The Toyota Camry is the best –selling mid-sized sedan in the world. This car has carried this label for many years. What comes with being the best-selling car; a lot of hate toward the success the car offers. The Camry is bland, of course; the Camry is vanilla, yup, sure is; the Camry isn’t exciting, right again; in fact, the Camry has for years been all of these things but somehow has continued to be the top seller. Why has this car been such a great selling sedan? The simple and correct answer is because it fills the need we all have at a price that’s affordable and with features that make it enjoyable to drive.
Even though the Camry lineup does include the sporty SE and XSE, the Camry many will want is the XLE. The XLE is on the higher end of the lineup and shows itself at a price of $33,448, which is out of range for some buyers but is not so far off that most can’t afford it. This XLE shows up with a wide variety of equipment and features that make the drive of a Camry one that is what you are looking for from a sedan, comfortable, engaged and enjoyable.
Under the hood, the XLE gives us a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that brings in 178 horsepower and 170 lb.-ft. of torque. This is by no means a bragging point but this engine offers acceleration to confidently enter traffic and enough power to pass the slowpokes on the highway that can’t seem to understand the speed limit is where they need to drive. The overall impression is one of a smooth riding car that can get the job done which is simply to carry us on our commute each day and be available for the fun on the weekends.
On the inside, there is a great list of excellent features to enjoy including a dynamic infotainment system, all the traffic alerts you could need, power everything and more than enough space to get comfortable. Toyota knows what it’s doing with the Camry and with the XLE in your driveway, you will have a car that is the most desired for the carpool to and from work even from those who scoff at the idea of driving a Camry. This car has shown itself to be the perfect solution to what we need daily and that is a way to get from one place to another.
Of course, we all want to admire sports cars. They are sexy, powerful and testosterone laden beasts that scream look at me. The Camry is such an unassuming player it’s almost surprising that it isn’t offered in the only beige with beige on the inside to match the reputation of being boring. For a boring car, there are certainly a lot of Camrys on the road today. What seems to be the secret? Could it be the reputation Toyota has for building cars that offer great resale value and reliability? Is it the fact this is a cheap car and everyone is on a budget? I think it’s more likely the Camry has simple answered the call year after year for what we want and need from our daily driver.
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.