Like 313,212 people did in 2010, we have just gone and bought ourselves a brand-new Toyota Camry. It's not just any Camry, mind you; it's a fully redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry. Maybe you've seen the commercials.
Although the Camry isn't exactly an enthusiast's dream, its status as the best-selling car in America means that a redesign is a big deal. And as if that pressure wasn't enough, Toyota is counting on the new sedan to pull it out of a rut that started with the old Camry's sudden acceleration problems. The earthquake in Japan last spring certainly didn't help, and then floods hit many of Toyota's suppliers in Thailand.
If ever Toyota needed the Camry to be a hit, now is the time.
What We Bought
There are four trim levels of the 2012 Toyota Camry. You've got your stripper model dubbed the "L," a nicely equipped midgrade LE, a loaded XLE and the sporty SE.
"The SE is far and away our favorite, with larger tires, 15 percent stiffer springs and 50 percent firmer dampers.... It's composed enough that we think it could serve as the base setup and no one would complain." That's what our director of vehicle testing, Dan Edmunds, said about the Camry the first time he drove it.
It's rare that Mr. Edmunds (no, he doesn't own the company) gives such high praise to the suspension setup of a high-volume family sedan. With that in mind, we figured the Camry SE was worth testing for the long haul.
And as much as we love the 3.5-liter V6 that's also available, it's no secret that the four-cylinder — capable of an EPA-estimated 25 city and 35 highway mpg — is the volume motor. It's also cheaper. Seemed like a better deal to us.
This particular car started life at $23,000 and came with the aforementioned inline-4 which makes 173 horsepower (thanks to its PZEV rating) and a six-speed automatic (with rev-matched downshifts). The SE model also includes 17-inch alloy wheels, sport-tuned EPS, sport-tuned suspension, SofTex-trimmed sport seats, 60/40-split rear folding seats, tilt-and-telescoping wheel, Bluetooth capability, 10 airbags, 6.1-inch touchscreen display and a six-speaker stereo.
But, as usual, we couldn't leave well enough alone. We really wanted to try out Toyota's new Entune system, which integrates smartphones and apps into a handy and hopefully safer-to-operate-while-driving package. To get that, though, we had to settle for a car that had more options than we initially wanted.
Entune is wrapped in the $1,050 "Display Audio with Navigation and Entune" package that includes HD radio with iTunes tagging, USB port with iPod connectivity and control, text-to-speech and navigation. Further, the car we found had the $1,195 Convenience package with a smart key on the front doors, trunk and start, and an integrated back-up camera. Finally, this one also had the $1,490 Leather package, a $915 sunroof, $130 for carpeted floor mats, a $49 cargo net and a $69 rear bumper appliqué.
Sticker price: $28,658.
Our guys who buy the cars are good, though. Real good. We paid $26,397 for our 2012 Toyota Camry SE, which is exactly invoice for the car. That's better.
Why We Bought It
So we know what we got, but how did we get to the decision to buy a Camry? Go back to the first paragraph of this story for an efficient answer to that. The 2012 Toyota Camry can't get by on name alone anymore. Toyota has been too tarnished in the media, and the competition from the Korean, German and American automakers these days is just too darn good.
Without the bulletproof shield of the Toyota logo, is this 2012 Camry good enough to compete in the highly competitive midsize sedan segment? Moreover, is it good enough to focus people's attention back on Toyota as a carmaker and not as a target of federal investigations?
We've got 12 months and 20,000 miles to see if this new car lives up to the Camry name. Follow along on our Long-Term Road Test Blog for daily updates on our long-term test fleet.
Current Odometer: 1,148
Best Fuel Economy: 30.1
Worst Fuel Economy: 23.0
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 28.5
Edmunds purchased this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Add A Comment »
drjjjj says:
04:16 PM, 02/27/2012
The 2012 is a home run folks-almost 200 horses yet corolla mileage, 10 air bags, quiet/smooth/reliable for $20K! While I was looking at all the cars in this category, noticed the Ford fusion and sliverdao are made in Mexico FYI! Buy American, buy the toyota!
alleycat10 says:
02:32 PM, 02/16/2012
I just bought a 2012 SE I4 in mid-December, having driven the 2012 LE I4 as well. The SE costs only about $500 more than the LE. For that, one gets a chrome exhaust tip, rear spoiler, a black grill instead of chrome, 17-inch alloy wheels, more comfortable bolstered front seats, a firmer ride and fog lights. I expect that the 2012 SE will outsell the 2011 by a good margin. We are very pleased with the car so far.
nutsaboutcars says:
12:00 PM, 01/03/2012
I would buy a camry anyday over the sonata and or optima becuase i cannot stand the noisy direct injected engines in the sonata and optima. Those cars at idle sound like cheap wind up toys and there ridw quality is to harsh with plenty of tire noise
leftlanedriv3 says:
09:30 AM, 12/25/2011
SHOULD have got the bigger wheels which are an option.... The car looks much better with them.
I always loved the camry. Simple and reliable and does everything well never fails at anything.
nissan_rocks says:
02:48 AM, 12/21/2011
I would not buy a car that looks this old already, I don't even know if they're on the road yet, can't tell the difference. Imagine how long in the tooth this will look in 2017 at the end of it's 5 year cycle.
makakio says:
02:24 PM, 12/13/2011
Well here's the upside to a hundred blog updates about the Camry: we'll get a little more detail than Consumer Reports provides. Other than that, might as well just read CR. I think they list their car reviews under the "Large Appliances" tab at their website.
eldaino2 says:
09:31 AM, 12/11/2011
wow. i really dig the interior on this car. the only thing that would keep me for opting for an se would be the le with some nice bbs that come as options. but that interior is tough to argue with. this is one of the places honda needs to catch up on. (they are capable of doing an 'se' style interior thats nice like they did with the 8th gen civic lx-s)
looking forward to reading about this car!
j2j says:
11:37 PM, 12/10/2011
"j2j
Your ignorance is only exceeded by your insolence
And it only makes my point for me
12% fleet is SMALL (Corolla). That's 1 out of 8 cars
25% fleet is BIG (Focus). That's 1 out of 4 cars
Corolla is not a big fleet vehicle
If you are over 20%, you are dependent on it (See domestics)
Toyota in general, is always around 12-13% fleet (Small %)
Thanks for showing off MY market knowledge
'Ppreciate that!"
********
@bdignorant
12% fleet for the Corolla is significantly ABOVE where Toyota used to be (tho not as bad as the nearly 18% fleet rate for the Camry last year).
A 12-13% fleet rate is HIGHER than the fleet rate for Hyundai right now, not to mention significantly higher than that for Honda - which is in the SINGLE digits.
Plus, why bring the Focus into the discussion when you were talking about sales of the Corolla compared to the Jetta? (How typical of you to CHANGE the issue when the FACTS aren't convenient. lol)
Another FACT - fleet rates for domestics are always significantly higher w/ a few exceptions.
Which manufacurers do you think have the highest fleet rates in Japan?
Which manufacurers do you think have the highest fleet rates in Germany?
One of the few exceptions is in Australia where about 3 out of every 4 Camry sold is fleet.
Also, the Corolla outsells the Focus by a pretty large margin, so in terms of actual nos. sold to fleet, it's a lot closer - 43K vs. 33K.
Another FACT - this has all been spelled out to you a no. of times, but then again, it's hardly surprising that you are incapable of learning, much less retaining any of it.
blackdynamite1 says:
07:15 PM, 12/10/2011
kirstie
Thank you for stomping out the trollage
Much obliged!
BD
bodyblue says:
09:30 AM, 12/10/2011
se_riously: Thanks for the info! It sounds like you got a great deal, good luck with it and keep telling us how it does.