Why the Camry SE Is the Best Value for Your Money

With a starting price of $31,795, the 2025 Camry SE costs $2,300 more than the Camry LE yet still delivers a ton of value. With its standard hybrid powertrain returning 48 mpg city, 47 mpg highway, and 47 mpg combined, it’s efficient, but that’s not all. Comforts and conveniences such as standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, and dual-zone climate control are shared with lesser LEs, but the SE adds those faux leather seats (power-adjustable driver’s perch), stylish 18-inch wheels and sportier body addenda, and that sport suspension for a sharper appearance and handling.

Looking at the hybridized midsize sedan competition, the 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid starts at $33,990 (though cheaper versions with gas-only power are available), while the 2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (again, nonhybrid Sonatas are cheaper) starts at $31,915. The Camry is alone in going all-hybrid, of course, and we’ll need to toss it into a proper comparison test with its rivals to see whether that bold choice pays off. For now, the Camry SE is actually enjoyable to drive and look at (a mold first broken by the previous Camry) and just so happens to be a satisfyingly powerful yet fuel-sipping hybrid, too. If you’d like that combination to be affordable, the SE is the way to go. Have more money to swing around? The XSE and XLE deliver similar goods with more equipment.

2025 Toyota Camry HEV SE Specifications
BASE PRICE	$31,795
PRICE AS TESTED	$34,500
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan
ENGINE	2.5L port- and direct-injected Atkinson-cycle DOHC 16-valve I-4, plus permanent-magnet electric motor
POWER (SAE NET)	184 hp @ 6,000 rpm (gas), 134 hp (elec), 225 hp (comb)
TORQUE (SAE NET)	163 lb-ft @ 5,200 rpm, (gas), 153 lb-ft (elec); NA (comb)
TRANSMISSION	Cont variable auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,529 lb (58/42%)
WHEELBASE	111.2 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	193.5 x 72.4 x 56.9 in
0-60 MPH	7.0 sec
QUARTER MILE	15.4 sec @ 94.0 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	125 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.85 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	27.0 sec @ 0.62 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	48/47/47 mpg (mfr est)
EPA RANGE, COMB	611 miles (est)
ON SALE	Now