2025 Toyota Camry First Drive Review: The Best ‘Boring’ Car Keeps Getting Better

If someone were to make a video game about boring cars, the Toyota Camry would be the final boss. For over 40 years, the Camry has been a staple among those who just want An Car and the 2025 Toyota Camry isn’t trying to change that. It’s not a sports car, a luxury car, nor a mom or dad car—that honor is reserved for minivans and crossovers. The prefix that best applies to the Camry is “normal” if you prefer to be nice, or “boring” if you want to be, well, less nice. 

But the Camry is also one of the best-selling cars in its segment, and it was one of the last sedans to outsell SUVs and pickups before truck fever struck in the U.S. When someone just wants a normal car for normal things, like commuting to work or shuttling a family around, the Camry is a good go-to. That’s still true today, and now that the 2025 Camry is hybrid-only and delivers a more refined driving experience, maybe it’s time to drop the “boring” prefix altogether. The new Camry is simply a good car, maybe even a fun one.  

The outgoing Camry was split into different lineups depending on drivetrain. There was the 2024 Toyota Camry and the 2024 Toyota Camry Hybrid. That gas-only model came with either a 301-horsepower V6 or a 2.5-liter four-cylinder while the Hybrid took the latter and added an electric motor. 

Starting at $34,495, this new 2025 Camry drops the Hybrid suffix because, well, they’re all hybrids. Now, the only available drivetrain is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired to an electric motor that makes a total of 225 hp on front-wheel-drive models. Output increases to 232 hp for all-wheel-drive cars courtesy of an electric motor in the rear axle, which provides on-demand power when more traction is required. AWD is available on all trims for an extra $1,525, even the base model.

And, yes, speed racers, the V6 is gone and so is the TRD trim. But, again, the Camry is not a sports car and was never meant to be one. What the ninth-gen Toyota Camry is, though, is redesigned. Underneath the new sheet metal, however, the latest Camry rides on the same TNGA-K platform as its predecessor. You can see traces of the old model in this new one, but the front end has changed quite a bit,