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In the USA, the Toyota Camry has been the best-selling conventional passenger car every year since 1997, regularly topping 300,000 units. Toyota does about 1/300th of that in the UK but the appeal for that much smaller group of buyers is the same: generous equipment levels, an excellent reputation for reliability and dealer service, and a relaxed and uncomplicated drive.
After disappearing for a few years in the 2000s Toyota brought back the Camry in 2019, and it’s that car we’re concentrating on here. It’s not a car likely to impress the neighbours or make you grin on a country road but for a certain kind of buyer, it’s nearly perfect.
Assuming you’re not that certain kind of buyer, then Camry alternatives include the Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Insignia, Mazda 6, Volvo S60, and Volkswagen Passat, while if you want a similar drive but a little more luxury, the Lexus ES is basically a more premium version of the Camry.
Toyota has built its reputation on qualities like reliability and ease of operation, and the Toyota Camry is almost the figurehead for those qualities - and has been for several decades. Buyers in the United States absolutely love it, though maybe “love” is the wrong word for a car that attracts less admiration than it does respect.
UK buyers are a little more badge-obsessed and most will spend Camry money on something with less equipment (and probably less chance of making it through its next MOT without advisories) but with a flashier badge. A Camry is a hard sell when financing a BMW 3 Series or Mercedes C-Class is the same money or less, but that has never stopped a small band of buyers lining up at Toyota’s door.
To drive, the Camry does everything it needs to - it’s comfortable, surefooted, and relaxing, while the sole engine, a 2.5-litre hybrid (with no plug-in option) is smooth, brisk enough, and pretty quiet as long as you’re not accelerating flat out. There’s minimal road and wind noise and it’s near-silent at low speeds, in part thanks to regular electric running on the hybrid system.
The interior isn’t as sparkly as you’ll get in some premium models either but it’s logically laid out and generally pretty spacious - one reason Camry taxis aren’t uncommon. The boot’s a good size too. And of course, it should all last; Toyota’s reputation for reliability is among the best in the market, and when you do need to visit a dealer, they tend to be pretty helpful too.
You can get all this with even more luxury from a Lexus ES, which is a Camry under the skin, but mainstream used alternatives include the Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Insignia, Mazda 6, Volvo S60, and the Volkswagen Passat. All are quality products but we’d still bet on the Camry outlasting and out-relaxing them.
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With only one engine your choice has been made for you with the Camry, but it’s certainly no great hardship provided you’re more concerned by economy and silence than anything approaching a sporty drive.
You have a little more choice on the used market when it comes to trim levels, with the Camry’s Design and Excel trims. Excel looks a little fancier - just about approaching its Lexus ES counterpart - and cost very little extra when new, so quite a few used models appear to be in this trim. While the Design has pretty much everything you’d need in a car like this (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aside), there’s no reason not to get the Excel if the used price gap is similarly small.
Both trim levels are very well equipped, reflecting the priorities of Toyota Camry buyers: you could get a more prestigious badge for similar money, but few cars with quite as much kit. There were very few options either when the car was new - simply a choice of subdued colours (Galatic Blue was the most vivid), and basic accessories like floor mats, boot mats and bumper protection plates for the boot.
The Toyota Camry’s dimensions are:
The Toyota Camry’s boot size is:
Sold since 2019 and with original list prices comfortably under £40,000, taxing the Toyota Camry is very simple: being a hybrid you’ll pay the government’s flat rate for alternative fuel vehicles, which is currently £170 per year.
Similar equipment levels and the same engine mean whether you go for the Design or Excel, there’s not a lot of difference in terms of insurance costs. Design models fall into group 32 and the Excel sits in group 33 - about the same as a BMW 3 Series of equivalent cost.
Read our full Toyota Camry review
