would be very difficult
03:45 to like input an address, but they like it
03:47 because it never breaks.
03:48 As far as seating position goes, you know,
03:50 this is a large car, sure.
03:52 It's a mid-size family sedan,
03:54 but those are all huge at this point.
03:56 Seats are okay.
03:57 There's some bolstering for your lower back, which is good.
03:59 Not a lot of thigh support, but you know, not horrible.
04:02 The back seat is pretty good size on the Camry,
04:05 and it's the same story for the trunk.
04:07 It's big, but it's not bigger than anything else
04:09 or smaller than anything else in the segment.
04:12 Performance is not the reason you purchase
04:17 a hybrid Toyota Camry.
04:19 However, there is some good news,
04:21 which I'll get to as soon as I get through
04:22 the less than good news.
04:24 The powertrain is a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated
04:28 inline four cylinder engine,
04:30 coupled with an electric motor.
04:32 Together, they power only the front wheels,
04:34 and they do that through a CVT,
04:37 a continuously variable transmission,
04:39 which is typically seen as the enemy of driving performance.
04:43 The combined output is 208 horsepower.
04:47 Here's the good news.
04:48 Zero to 60 happens in 7.4 seconds.
04:52 And you might be saying to yourself,
04:54 that actually isn't that quick, to which I'll say, ah,
04:56 but a regular Camry takes 7.6 seconds.
04:59 So the hybrid is 0.2 seconds quicker.
05:02 Why are you buying the hybrid?
05:03 You're buying it for the fuel economy, and it's good.
05:06 44 miles per gallon around town,
05:08 47 miles per gallon on the highway.
05:11 That said, this is the XSE,
05:13 and because of these larger, heavier wheels
05:15 and different tires, the fuel economy is not as good
05:18 as a regular hybrid Camry.
05:20 The Toyota Camry is one of the safest cars you can buy.
05:26 Five star crash rating, and for 2021,
05:29 it is a top safety pick plus,
05:31 and it comes standard with so many automatic safety features,
05:34 such as adaptive cruise control and automatic high beams.
05:39 This particular Camry is highly optioned,
05:41 and it comes with something called
05:43 rear cross traffic braking.
05:45 What's that?
05:46 All right, you're backing up,
05:47 something's coming at you from over here.
05:49 The car will actually hit the brakes
05:51 and stop you from hitting this object.
05:53 How much?
05:56 All right, a hybrid Camry is a bit more than $2,000
06:00 over the price of a standard Camry.
06:02 So it's not a very expensive option.
06:04 The XSE hybrid starts at $33,715,
06:09 and I'm being so specific because that means it's $170 less
06:14 than the similarly equipped Honda Accord hybrid.
06:18 This particular one sitting next to me
06:19 has about every option box ticked,
06:22 and it costs a bit over $37,000.
06:25 So in terms of value,
06:27 a hybrid Camry is a pretty square deal.
06:30 If there's one thing I want you to know
06:34 about the 2021 Toyota Camry XSE hybrid,
06:38 it's that it is the sweet spot of the Camry range.
06:42 Even though it's a hybrid,
06:43 it doesn't look radically different than the regular car.
06:45 We know it's a little bit quicker.
06:47 We know the gas mileage is hugely improved,
06:50 and the price is pretty good.
06:52 That said, for another 170 bucks,
06:55 wouldn't you rather have the better looking,
06:58 better driving, bigger backseat,
07:00 just as efficient Honda Accord hybrid?
07:03 I would.
07:04 To see vehicle rankings and a complete buyer's guide,
07:08 please visit motortrend.com/cars.
07:12 (upbeat music)
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