2019 Camry - any feedback from new owners?

[jumbojake]

Are there any 2019 owners out there yet?

I'm trying to decide between the new Lexus ES and new Camry ... anyone had a play with the new Camry yet?

[Devon Aygo]

Don't think customer deliveries have started yet, demos are only just arriving in dealers atm

[Nick W858]

Have popped into my local dealer twice over the past week or so, they have a Excel for demo and a Design in the showroom. I'm contemplating buying one to replace my Lexus LS400 which is now almost 21 years old - I have owned it for the past 16 years and I see the Camry as something I could buy now and use for work in the next two to three years before I retire and then keep running for hopefully as long as the LS has been going for. Not driven the demo yet but the interior was a nice place to be. Just thinking about if and when I go ahead, MOT on the LS due in three months time which could be a good time to make a decision to either go for the Camry then or keep the LS for another year and keep saving for the Camry. Have also looked at the Lexus ES but am fairly certain the Camry will be the one I go for.

[Gerg]

I haven't even sat in a new Camry yet, but it would be very interesting to now how it compares to the LS400.  I appreciate that the Lexus was selling into a different market, but the comparison of their transmission refinement (and everything else) would be intriguing.  It would be interesting to see how much the design and technology has bridged the gap (if at all) between the two classes.

[Nick W858]

 Thanks yes I too will be interested. I have been looking at a 2009 LS600h too which is obviously a lot cheaper and I have driven it and it’s lovely but I like the idea of something more modern accepting that dropping from 8 to 4 cylinders and to cvt will be different. Tech obviously a lot newer but I’m not mad about the tech anyway- I expect it will do double my current mpg and the way my work mileage works I will potentially be £300 pm better off - man maths at its finest! I don’t expect the drive to be as creamy smooth as the LS especially when pressing on but with the volume of traffic and speed cameras etc I don’t do expect to be pressing on very often. I will let you know how it compares when I have a test drive.

[Heidfirst]

HonestJohn seems to like it ...

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/toyota/toyota-camry-hybrid-2019-road-test/

[Nick W858]

Not surprised that HJ likes it to be honest - think the quote about appealing to those that don’t care what others think and want 400k mileage sits with me quite well- my LS400 is on nearly 300k and is not exactly something that impresses others which suits me just fine.

[LangstoneLayabout]

As an Avensis owner I've considered a move to the new Camry, only to find that my hair is still brushing the roof in the Design model I sat in a few weeks ago.

It certainly liiks like a nice car. I haven't yet driven one but have sat in the front of both models and they seem comfy and properly put together. I also lay claim to having been in one that is a taxi (Saudi Arabia). Nice car and has more poke than my 2017 Avensis auto.

My local Toyota dealer shares premises with the local Lexus dealer. The top spec of the ES (Takumi) is over GBP12,000 more expensive than the Camry. They are supposedly based on the same floor pan but the similarity ends there. If you love soft leather and loads of toys then the Lexus is for you but boy are you going to pay for it.

Me? I got a very good offer from Carwow for an E Class Merc so will be getting a new E200 (petrol) in December 2020 when I get home from Saudi assuming that a similar deal is still available. Meantime I'm sticking with the 2017 Avensis Design auto that my wife actually prefers to her BMW 2 series cabriolet...

[jumbojake]

Finally got a test driver yesterday, sadly only the Design version.. but was impressed by the build quality.  For me, it is between the Camry Excel and Lexus ES .... to be honest, not a lot in it.  

Interesting the dealer advised their target market is VW & Skoda, but they're taking customers from Lexus, which wasn't the plan !

There are some obviously differences...

Price ... about 20% when discounts taken into account... also only 4.9% on the Camry, but 5.9% on ES

Camry is quiet, but Lexus more so.. harder to notice the engine and road noise in the Lexus, but not sure if enough to make a difference to me decision.

The touch screen in the Toyota is much better than the awful mouse pad in the Lexus.. much easier to use... otherwise both seemed to have very similar controls.  

Some of the features worked better in the Lexus (lane departure was just a warning alarm in the Camry, but actively adjusted the steering in the ES.

Camry looked like a bigger boot, but possibly an optical illusion.

Leather seats in Camry are clearly lower grade, but were perfectly fine... I'd say similar to what you see in a BMW/Merc (Lexus is way ahead of the German brands in that respect)

Doors are equally massive on both ... this is my biggest worry...the car is very wide and not sure how it will work in a supermarket car park... never mind the reach to close the door...

 

overall very impressed ... need a long think about the price difference and small variation in quality.

 

[Hilltopcruiser]

Finally saw my first one on UK roads today on M25 heading towards Dartford. 

Looks nice, prefer the front especially. 

Was lower driving position to what I expected however, look forward to a test drive. 

[Nelsonbass]

Hi All

I'm a newbie to this forum but have a new Camry Excel - I had been looking for a new car and had considered a new RAV4, a Lexus ES and a Camry - our Lexus and Toyota dealers are about 200 yards apart so could compare the ES and Camry very easily - to my mind there was little difference between the two apart from a £10K price tag. So I have had it for around 10 days now and done about 1000 miles in it and I’m really pleased with it - mpg is averaging 48 tank to tank, and it’s a really nice drive. OK it’s no sports car  but it’s plenty quick enough and really puts you back in your seat when you accelerate and only starts to understeer at the extreme and will spin it’s wheels on lock due to the electric motor torque. The fit and finish are fantastic- OK there are some hard plastics but otherwise it’s as good as most and better than many for the price with excellent paint finish. The infotainment is not as poor as most reviewers pan it for - it links well with my iPhone and it’s a good sounding system and the DAB drops out far less than most other cars I’ve had. 
I would recommend it to anyone....

[Nelsonbass]

[LangstoneLayabout]

On 12/24/2019 at 9:56 PM, Nelsonbass said:

Hi All

I'm a newbie to this forum but have a new Camry Excel - I had been looking for a new car and had considered a new RAV4, a Lexus ES and a Camry - our Lexus and Toyota dealers are about 200 yards apart so could compare the ES and Camry very easily - to my mind there was little difference between the two apart from a £10K price tag. So I have had it for around 10 days now and done about 1000 miles in it and I’m really pleased with it - mpg is averaging 48 tank to tank, and it’s a really nice drive. OK it’s no sports car  but it’s plenty quick enough and really puts you back in your seat when you accelerate and only starts to understeer at the extreme and will spin it’s wheels on lock due to the electric motor torque. The fit and finish are fantastic- OK there are some hard plastics but otherwise it’s as good as most and better than many for the price with excellent paint finish. The infotainment is not as poor as most reviewers pan it for - it links well with my iPhone and it’s a good sounding system and the DAB drops out far less than most other cars I’ve had. 
I would recommend it to anyone....

I'm so pleased you've said that as I test drove and ordered an Excel just before Christmas. My 'top 3' were the Camry, the new Subaru Forester and the BMW 320i.

My missus wasn't so keen on the infotainment and preferred the one fitted to our Avensis but over all t seems like a decent car, more roomy then the Avensis and ours is even being built in Japan, so should be a good one. We went for the Excel at the behest of the missus as I would have been more than happy with the Design, but with the CarWow discount and paying extra for the white paint and protection pack it still worked out close to the Design list price.

Can't wait for it to arrive 🙂

[Nelsonbass]

Well I’ve had the Camry now for about 6 weeks and done 3000+ stress free miles - tank to tank mpg is close on 49 which given a 2.5L engine is beyond excellent-build quality still continues to impress as does the quietness of the drive. When in sport the get up and go is mighty impressive and will keep up with most hot hatches. It’s genuinely a great anonymous non German euro box!

[Rolando1]

What kind or driving are you doing (urban/motorway) to get 49 mpg?

 

Anyone else thinking of buying a Camry. I'll have to wait a bit before it drops to my budget around 18k

 

[Nelsonbass]

Hi All - I do a mixture of both urban, fast A and B roads and Motorway driving - so a good mix. For instance this week I did a trip to Bristol from the North Midlands and back which was nearly all M6/M5 at a fairly steady 70+ mph and it registered 50.2mpg - my fill ups tend to be around 1mpg less than the computer so still on the 49mpg region.....

[Jozef21]

I do, and I'm quite happy with mine one.