2012 Camry Hybrid HL

[coolscan]

Good morning,

Purchased HL model last week. 380km highway run, with some roadworks, some traffic in towns along the way, driven like normal car and A/C running - 5.7 l/100km.

Seats are comfortable. Roomy, easy to get in and out. Overtaking acceleration is quite amazing. Ride is well controlled, but firmer than I'd like.

I'll post an update in 3 months or so.

Regards, Coolscan.

[coolscan]

Hi forum members,

I have now had my 2012 Camry Hybrid HL for almost 2 months, and done just over 4,000 km. The following are my impressions.

Overall appearance, fit and finish is generally good. The silver trim above the glovebox is a poor fit in my car, with a gap of nearly 2mm at the right hand end, where it has movement, and rattles. Temporary fix with a piece of card while awaiting new part.

Internally, seats are very comfortable and driving position good (subjective, I know). The speedo is central in the instruments, not off to one side as so often seems to be the case these days. The gauges are well lit – no trouble to read in all lights or with polaroids on. The glovebox is huge by modern standards. The A/C seems to be an excellent unit. Hopefully it will perform as well in high summer. I have had the windows tinted. There seems to be foam padding in the headlining which will help in summer. While car-hunting I put my hand under the headlining of a Korean vehicle with one of those panoramic roofs with the blind in place, and the heat was incredible. A Toyota in the same yard was much cooler.

I have no problem with the feel of the brakes. Power delivery seems smooth, and the overtaking urge is better than average, though the ICE can sound quite busy if really pushed.

The suspension handles the bigger bumps very well. Ultimately it is too firm on the smaller bumps for my liking, and I have taken to running the tyres at 33 psi, which helps a little. My previous car used the same size tyres, and 33 was the recommended pressure for it, so it should not be a problem tyre-wise. I suspect the H model with 60 profile Michelin Primacy LC’s instead of 55 profile Bridgestone Turanzas would be better.

The boot – I think it is adequate. Mrs. Coolscan says it’s “pathetic”. Can’t have everything.

Fuel consumption meets expectations. Tyre pressures as above, A/C 23deg C and always on. We live in a small village 45km from a largish regional city. A trip to town with 30km of to and fro driving while there, over a period of a few hours, then home typically results in an indicated 5.7 l/100km. On one homeward leg, when traffic kept my cruising speed below 100kph, I actually recorded 4.9 Because there are also quite a few short (1km) trips around the village, often with a cold engine, our overall average seems to be more like 6.1 l/100km. From a couple of fills that I checked, I suspect that 6.1 indicated is really about 6.3

I have been using Eco mode, and coasting a lot. Mrs. Coolscan doesn’t know Eco exists; she can start it, knows how to turn on the music, and has ascertained that the go and stop pedals are in the usual place. No further knowledge required. She brakes later than I do, yet records very similar results. I have also experimented with and without Eco, and am starting to wonder if the gain in consumption, if any, is worth not having full acceleration on tap at all times. The Eco switch should be on the steering wheel. I am not interested in setting fuel consumption records. I just want a comfortable car with good overtaking ability that is economical to run, as we average 30,000km per year. I am starting to think that the way to go is very gentle with the accelerator unless necessary, use cruise as often as possible, and let the car do the rest!

Sorry this is so long, but it may be of help or interest to some of you. I would love to hear the opinions and experiences of others.

Regards, Coolscan.

[clayton4115]

thanks, good review.

[pompom2012]

Getting mine next week. Nice to see the review like this....

Edited June 28, 2012 by pompom2012

[coolscan]

Hello all,

Car is now just under 6 months old, problem free, and has just had 15,000km service. Fuel consumption seems much the same as at 4,000km. It seems to be rattle and squeak free, as near as I can tell after discounting noises from all the junk Mrs.C accumulates in the car.

My previous comments still stand. After experimenting, I don't use the Eco Mode. On the highway I'm sure it makes very little difference. In traffic it may, but I don't do enough of that sort of driving to form a definite opinion. I prefer to have full throttle response available.

I note they used 10W-30 synthetic oil at the service. I thought the hybrids used 0W-20, though I see the owner's handbook lists several oils. When I questioned it I got a reply that sounded like BS to me. Probably from the same drum used for all the other Toyotas and other brands serviced there! It will be interesting to see if it affects fuel consumption.

Happy motoring. Regards, coolscan.

[Dazzling_Darryl]

Thanks for the update,

Have had our H for 3 weeks now but was away for one of those in Victoria driving an identical rental car so only done about 1100kms.

Haven't reset the average economy for the last 600kms (since last fill) and it has settled on 5.7 LPH. Trip computer said 1108 Kilometres to empty when I filled her up, which is great :-)

Drove with eco button on all over Victoria in the renter and got 5.67 (calculated) over the 2145 Kms travelled so haven't been game to turn it off on ours except for a few "tests" LOL

Liked our previous 2010 Hybrid Luxury a lot but new model is awesome .. let a mate have a little drive today and he raved so much his wife had to have a little drive too :-))

[Adamsy]

Thanks for the update,

Have had our H for 3 weeks now but was away for one of those in Victoria driving an identical rental car so only done about 1100kms.

Haven't reset the average economy for the last 600kms (since last fill) and it has settled on 5.7 LPH. Trip computer said 1108 Kilometres to empty when I filled her up, which is great :-)

Drove with eco button on all over Victoria in the renter and got 5.67 (calculated) over the 2145 Kms travelled so haven't been game to turn it off on ours except for a few "tests" LOL

Liked our previous 2010 Hybrid Luxury a lot but new model is awesome .. let a mate have a little drive today and he raved so much his wife had to have a little drive too :-))

Cough, send them in cough cough :P

[Dazzling_Darryl]

"Cough, send them in cough cough"..

Don't think they would spend the $$$ sorry..

They are currently negotiating on a 2005 Holden Rodeo Dual Cab as a 2nd vehicle .. but they were impressed with the Hybrid :-)

[Adamsy]

"Cough, send them in cough cough"..

Don't think they would spend the $$$ sorry..

They are currently negotiating on a 2005 Holden Rodeo Dual Cab as a 2nd vehicle .. but they were impressed with the Hybrid :-)

Oh well can't blame a guy for trying lol :P

[zn7726]

I note they used 10W-30 synthetic oil at the service. I thought the hybrids used 0W-20, though I see the owner's handbook lists several oils. When I questioned it I got a reply that sounded like BS to me. Probably from the same drum used for all the other Toyotas and other brands serviced there! It will be interesting to see if it affects fuel consumption.

Curious to ask have you sourced 0W-20 oil and replaced with it? Asked the local dealer in Sydney and was told that they use Toyota 10W-30 synthetic oil at service. Don't know if the thinner 0W-20 will be appropriate for Australia's hot summer.

[coolscan]

zn7726,

I have not changed the oil, and do not intend to do so as it would not be cost effective. However, I shall ask questions prior to next service.

Indicated fuel consumption in the first few minutes of any journey is definitely higher than pre-service. I suspect overall consumption has slipped a little, but it is hard to be sure what to blame because it is much hotter lately, so the A/C is working harder. Also, every trip to town is different, with differing traffic conditions and variations in waiting times at the kilometers of highway roadworks. The other day the A/C ran the battery from 4 or 5 bars down to blue just sitting waiting for the stop-go person to let us through. I'd guess 0.2 l/100km would pull it up, hence not cost effective to change.

Regards, coolscan.

[zn7726]

zn7726,

I have not changed the oil, and do not intend to do so as it would not be cost effective. However, I shall ask questions prior to next service.

Hi Coolscan,

I didn't ask the dealer to change the oil either at the 1000km inspection but did ask if they have 0W-20 oil. They said Yes, and it might be slightly more expensive than 10W-30 which they when doing capped price service. I'll definitely ask them to use 0W next time (8 months later). 0W-20 is listed in the owner's manual so it should be fine for the hot weather here.

Nan

[mightygoe]

Hi,

I purchased 2013 Toyota Camry hybrid HL last month. Today my wife called to say that front driver's door can be still opened after locking it using the remote key!!. There must be kind of an error here or am I missing something in this tech advanced car?. Could it be that there are handle sensors that open the door once they sense the remote key in the vicinity of the car???. Or it is just flat battery in teh remote key, or even some interference ffrom nearby radio waves/signals?Thanks.

[coolscan]

mightygoe,

With the remote close by, a touch to the inside of the front door handle unlocks the doors. A touch to the front outside of the handle locks the doors. The boot may also be released by hand if the fob is close by. It's all in the manual. Stored positions for memory seats and mirrors can also be linked to each individual fobkey.

coolscan

[MrArubaato]

Hi all

I'm a new owner of a Hybrid HL (and new member of the club) and naturally, still in the honeymoon period and reading everything there is to be read online about the car.

I have a question for all camry hybrid or toyota hybrid owners, that is, do you ever achieve full charge in the battery? The most I seem to get is one bar from full charge but 95% of the time it's 2 bars from full or less.

Just wondering if anyone has a quick answer. Thanks and have a great weekend.

[coolscan]

That is normal. You may see 8 bars after a long downhii grade with the selector at B. Lots of this sort of stuff discussed onU.S. Toyota Nation Forum - most of it is a bit much for me. I just drive the thing.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/105-camry-hybrid/ .

Regards, coolscan.

Edited September 20, 2013 by coolscan

[MrArubaato]

That is normal. You may see 8 bars after a long downhii grade with the selector at B. Lots of this sort of stuff discussed onU.S. Toyota Nation Forum - most of it is a bit much for me. I just drive the thing.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/105-camry-hybrid/ .

Regards, coolscan.

Thanks coolscan

Wow so much information. I just spent the better part of the afternoon reading all the talk. looked up and it's past 5pm already.