2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid Review and Release

The Toyota hybrid effort has long been dominated by the amazingly efficient Prius. As a dedicated hybrid, the platform has basked in the warm glow of headlines and celebrity love since the second-generation debuted in 2003. The plucky Atkinson hatch has easily overshadowed other Toyota hybrid efforts, including the

Camry Hybrid.

That's partly due to the fact that in the past, the hybridized sedan hasn't been anything to brag about. At over $6,000 more than the base four-cylinder model, the sixth-generation Camry Hybrid was capable of returning vastly improved in-city fuel economy, but just three more miles per gallon highway than the four-pot. As a result, buyers were left wondering why they should bother with the battery pack at all.

For 2012, the Japanese automaker has turned up the efficiency and the power in the seventh-generation Camry Hybrid, giving it the fuel economy credentials it needs to best its chief rival, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, while improving overall drivability, too. The 2012 Camry Hybrid can finally hold its head high at the Toyota dinner table.

Like the rest of the Camry line, the 2012 Camry Hybrid rides on an all-new platform, though its dimensions remain identical to the outgoing model. As a result, the vehicle looks fairly similar

to the outgoing model despite having 100 percent new sheetmetal outside. Unlike the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, The Camry Hybrid is nearly indistinguishable from its non-hybrid counterparts. The sedan doesn't rely on differentiated bodywork, fascias or side sills. Instead, the vehicle comes equipped with the same fresh nose as the standard LE and XLE models. Up front, that means a swept chrome grille with integrated headlights similar to what we've seen from the revised Toyota Highlander, as well as a somewhat jutting lower air inlet and trapezoidal chrome fog light bezels.

The engine isn't burdened by any accessory drive belts whatsoever thanks to an electronic air conditioning compressor, water pump and power steering pump. It's also mated to a hybrid transaxle with integrated motor and generator components for a seamless transition between internal combustion and electric power. Combined, the two are good for 200 horsepower while returning an estimated 43 miles per gallon in the city and 39 mpg on the highway.

If you're counting, that should average out to around 41 mpg combined in LE trim. The gearbox is also completely bereft of clutches, bands,

valves or hydraulics of any kind.

The 2012 Camry Hybrid even benefits from a redesigned battery pack. Toyota is continuing to stick with nickel-metal hydride cells for now, but the more compact design is over an inch shorter and two inches narrower compared to the last iteration. As a result, the pack's position was moved up 5.5 inches to provide more trunk space. That area has grown from 10.6 cubic feet in the 2011 to 13.1 cubic feet in the seventh-generation car, though total battery mass is still around 150 pounds. The system uses a new inverter as well with cooling tech borrowed from the Prius family.