Toyota Camry Hybrid 2022 review: Ascent

There’s something super reliable about the Camry exterior. It looks like it always has, so instantly makes you feel at home.

There’s nothing flash or fancy about it, but it speaks volumes about the nature of the car and instantly makes you feel comfortable. 

There’s nothing flash or fancy about the Camry.

The interior has been redesigned with the multimedia screen now set into the dash, and a one-sided curved border around the centre console area that makes the Camry feel fresh and modern.

The multimedia screen is set into the dash now.

Being the base model it has fabric seats that are smooth and comfortable, and it has a lot of man-made plastic-y bits around dash and doors that makes it feel quite basic. 

The great thing about the Camry is the interior space. There’s lots of room in the front seats with all the legroom that comes with the joy of a sedan shape, and you can lounge in the front seats.

There’s also a good amount of space in between driver and front passenger, so it feels airy. 

There’s lots of room in the front.

The rear is spacious also. My kids fit in easily, they’re aged eight and 10, with enough legroom they could only just kick the seat in front of them.

I’m also comfortable in the back seat at 161cm with plenty of leg space, and taller adults and teenagers will have the wiggle room to sit straight without cramping knees.

The rear is spacious also.

You’ll be able to get three child seats in the back though it will depend on your child seats of course, I did it with two boosters and a baby capsule.

There’s not a lot of room for that but they do fit better than small SUVs for example. 

The Camry gives you 524L of boot space.

I’m always surprised by how much boot space sedans have and the Camry is no exception. The boot is large! Yes it’s flat and long rather than high but it gives you 524L of space which is comparable to a lot of mid-size SUVs.

Again, being a sedan you’ll have to bend down to get things out rather than have the height of an SUV. 

Boot space is comparable to a lot of mid-size SUVs.

Here’s the lovely bit about the new Camry. It's a hybrid. So while it still feels like a regular Toyota, and looks like a regular Toyota, you have the joy of a silent start (I had to remind myself the car was on), and it cruises along beautifully using the electric motor at low speeds. 

The Camry cruises along beautifully using the electric motor at low speeds. 

Toyota has a long hybrid history, and they’ve nailed it with this car. The electric motor to petrol engine transition is seamless, and there’s a lot of power behind it still for those used to the old V6 engine.

With a 2.5L hybrid you’ll still get up hills quickly and zoom along highways. The handling is good and the car feels solid. 

Toyota has a long hybrid history, and they’ve nailed it with this car.

Parking is also good in a sedan, while it’s a long car as long as you have the space for it, it’s light to manoeuvre with a steering wheel that turns easily and a good reverse parking camera. 

With a 2.5L hybrid you’ll still get up hills quickly and zoom along highways.

The new Camry has introduced a lot more advanced safety even to this base model, with auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist and lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control. For blind spot monitoring you’ll have to go up a level.

It comes with airbags that cover driver and front passenger and side curtain airbags that cover both rows. You’ll get two ISOFIX points and three top tether points across the back seat for kids car seats. 

Toyota have introduced a lot more advanced safety even to this base model.

The Toyota Camry Ascent Hybrid costs $33,490, before on road costs and extras. The official combined fuel consumption figure is 4.7L/100km - a big plus when you think it costs an extra $3K upfront but how much you’d save in fuel over the years.

The official combined fuel consumption figure is 4.7L/100km.

I averaged 5.2L/100km doing a mix of suburban and highway driving over the seven days. 

It’s covered by Toyota’s five year/unlimited km warranty, and services are required every 12 months or 15,000km, with capped price servicing meaning the annual service cost for the first five years is $220.