The 2025 Toyota Camry Does Exactly What It Needs To

One does not typically look to a new Toyota Camry for revolution. Toyota perfected its mid-size sedan formula decades ago, and each successive generation has been an iterative improvement on the last. But this new, ninth-generation Camry brings with it a quiet revolution—it’s going hybrid only. 

That’s a big deal for a car that, even in today’s age of SUV dominance, moves around 300,000 units per year in the US alone. Right now, hybrids make up about 20 percent of Camry sales, a little under 60,000 of the 290,000 sold here last year. That figure is about to go up by 230,000 cars or so.  

Toyota had us out to San Diego to drive the 2025 Camry alongside a handful of other new models. Our time with the new sedan was limited, but a couple hours on mountain roads near the border town of Tecate, and around town in San Diego, gave us a good first impression. Put simply, the new Camry is exactly what it needs to be. 

Like the new Prius, the Camry gets a version of Toyota’s fifth-generation hybrid system (THS 5), though it swaps the 2.0-liter four-cylinder for a reworked version of the old car’s 2.5-liter. The ‘four, which runs a super high compression ratio of 14.0:1, makes 184 horsepower and 163 pound-feet of torque on its own. Combined with THS’s two motor-generator units, total system output rises to 225 hp. The all-wheel drive Camry adds an additional electric motor for the rear wheels, which brings total output to 232 hp. 

Otherwise, the new Camry isn’t radically different from its predecessor. It uses the same platform, shod with new bodywork, and a reworked interior with Toyota’s freshest infotainment system. All of Toyota’s latest driver assists come standard—as it should be—plus a tweaked chassis and braking system. Outside of the powertrain, there’s no revolution, and that’s a good thing. 

Mark DeJongh, chief engineer for the Camry said his team's motto was “sedan to the core.” They know what a Camry is and should be, and they saw it as their job to improve what already worked so well. They nailed the brief. 

The new Camry is extremely refined, no matter the trim. DeJongh says one of the ideas with the powertrain calibration was to give a more EV-like feel to the