2025 Toyota Camry Review: A Little Electrification Goes A Long Way

Somewhere, in its two-plus decades of record sales, the Toyota Camry set the definition for what we expect of a mass-market sedan. With a relentless focus that arguably epitomizes the automaker's brand, the affordable four-door eschewed anything so gimmicky as "driving excitement" in favor of what Toyota believes drivers actually need, and will pay for.

Now, with the 2025 Camry, Toyota apparently believes that rarefied list includes a hybrid engine.

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Priced from $28,700 (plus $1,095 destination), the ninth-generation sedan pairs the platform — and much of the bodywork — of its predecessor with the "hammerhead" aesthetic we've seen on the latest Prius and Crown Signia. Left behind are the gas-only engines, including the old V6, and the annoying decision buyers used to have to make between hybrid or AWD.

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It's a good-looking sedan, with the new headlamp treatment working well here. As we've seen before, Toyota splits the trim-walk in two: LE and XLE a little more conservative; SE and XSE a little sportier. We're talking differentiation by small degree, here, mind. 16-inch wheels are standard on the cheapest trim, quickly swapped for 18- or 19-inch versions on more expensive models. The 15.1 cu-ft trunk is a decent size, and expands by dropping the split rear bench.

Toyota's decision to make the latest Camry hybrid-only was a significant one. This is, after all, the automaker's perennial volume-seller in the U.S. market. The almost 310,000 examples sold in 2024 — putting Camry only behind RAV4 for demand, and not far from matching the entirety of Lexus sales for the same period — left the sedan America's number one passenger car for its 23rd year.

That's a lot of people buying a car that now only comes in an electrified flavor. While you might argue that a full EV would be better for the environment, or even just a plug-in hybrid — both conspicuous by their absence in the Camry range — neither would work, yet, with the sedan's attainable price tag. Maybe equal in importance, they'd demand a behavioral change that Camry buyers perhaps aren't quite ready to embrace.

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"That's because Camry buyers think of their cars like just another appliance," the automotive enthusiast might sneer, but that's the point. Pushing people toward a more efficient appliance is no bad thing, when you compare the 25-32 mpg the old, gas-only versions were rated for, against the 44-51 mpg this 2025 line-up is capable of.

Key to the change is the fact that the 2025 Camry is great in this hybrid flavor. Both the front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions have a 2.5-liter inline-four gas engine combined with a front electric motor for a total of 225 horsepower, and a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The Camry AWD adds a rear electric motor — system horsepower bumps up to 232 hp — dedicated to driving the rear wheels.

These aren't sky-high power numbers (not that I think anybody really expects that from their Camry) but as is often the way with hybrids, it's how the grunt is delivered that makes the difference behind the wheel. The instantaneous shove from the paired electric motors — in the case of this XLE AWD trim — left the sedan feeling more than eager enough to satisfy. Urban driving is particularly successful, with just the right degree of directness in the steering along with a reasonably compliant suspension tune making the Toyota very easy to live with.

Push on — even in Sport mode — and you'll soon find that this is no sports sedan. Not, again, that anyone wants it to be. Things get louder, rather than faster; most of the time I was content to leave it in Normal mode. The same goes for the "EV Mode" button, which coaxes a little electric-only driving from the small Li-ion battery, just as long as you're miserly with your throttle application and aren't driving too fast.

The reality is that the 2025 Camry is best when left to its own devices, juggling gas and electric power as the sedan sees fit. The simplified gauges — either on a combination analog and 7-inch digital cluster on lower trims, or a 12.3-inch fully digital version on higher — break things down into Charge, Eco, or Power. Those who enjoy gamification might find themselves competing to push up their EV Driving Ratio number.

This 2025 Camry XLE AWD is rated for 46 mpg across the EPA's city, highway, and combined test cycles. That actually puts it near the low end for the current model: the LE AWD trim is rated for 50 mpg combined, and the FWD version for 51 mpg.

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My own, mixed driving — with little thought given to frugality — landed at 38 mpg. If I'd focused on being more efficient, I suspect 40+ miles per gallon would've been easy to achieve.

Inside, Toyota lifts what might at first glance be a fairly pedestrian cabin, with a combination of fun materials and a decent standard equipment list. Dual-zone climate control, a wireless phone charger and five USB ports (split front and rear, with a mixture of USB-A and USB-C), an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen running Toyota's solid latest software, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 including adaptive cruise control and lane-steering assistance are standard across the board.

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Higher trims include faux- or real leather seats, some with contrasting microfiber panels, and Toyota spreads these tactile materials across the dashboard and doors, too. 

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XSE and XLE trims have heated front seats and a heated steering wheel (optional on the SE); heated rear seats and ventilated front seats are available. They also upgrade the infotainment to a 12.3-inch screen, and make a 9-speaker JBL audio system optional as part of a $4,760 Premium Plus Package.

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That package also includes Traffic Jam Assist with lane-change assist, a 360-degree camera, 10-inch head-up display, panoramic glass roof, front and rear parking sensors with auto-brake for detected obstacles, and digital key support.

Altogether — with a handful of other options, like a dashcam, mudguards, and a $25 LED bulb for the trunk (no, really) — this particular Camry landed at $42,232 including destination. That's a fair leap over the regular XLE AWD's roughly $36k (including destination) before extras, and I can't help but think that it misses the budget point of the Camry in the process.

My money would go on the SE trim, from $32,095 with front-wheel drive, or $33,620 with all-wheel drive (both including destination). They're rated for 47 or 46 mpg combined, respectively, and while not as well-equipped as the XSE, still have their share of creature comforts.

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Whether for reasons of price, charging availability, driving needs, or general skepticism, not everyone is ready to go all-in on EVs. While I may wish Toyota had more fully electric models in its line-up, I also can't underestimate just how big a deal it is that the latest Camry makes hybrid the default. Just like Ford's capable hybrid F-150, the combination of a familiar, popular model with easy-to-live-with electrification may not ice out ICE altogether, but it could have a huge impact on gas consumption.