2025 Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry used to be available with either a standard four cylinder engine or a V6 engine or a four cylinder-hybrid combination.

Now it’s only available with the hybrid combination.

There are pros – and cons – that attend this winnowing of choices down to just the one.

Including just that.

What It Is

The Camry is Toyota’s very popular mid-sized family sedan.

At one time, it was one of the best-selling vehicles on the market (along with its main rival, the Honda Accord sedan). But sales of sedans have been slipping, chiefly because of the popularity of crossovers that have more room for people’s things in a comparably sized vehicle – and because crossovers ride higher off the ground, which people seem to like (and which makes them better able to handle snow on the road).

Also,  because vehicles – as a class – have gotten so expensive that many families can only afford one and it must be versatile and roomy enough to meet everyone’s  needs.

Toyota hopes to recover some of the Camry’s former popularity by making it extremely economical to drive.

The new, hybrid-only Camry rates 53 MPG in city driving and 50 on the highway – and a city driving range of 689 miles on just 13 gallons of gas. For most drivers, that means needing to stop for gas as infrequently as once every two weeks – and for all drivers, it means being able to drive across most states without having to stop once.

Except  maybe to pee.

On the other hand, the hybrid-only Camry does cost more to buy – $28,400 for the base LE trim vs. $26,420 for last year’s non-hybrid/four-cylinder-powered Camry LE. That difference in price – just shy of $2,000 – will of course be made up for in gas savings over the course of two or three years, after which you’ll actually be saving money.

And you’ll get the benefit of driving range that’s unmatched by anything else you can buy right now, which is worth the time you’ll save not having to refuel nearly as often.

In addition to the base LE, the 2025 Camry hybrid is also available in SE ($30,700), XLE ($33,400) and top-of-the-line XSE ($34,600) trims.

The Camry’s primary rival is the Honda Accord, which is still available without a hybrid drivetrain.

What’s New For 2025

The main change for the new model year is that the Camry is now hybrid-only (as opposed to hybrid available).

The exterior and interior have received styling updates as well.

What’s Good

Exceptional mileage equals lower driving costs.

Extremely long range.

Hybrid Accord costs much more ($33,655) is much less powerful and doesn’t go as far on a gallon of gas.

What’s Not So Good

Hybrid Camry costs about $2,000 more to buy.

Hybrid drivetrain is more complex, which means more potential failure points over time.

Hybrid layout is the only “choice” available.

Under The Hood

Previously, the Camry was available with your choice of three different powertrains, as described above. It is now only available with the same hybrid drivetrain, which consists of a 2.5 liter gas engine, a battery pack and electric motors to help the gas engine propel the car. A CVT automatic replaces the previously standard eight speed (geared) automatic.

Your only option is whether to select front-wheel-drive (standard) or the optional all-wheel-drive system.

The front-drive iteration – which has two electric motors – produces a total output of 225 horsepower. The AWD iteration – which has an additional electric motor to drive the rear wheels – bumps that up slightly to 232 horsepower. This roughly splits the difference between the output of the previously available 2.5 liter engine by itself – which produced 203 horsepower – and the previously available 3.5 liter V6, which produced 301 horsepower.

There’s another difference, of course.

The new hybrid-only Camry can travel 53 miles (in city driving) on a gallon of gas and 50 miles on the highway. This is much farther than the previously available Camry with just the 2.5 liter engine could travel on a gallon (28 city, 39 highway) and nearly twice as far as the previously available V6-powered Camry could travel (22 city, 33 highway).

The new hybrid-only Camry’s range is also tremendous.

It can go 689 miles in city (stop-and-go) driving and 650 highway miles. This is even more impressive when you take into account that it can go that far on just 13 gallons – which is how much gas the hybrid Camry’s tank holds.

As a point of comparison, the previously available Camry with just the 2.5 liter engine carried 16 gallons – three more than the hybrid – yet could only travel 442 miles (in city driving) on a full tank. Its highway driving range – 616 miles – was closer to the Camry hybrid’s because hybrids aren’t at their most efficient on the highway. Because on the highway, a hybrid’s gas engine is always running whereas in stop-and-go city driving, the gas engine is regularly cycled off and during those times it burns no gas at all.

The hybrid Camry’s mileage and range are also higher (and more) than the hybrid Accord’s. The latter can travel 51 miles in city driving and 44 on the highway. It is also much less powerful (204 horsepower) and much more expensive (as per above).

On the other hand, it is available without the hybrid set-up, if you prefer a simpler set-up and thereby eliminate the potential failure points that might cost you money down the road.

One other thing ought to be said – or rather, explained – about the hybrid-only Camry is the why?

Why did Toyota decide to make the Camry hybrid-only rather than hybrid-available, as before? The reason why is CAFE – Corporate Average Fuel Economy. This refers to the federal government’s regulatory requirement that every vehicle manufacturer’s roster of models average at least so-many miles-per-gallon. Those that do not rise to the standard incur fines  – for “guzzling” gas – and these costs are simply transferred to the buyer in the form of higher sticker prices (and not just for the “guzzling” model but generally, because the costs are spread out over the entire roster of models).

Well, the CAFE standard is about to go up to – guess what – nearly 50 MPG. And the only way to make that cut is to hybridize pretty much everything.

Which is why you’re seeing hybrid pretty much everything.

On The Road

The hybrid Camry does a good job of being both economical to drive and not slow to drive. Mainly because it has as much power (believe it or not) as an early 1980s Corvette. A little more, actually – as Corvettes of that era only had about 190-210 horsepower even though they were V8 powered (and did not travel 50 miles on a gallon of gas).

Floor the pedal and the Camry hybrid can hustle to 60 in about 6.8 seconds. This is not as quick as the previously available V6-powered Camry, which was very quick; it could get to 60 in about 5 seconds. That was quicker than pretty much every V8-powered muscle car of the ’60s and ’70s.

But it is a far cry from slow.

And you can go. And go. And keep on going. With the capability to go nearly 700 miles in city driving before it needs a fill-up, the Camry hybrid might only need to be filled up once every couple of weeks. Even on the highway, 650 miles is a long way in between stops for gas. More than likely, you will need to stop – to pee – long before you need to stop for gas.

As you can in almost any new car, there are driver-selectable modes that tailor engine/transmission behavior to suit your preferences – and in addition to that there is also an “EV” mode that you can select to operate the Camry hybrid on battery power alone – assuming the battery has enough charge. That will depend on how you drive. If you hot-shoe it, the battery’s charge will likely not be enough to power the car by itself – in which case the display will let you know that “EV” mode is not available.

If, on the other hand, you drive with a light right foot, the regenerative braking system will likely recover enough charge to allow “EV” mode if you want to drive – for short distances and at low speeds – with the gas engine off. This hybrid is not a plug-in hybrid, so you can’t charge it externally.

It has to be driven to be charged.

Probably,  a plug-in version is on deck for 2026. It will probably cost more but what you’ll get for the money is a hybrid that can be driven at normal road speeds for probably 30 or so miles on battery power alone – if you plugged it in beforehand and fully charged the battery.

At The Curb

The Camry hybrid’s face is a little different – and it’s a little longer now (193.5 inches) than it was before (192.1 inches) and it’s only about 140 pounds heavier than it was before – 3.450 lbs. vs. 3,310 lbs. for last year’s four cylinder-only (non-hybrid) Camry.

The italics are added to emphasize something impressive. Despite the additional drivetrain elements – the hybrid’s battery and multiple electric motors – the weight difference vs. last year isn’t nearly as  much as you’d expect it to be. In fact, it’s about the same as last year’s Camry with just the 2.5 liter four and the optional AWD system weighed (3,425 lbs.) without the additional drivetrain elements and less than last year’s Camry with the optional V6. The latter weighed 3,595 lbs. – or about 170 lbs. more than the ’25 Camry hybrid does.

It also weighs less than its main rival, the Honda Accord hybrid – which weighs 3,477 lbs.

The car’s new face – which is the main cosmetic change vs. last year – is  (ironically) sportier-looking than previously. Ironically – because the V6 isn’t available anymore. The headlights are mounted higher up and farther back and there are more pronounced pleats and slashes than before. Inside, there’s a digital main gauge cluster – even in the base LE trim  – and in the SE you have the option to select a 12.3  inch secondary LCD touchscreen for the infotainment system.

This larger unit is standard in the XLE and top-of-the-line XSE trims.

The car is available with features and equipment you used to have to step up to a Lexus to get, such as a Heads Up Display (HUD), a panorama sunroof and a nine speaker JBL premium audio system. XLE and XSE trims also come standard with acoustic laminated glass to muffle the sound of the outside, ambient interior lighting, heated leather seats and a heated steering wheel.

The SE and XSE also get firmer suspension tuning than the other trims, which have a slightly softer ride.

As before, the ’25 Camry is a comfortable and roomy car, with a good sized (15.1 cubic foot) trunk that is large enough to make this a fine family car.

It’s just a shame that it’s no longer the sleeper car it was with the previously available V6.

The Rest

The Camry hybrid’s mileage varies depending on the trim. The base LE with front-wheel drive and 16 inch wheels is the one you want if you want to get 50-plus MPG out of a gallon of gas. The top-of-the-lie XSE with all-wheel-drive (and larger 19 inch wheels that increase rolling resistance) sacrifices mileage for looks and sharper steering feel and more traction on slippery roads.

It is only rated to deliver 44 MPG in city driving and 43 on the highway.

Regardless of trim, every ’25 Camry comes standard with a roster of “driver assistance” tech that includes an eye-movement monitor (built into the steering column) that triggers irritating beeps if the system thinks you’re not looking straight ahead – as well as  more  beeps from a cross-traffic detection system and a system that applies the brakes in anticipation of curves. Some of these can be turned off – or partially off – but some are always on.

The Bottom Line

Great gas mileage comes at a cost – measured in terms of what you can’t get anymore as well as the extra you’re paying to get it.

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