2025 Toyota Camry First Look: Electrified Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata Hunter
This made-in-America midsizer goes all-in on hybrids to better take on Honda's Accord.
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The wraps have come off of the new ninth-generation 2025 Toyota Camry hybrid sedan. Designed and assembled in the U.S., this midsize sedan is heavily revised with more power and fresh looks to better suit America's sportier sedan tastes. This new Camry is now hybrid-only, and for the first time offers optional all-wheel drive with that hybrid power—and on every trim level, no less. Adopting some of the familial looks of the recently-updated Toyota Prius hybrid, the new "hammerhead"-styled Camry also gets a similar angular daytime running light signature and more exterior trim differentiation, admittedly on what appears to be the same underlying body structure. Here's what to expect so far from this newest Camry, some 40 years after the original first went on sale for 1983.
Fifth-Generation Toyota Hybrid System (THS 5)
All four available trims of the new Camry will be available with the same two powertrains making two slightly different power outputs; every car gets a version of Toyota's updated fifth-generation hybrid powertrain setup using a 2.5-liter I-4 gas engine combined with two electric motors and a planetary type continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Front-wheel drive (FWD) Camrys are good for 225 horsepower, and the all-wheel-drive (AWD) setup is good for 232 hp—that power bump is owed to the third electric motor that exclusively drives the rear axle, providing on-demand AWD traction. (Toyota notes how this AWD Camry has 30 more hp than the outgoing AWD Camry, though it's worth remembering that the last-gen model only offered AWD with the entry-level non-hybrid 2.5-liter gas I-4.) Also unlike before, all-wheel drive is available on every trim level.
No Accord, hybrid or otherwise, offers AWD, and the Camry thoroughly beats its rival's hybrid output (204 ponies) either way, as well as thoroughly upgrading from the 208 hp made by last year's Camry Hybrid. We should also point out that the old Camry's available 301-hp 3.5-liter V-6 engine is no more, along with the base 2.5-liter non-hybrid four-cylinder engine that made between 202 and 206 hp depending on trim. That last engine's omission is something of a surprise—Honda relegates the previous-generation Accord's 1.5-liter turbo I-4 to the two cheapest new-generation Accord models, forcing buyers to grab the hybrid for the nicer trims, which make up the majority of the lineup.
The Accord's smoother hybrid powertrain clearly was a bogey for Toyota's engineers, who seem to have focused as much on THS 5's refinement as its power. To keep engine revs down, THS 5 is engineered to send more power supplied by a battery pack through the electric motors to improve acceleration feel and offer more immediate torque at lower speeds without spinning the engine up too much. (The current Camry Hybrid's powertrain can get somewhat growly under hard acceleration, as it relies more heavily on the gas engine for motivation—making the THS 5 revisions welcome.) Even though the newest Camry's platform carries over from the previous model, Toyota engineers informedMotorTrendthat the entire rear cradle of the chassis has been reengineered to move the fuel tank (with no impact on capacity) to make room for the optional new rear e-motor on AWD versions. Those AWD variants are tuned to deliver on-demand torque distribution between front and rear axles to improve start-off acceleration, efficiency, surface stability, and corner handling.
Two Approaches to the Camry Hybrid
As before, Toyota divides the Camry lineup into two parallel pillars: The (relatively) sporty SE and higher-spec XSE or (relatively) traditional and luxurious LE and XLE variants. These are differentiated by their bumpers, wheels, and trim inside and out, with the LE and XLE getting horizontal grille slats (see the blue XLE above) and toned-down intakes and the SE and XSE (gray car above) wearing bigger intakes and a more mesh-like grille treatment. Here's a closer look at the LE, XLE, SE, and XSE trim levels:
2025 Toyota Camry LE
The starting trim is the LE, which comes with impressively small 16-inch wheels (with plenty of sidewall for a nicer ride, we wager), LED projector headlights with auto high beams, and the standard Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 suite including radar cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist, blind-spot monitoring, lane centering assist, road sign awareness, and proactive driving assist, which will automatically sometimes apply braking to manage distance from obstacles or while cornering.
Inside, there's a 7-inch digital gauge cluster in front of the driver, an 8-inch dashboard touchscreen compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, five USB ports and a wireless phone charging pad(!), dual-zone climate control, second-row air vents (take that, ventless Honda Accords!), a three-month Sirius radio trial, and "black and boulder" colored interior detailing that the company says was inspired by ocean waves. On all trims, the seats have been reengineered with longer cushions and recalibrated shape and density for improved comfort.
Optional upgrades available for this trim include a JBL nine-speaker setup, a 4G in-car WiFi network service, or Toyota's Drive Connect "service" that unlocks touch and voice activation to adjust climate, tune the radio, get directions, all by saying "Hey Toyota."
2025 Toyota Camry XLE
The XLE trim builds upon the LE with an upgrade to 18-inch black and machine-finished wheels, a dark grey front grille treatment, chrome window trim, premium LED headlights, and a different taillight treatment. Inside, it's the first Camry available with leather and Dinamica microfiber-trimmed seats offered in light grey or black, and the same material shows up in a quilted pattern on the doors and dashboard. The dashboard display is upgraded to a 12.3 inch unit, and there's an upgraded driver digital gauge cluster that's just as big now, and the trim adds ambient lighting, a heated steering wheel, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror with garage door opener, push-button start with smart key entry, and front acoustic laminated glass for improved interior noise levels.
The XLE is also available with additional options, including heated and powered front seats, driver's seat and mirror memory settings, a digital key through the mobile Toyota application, auto rain-sensing wipers, a 10-inch head-up display for the driver, and now there's a power tilt and slide panoramic roof option with a powered sunshade. There's also an available Premium Plus Package offering traffic jam assist, lane change assist, panoramic view monitor, and parking assist with auto braking.
2025 Toyota Camry SE
The 2025 SE trim also builds on the LE, but with a sportier approach. Both the SE and XSE get a specific sport-tuned (MacPherson strut front and multilink rear) suspension with supposedly enhanced responsiveness and better twisty road handling. The SE gets 18-inch black wheels, functional front bumper air ducts and canards, a black grille, a special rear diffuser with exposed double-exhaust poking out, a body-colored spoiler of sorts, and black exterior badging. Inside, the SE is reworked to feature SoftEx and cloth seating, a powered driver's seat, leather trimmed steering wheel with paddle shifters, aluminum sport pedals, but in the same black and boulder colorway as the LE, except the SE gets some additional white accents.
2025 Toyota Camry XSE
If you want a bit more of a well-packaged but sport-flavored Camry, you can upgrade to the XSE trim. It comes with black and smokey grey 19-inch wheels, functional air ducts and canards, a body-colored grille, black rear spoiler, black trunk garnish and badging, and a body-colored diffuser with exposed dual exhaust. The XSE is also the only available trim (so far, we'll see what a possible TRD or GR could look like) with an available dual-tone black-painted roof (which also was offered on the eighth-gen car). The XSE also gets the SE's sport-tuned suspension.
Inside, the XSE benefits from a mix of XLE and SE upgrades, including the same dual-12.3-inch interior display upgrade as the XLE, heated steering with paddle shifters like the SE, heated and powered front seats, laminated front glass, ambient lighting, etc. The key difference on this well-equipped trim is the black and cockpit red leather detailing featuring "shooting blade" patterned perforations on the seats and doors. There's also a black with blue lining interior option on the XSE, and you can get all the same optional additional upgrades that are available on the XLE, including the Premium Plus Pack, panoramic roof, digital key, etc.
2025 Toyota Camry On Sale Spring 2024
On launch, available paint options include two new colors: Ocean Gem and Heavy Metal. Those mix into a lineup of additional Ice Cap, Wind Chill Pearl, Celestial Silver Metallic, Underground, Midnight Black Metallic, Supersonic Red, and Reservoir Blue options. The available XSE two-tone look featuring the metallic black roofline can only be paired with the Ocean Gem, Wind Chill Pearl, Heavy Metal and Supersonic Red shades of paint, however.
This ninth-gen Camry now has more differentiation and available packaging than any model before it, surely with more options to come in the future, which should hopefully mean there's a broad price spectrum; pricing has yet to be announced (the outgoing 2024 model starts at $27,515). Just from the looks of things so far, even the base models will be stylish and well-equipped for everyday driving, while also offering more power and hopefully improved efficiency. The car is due to launch in spring of 2024.
Justin Westbrook eventually began writing about new cars in college after starting an obsessive action movie blog. That developed into a career covering news, reviews, motorsports, and a further obsession with car culture and the next-gen technology and design styles that are underway, transforming the automotive industry as we know it.
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