RSS Feed
Twitter
February 11th, 2010 
admin 
Toyota Camry hybrid at its Australian launch
The basic details of the Camry hybrid have been public since the car was introduced in 2006 in the USA, but there has been a lot of work on ‘Australianising’ the car, both for production and driving. “Right from day one we knew that the American version wasn’t going to work,” says Phil King, who headed local chassis tuning work.
The starting price for Australia’s first green car is $36,990. That’s the showroom tag for the basic Toyota Camry hybrid, which finally hits the road today. The hybrid is being pitched as the flagship in the Camry range, from the way it looks to a cabin that is claimed to set a new standard for quietness in a locally-made car.
The result is a car which is claimed to be more responsive, as well as packing a full suite of safety gear. But it still misses a five-star ANCAP rating because it does not have a driver’s knee airbag or an audible seatbelt warning.
Engine
The Camry hybrid picks up the vast majority of its mechanical package from the third-generation Prius, which went on sale last year, although it has a 2.4-litre engine (up from 1.8) and still has a drive belt for the water pump, unlike the Prius. In fact, the car is really just a family-ised Prius.
Fuel economy
The hybrid bottom line is fuel economy of 6 litres/100km, compared with 9.3 for the Holden Commodore V6 or 9.9 for Toyota’s own Aurion, with performance that trims a full second from the petrol-powered Camry’s 0-100km/h time. The CO2 number is 142 grams/kilometre, while Toyota claims a huge advantage in NOX and particulates over diesel powerplants with similar economy.
Price and equipment
The $36,990 pricetag compares to $29,990 for a basic Camry Altise, or $39,990 for a Prius hybrid. But Toyota Australia says the real cost of the hybrid upgrade is just $2000. The extra fat in the hybrid pricetags is down to extra equipment, from TFT instruments to a special windscreen.
Toyota Australia is trumpeting plenty of equipment in the hybrid, which it says lines up with the Altise-model Camry with six airbags, ESP stability control, active steering assistance and a special power cut-off. There is also a Luxury model at $39,990, with option packs for both models _ at $3000 for the base car and $4500 on the Luxury – including satnav and premium sound.
But the Camry’s boot has taken a hit to fit the onboard battery system. “This hybrid can walk, and chew gum,” says Peter Evans, technical chief for Toyota’s imported cars. Toyota made some very big claims for the Camry hybrid today, from a five-star green rating, to a four-star ANCAP, and the potential for 7000 kilometres of free motoring every year – compared to a Commodore.
Driving
The hybrid is still a Camry, but now with a twist. Even the best efforts of the team at Toyota Style have done little to change the overall look of the car, apart from a slightly more aggressive nose with blue headlamps. Inside, the big change is the loss of the tacho, in favour of a green driving monitor, and a TFT screen with familiar Prius driving readouts.
First up, the Camry hybrid has a silent start. And you move away under battery power, although the car will only go two kilometres before it needs a top-up. It feels a little firmer in the suspension, particularly over broken bitumen, and there is a familiar whirring sound under brakes as the generator works to recover energy for the batteries.
Overall, the car feels a lot quieter and a little tauter. But it’s a matter of degrees, not a wholesale change. And the loss of boot space will be significant for families, even if Toyota says it will still carry four sets of golf clubs.
TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID
Nuts & Bolts
Price: from $36,900
Engine: 2.4-litre in-line four cylinder
Power: 110kW @ 6000revs
Torque: 187Nm at 4400rpm
Transmission: Electronically controlled Continuously Variable Transmission (E-CVT)
Body: Four door sedan
Seats: Five
Dimensions: Length 4815mm, Width 1820mm, Height 1480mm, Wheelbase 2775mm, tracks front/rear 1575mm/1565mm
Steering: Rack and pinion, Electric Power Steering (EPS)
Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, L-arms, coil springs, gas dampers and ball jointed stabiliser bar; Independent dual link with coil springs, gas dampers and ball jointed stabiliser bar
Fuel tank: 65 litres
Fuel type: 91 RON or higher
Fuel consumption: 6.0/100km combined
Weight: 2110kg
Brakes: Electronically controlled brakes (ECB)
Wheels: 16 x 6.5J alloy
Tyres: 215/60 R16
Safety gear: rear-view camera, rear sonar parking sensors and six SRS airbags.
CO2 emissions: 142g/km (Combined system)
Posted in 
Tags: 
Thank you so much for this! I havent been this thrilled by a web site for any Lengthy time! Youve obtained it, what ever that means in blogging. HaHa. Youre absolutely somebody which has anything to say that men and women will need to hear. Maintain up the wonderful perform. Preserve on inspiring the men and women!
I usually don’t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful …
http://www.vampired.net/how-do-i-know-if-my-hermes-birkin-bag-is-a-fake-one.html
Needed some info on this for a school paper thanks for this.
I agree with some of your ideas, but some I have to dissagree with. Keep up the good work though.
Amazing, I found your site on google poking around for something completely unrelated- now I’m gonna need to go the old posts. Good bye free time today, but this was a really spectacular find.
Im going to tell you now, I believe im adding you to my favorite writers list. This is such a great post and really hit the nail on the head for me. Please continue. Your readers need you.
Hi observed your site by means of Youtube and it’s great!?! I’ll be coming rear for guaranteed.
This is a good blog. Keep up all the work. I too love blogging and expressing my opinions. Thanks
Wonderful blog! I really love how it’s easy on my eyes as well as the details are well written. I am wondering how I could be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which really should do the trick! Have a nice day!
I am not really sure why , The developer has a Feedback section where you can report bugs
One of the women who slept with Tiger Woods said he never talked about golf during sex. However, he did keep his head down and his left arm straight.
Sweet, that’s precisely what I was seeking for! You just spared me alot of looking around
Hiya, cool site, where did you come up with the info in this summary? Im relieved I found it though, I will be checking back soon to see what other blogs you have.
Great reviews! I am just starting out in community management/marketing media and trying to learn how to do it well – resources like this article are incredibly helpful. As our company is based in the US, it?s all a bit new to us. The example above is something that I worry about as well, how to show your own genuine enthusiasm and share the fact that your product is useful in that case.
Stuff on here is great, just wish it was a little more frequent. I’m like an addict coming every few hours to check if something new has been posted up. I need help, lol.
Hi, I apologize for requesting this query here, but I couldn’t find a contact form or something so I felt like I leave my request here. I run a blogengine blog but I am getting bigger amounts of spam. I see u use wordpress, is it painless to control spam with wordpress or doesn’t it make any difference? I hope you will respond to my comment or maybe send me an email with your answer if you don’t want to approve the comment. Best regards, Annie
I recently joined a creative community that supplies help and funding for aspiring film/video and transmedia artists. It’s at http://www.hukilau.us. You should check it out.
Definitely concur with what you stated. Your explanation was certainly the easiest to understand. I tell you, I generally get irked when folks discuss issues which they plainly don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail right on the head and explained out everything without having complication. Perhaps, individuals can take a signal. Will likely be back to get a lot more. Thanks
Just had to take the two seconds to post a thank you. Read through your website and really liked the content material, bookmarked and I plan on returning soon!