The best-selling car in the country? It’s very possible you have one, two, maybe even three Toyota Camrys lounging out there in front of your house.
Since 1983, 10.2 million Camrys have been sold. It is the best-selling car in America for a reason—though the reason is still unbeknownst to us.
The Camry exudes beige and boring like a badge. So, it should come as no surprise that the Camry has received an update for 2015 for the ever increasing competitive mid-sized car market.
At the 2014 New York auto show reveal, Bill Fay, Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager, said the Camry is the latest in an apparently long line of recent reveals that embraces the concept of “heart-racing excitement.”
That excitement looks like it is still pretty relaxed at the wheel in the new, 2015 Camry.
The exterior styling is of questionable character, but will offer LED low and high-beams for the first time, as well as LED DRLs down below.
[Ed’s Note: All Camry’s look a little less-than-stellar when first debuted. We’ll see how it looks over the years of Camry ubiquity nationwide=]
EXTERIOR
While Toyota is trying to zing up the young vote by trekking where Scion valiantly failed, the Camry has gone from a sensible family sedan to something that should have been left on the designers’ draft boards (do they even use draft boards anymore?).
Drafting ‘Screens’ is probably more like it…
The gaping grille has been reworked to look even more ridiculous. The slanted headlights look menacing, but the rest of the car is a smorgasbord of lines, creases, and designers desperately hoping to be on the FR-S team. The whole design language of mumbo jumbo is lost at the rear of the car.
The taillight design is reminiscent of the Avalon, which is a car that exudes subdued luxury, but looks out of place on the Camry. The oval exhaust pipes are the last attempt of presenting a sporty vehicle, but look haphazardly done.
INTERIOR
While the 2015 refresh has sportier styling, interior upgrades and performance upgrades like sportier suspension tuning and revisions to the electric power steering system to improve feel.
Toyota hopes to seize younger, more enthusiastic buyers by painting the Camry as a sporty offering, not unlike the Mazda 6 and Ford Fusion. Those cars are known for their engaging driving dynamics and feeling of up-level luxury and sportiness—as much as a family sedan can be.
POWERTRAIN
But the 2015 Camry is still a Camry—a car perceived to be best suited for long, sedate drives to the supermarket.
The engines are carryover, cautiously propelling the family sedan with either a 2.5- or 3.5-liter engine, or a magical hybrid powertrain. Six-speed automatics are standard, along with a CVT for the hybrid.
Expect to see the new Camry on dealership lots this fall, and in your driveway shortly after that.
Anthony Alaniz is a freelance writer and Michigan native living in Tecumseh. After three years at Car and Driver focusing on web production and video engagement management, he branched out to focus on establishing a writing career. Currently he writes for a number of outlets covering the automotive industry, business, technology and breaking news.
More Than Skin Deep: America’s Best-Selling Car Gets Even Better With a Sweeping Redesign for 2015
Toyota Camry rebuilt from the ground up with almost 2,000 new parts
New, sporty XSE and Hybrid SE grades amp up driving dynamics
Most upscale interior in segment with soft-touch materials throughout
Produced by over 7,000 American team members
April 16, 2014
NEW YORK (April 16, 2014) – So what do you do when you have the best-selling car in the industry for 12 straight years? You find ways to make it even better. That’s exactly what Toyota did with the introduction of the new 2015 Camry. After selling almost a million of the industry’s benchmark sedan since the current generation launched in 2011, Toyota stripped it down to its chassis and rebuilt it from the ground up, raising the bar yet again in the ultra-competitive mid-size sedan segment.
“Customers today love the durability, quality and value that the Camry represents, but they are looking for a little more style, comfort and performance, and this 2015 Camry has all of the above,” said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. “This is the new Camry, and it’s coming from the new Toyota.”
Toyota designers and engineers re-imagined nearly every exterior surface of the car. Only the roof remains unchanged. The new, upscale interior features premium, soft-touch materials throughout the spacious cabin. Advanced instrumentation with intuitive controls helps keep the driver’s eyes safely on the road ahead.
Underneath the striking new exterior, the chassis and body structure are bolstered with additional spot welds, enhancing rigidity for better ride quality. A retuned suspension takes the Camry’s handling to a whole new level of responsiveness.
Two new grades, the sporty and luxurious XSE and the eco-fun Hybrid SE, join the well-equipped entry LE and the premium XLE grade, giving customers more choice than ever before.
An Expressive and Athletic Exterior
The 2015 Camry’s exterior is more expressive and athletic with prominent character lines. The new car is slightly longer (1.8 inches or 45 mm) and features a widened track (0.4 inches or 10 mm) that communicates a dynamic stance and presence.
A pronounced body line starts from the Camry’s muscular front fender and spans across the doors and rear quarter panel, conveying a sense of motion. The completely revised, more aggressive front bumper cover features a wider more prominent trapezoidal grille shape, expressing a lower center of gravity.
The 2015 Camry will be available in 10 colors, including the new Celestial Silver Metallic and Ruby Flare Pearl.
New Lighting Shines with Form and Function
The new sleek headlamps complement the aggressive front fascia, while the front turn signal indicators and LED DRL’s are integrated for an elegant appearance.
The 2015 Camry will offer exterior lighting with available LED low and high-beams and auto static leveling. The Camry’s rear tail lamps sweep into the tapered sheet metal at the rear of the car. A decorative garnish connects the tail lamps across the trunk lid and emphasizes its new sporty stance.
A Modern, Refined Interior
The interior of the new Camry is more refined than ever with premium materials, roomier feel and improved amenities. The center stack features a high-tech, upscale look that smoothly integrates with the console.
Tom Burkart is the founder and managing editor of Car-Revs-Daily.com, an innovative and rapidly-expanding automotive news magazine.
He holds a Journalism JBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tom currently resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his two amazing dogs, Drake and Tank.
Mr. Burkart is available for all questions and concerns by email Tom(at)car-revs-daily.com.
