2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE: Technology In A Mid-Size Sedan

[tuanies]

Toyota's Camry is America's best-selling mid-size vehicle. But it didn't get there by making any bold statements. We spent a week with a hybrid model to see if the car's technology could snap us awake from the boredom of an uninspired driving experience.

2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE: Technology In A Mid-Size Sedan : Read more

 

[blackmagnum]

Are we rivals to Car and Driver now?

 

[apache_lives]

but can it run crysis?

wait its a car on a computer related website my bad

 

[Guest]

Anyone got this and forgone the Display Audio with Navigation and Entune option and instead got an proper aftermarket nav system (not those portable ones)?

 

[alyoshka]

Shouldn't they save all that power wasted on the in car electronics and utilize it for the commuting purpose itself?

 

[Sakkura]

[citation][nom]alyoshka[/nom]Shouldn't they save all that power wasted on the in car electronics and utilize it for the commuting purpose itself?[/citation]
Small problem: Even if it's using 500W, that still only amounts to a little more than half a horsepower.

 

[lunyone]

Though, in this case, it's used to maximize has mileage.

I"m thinking it was "GAS" mileage
Under the "Hybrid Synergy Drive > Combining The Power" section.

 

[lunyone]

During our week with the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE, we found that aggressive driving from stoplight to stoplight was actually quite a big of fun

I'm also thinking it was "actually quite a bit of fun"??

 

[lunyone]

Sorry last comment was from the "The End Result" of the Hybrid Synergy Drive section.

 

[xsamitt]

Do I see a trend happening here?
I guess if this is the way things are going why not review some skidoos next time?
Word on the street they too also have advanced computers nowadays.
Hard core Computer world be gone,we've had enough of you apparently!!!

 

[cangelini]

[citation][nom]lunyone[/nom]I"m thinking it was "GAS" mileage Under the "Hybrid Synergy Drive > Combining The Power" section.[/citation]
Thanks, fixed!

 

[JeanLuc]

I really don't get hybrid cars, there expensive to buy, a nightmare to service and looking at those MPG stats you would be better of getting a diesel motor. Take the VW Golf 1.6 TDI Bluemotion for example, it will give 70 MPG, easier to service, costs less and its very unlikely you will have to replace the fuel tank after five years.

 

[dlux]

Apparently a bunch of you haven't read the very top of every page where it says "Tom's Hardware - The authority on tech" not "The authority on computer parts only and you will never read anything else on this site." This is a technology site and with cars gaining more and more tech inside of them it goes along with the territory.

 

[vaughn2k]

Its Cris Angelini's brand new car on review...

 

[Onus]

I may get a few thumbs down, but I come here to read about computers, not about cars. By all means review a "car PC" or similar system, or perhaps devices to interface with a car's computer, but I do believe overall automotive reviews are not the forte of this site.
I would suggest reaching out to an automotive site for some kind of cross-linking arrangement; I would prefer this site not lose its focus. Thanks.

 

[willyroc]

I liked the previous Camry design better.

 

[freggo]

"6.5 A per hour with a nominal voltage of 244.8 V"

6.5A/h ? WATT is that (pun intended) ?

Also 6.5A at about 244V is only 1.5KW or about 2HP.
Something does not add up here.

 

[greenrider02]

What's the point of a hybrid? If you want to save the environment, don't bother. If you want to save money, get a small turbodiesel. If you want to accomplish neither, get a hybrid.

A Humvee has to drive 100,000 miles before it makes up for the pollution created by manufacturing a hybrid engine. And that's offset by the environmental cost of making the Humvee already.

As for the environment, our cars and trucks are but a sliver of the pie compared to the contributions of coal-fired factories, mega-freighters, Navies, etc.

Either way, I wanted to express to Tom's that the more I see articles that aren't about hardware, the less I come to this site. This feels like a copout to try and get a few more clicks from readers outside your core, and it's really flimsy and transparent.

 

[cknobman]

[citation][nom]JeanLuc[/nom]I really don't get hybrid cars, there expensive to buy, a nightmare to service and looking at those MPG stats you would be better of getting a diesel motor. Take the VW Golf 1.6 TDI Bluemotion for example, it will give 70 MPG, easier to service, costs less and its very unlikely you will have to replace the fuel tank after five years.[/citation]

Well this car is sold in the UK not in the US for starters. 2nd the 74 mpg is in imperial gallons no US gallons. 3rd The UK site Auto Express test drive/review of the car says they only observed and actual mpg of 58 mpg (imperial) which is 48 mpg (US). 4th This car is not even close to the same class as the Camry.

You can compare this car to the Prius which it gets about equal real world mpg and since they dont sell the VW in the US then a hybrid like the Prius makes perfect sense in our market .

 

[bak0n]

Don't worry. I won't keep anything in this article in mind when I go and get my next motorcycle.

 

[tuanies]

Anyone got this and forgone the Display Audio with Navigation and Entune option and instead got an proper aftermarket nav system (not those portable ones)?

I haven't used an aftermarket navigation system since the Pioneer AVIC-F700/F500BT and back then the systems were clunky, unstable and ran Windows CE. I'm sure they're better now but the aftermarket navigation systems typically are the same hardware with updated software every year for a couple years.

I spent a couple hours with a Sony XAV-X60BT MirrorLink demo in a portable box a Sony rep brought over and found it quite impressive. MirrorLink will be awesome once there are more handsets support it. The UI looked cleaned and had quite a bit more functionality than the Toyota DA6. Its also about a quarter of the price, maybe 1/3 after installation hardware (steering wheel adapter).

MirrorLink has the potential to be great if phone manufacturers just grant access to GoogleMaps, iOS Maps or Nokia Drive via MirrorLink because no matter how good the maps are on a navigation system, it sucks if you have to pay $1-200 each year for "updated" maps vs Google, iOS or Nokia updating them regularly for free.

Do I see a trend happening here?
I guess if this is the way things are going why not review some skidoos next time?
Word on the street they too also have advanced computers nowadays.
Hard core Computer world be gone,we've had enough of you apparently!!!

If they want to put an infotainment system in a Jet Ski, I would evaluate it.

I really don't get hybrid cars, there expensive to buy, a nightmare to service and looking at those MPG stats you would be better of getting a diesel motor. Take the VW Golf 1.6 TDI Bluemotion for example, it will give 70 MPG, easier to service, costs less and its very unlikely you will have to replace the fuel tank after five years.

We don't get too many TDI's in the US, which sucks. I wish BMW offered the E39 530d touring in the US, want to ship me a complete drivetrain for a swap?

I liked the previous Camry design better.

The Camry in SE trim looks way better and more aggressive. However, compared to the Kia Optima and Ford Fusion, the styling is just too conservative.

"6.5 A per hour with a nominal voltage of 244.8 V"

6.5A/h ? WATT is that (pun intended) ?

Also 6.5A at about 244V is only 1.5KW or about 2HP.
Something does not add up here.

The battery pack delivers 6.5amps @ 244.8 volts of DC power. The motors run on AC and there's a voltage-boosting converter and inverter.

Don't worry. I won't keep anything in this article in mind when I go and get my next motorcycle.

2 wheels are fun but not so much fun in constantly raining or snowing states.

 

[pocketdrummer]

[citation][nom]tuanies[/nom]2 wheels are fun but not so much fun in constantly raining or snowing states.[/citation]

Hell, 2 wheel drive is fun, but not so much in constantly raining or snowing states. That's why I drive a Subaru WRX!

/Shameless plug ;-)

 

[pocketdrummer]

There seems to be quite a lot of whining going on about the direction Tom's Hardware is taking. As far as I'm concerned, they can do whatever they want with their website. We aren't paying them any money, so they have zero obligations to those who continue to tell them they're "doing it wrong".

When THW wrote an article about the LHC about to test fire, you didn't see ANY comments about how THW should be reviewing computer components. Just because a particular article doesn't appeal to YOU that doesn't mean it isn't TECHNOLOGY, which is exactly what THW is about. Please stop filling the forums with petty whining.

 

[tuanies]

Hell, 2 wheel drive is fun, but not so much in constantly raining or snowing states. That's why I drive a Subaru WRX!

/Shameless plug ;-)

What generation? I still want to pickup a Saab 9-2x Aero with the 2.5L and a manual one of these days.

We'll have an article involving Subaru soon enough

Here's a shameless preview

 

[Super_Nova]

[citation][nom]apache_lives[/nom]but can it run crysis?wait its a car on a computer related website my bad[/citation
Well, it can run over crysis.