2012 Toyota Camry: May be retaining its crown

The latest generation carries itself with dimensions identical to the 2011 model. Total length, wheelbase, width and height are all carried-over dimensions, resulting in a familiar profile. Even so, the company’s engineers and designers have cloaked the sedan in entirely new sheetmetal from stem to stern. A completely new nose incorporates a refreshed headlight design […]

The latest generation carries itself with dimensions identical to the 2011 model. Total length, wheelbase, width and height are all carried-over dimensions, resulting in a familiar profile. Even so, the company’s engineers and designers have cloaked the sedan in entirely new sheetmetal from stem to stern. A completely new nose incorporates a refreshed headlight design with an integrated chrome grille. The assembly splays from fender to fender with the goal of giving the vehicle the impression of greater width without actually stretching the model’s track.

The 2012 Camry’s sides are contoured with an angled character line, and door handles are tucked just below the detail. Toyota desperately wants us to believe that the new crease helps give the vehicle a wedge-like shape, but the truth is that from a profile view, the 2012 Camry remains very similar to its sixth-generation counterpart. Wheel options start with a 16-inch steel roller with a plastic cover on the fleet-oriented L trim, though 17-inch alloys can be had on LE, XLE and SE vehicles.

Despite the fact that the exterior shell hasn’t grown in any direction, Toyota worked to give the cabin a more open appearance thanks to adjustments to the headliner, A- and B-pillar caps, center console and door control panels. Even the shape of the front seatbacks has been reworked for a little more knee room. Unfortunately, the changes are so slight that we would have been hard-pressed to notice without prior knowledge. There’s no missing the vehicle’s new dash, however.

base models are equipped with the same 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine found in the 2011 model. With 178 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 170 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm, the engine continues to provide smooth acceleration without undue noises or vibrations. Toyota estimates that the vehicle will be able to return 25 miles per gallon city, 35 mpg highway, or 28 mpg combined. That’s a three mpg increase in the city and two mpg bump on the highway and combined over the old vehicle. If that’s not enough power for you, Toyota will continue to offer the same 3.5-liter V6 engine found in the outgoing model.

Still in the end, the seventh generation sedan remains all Camry, through and through. Toyota fully expects half of 2012 Camry buyers to be former owners of the model. Given the number of Camrys still on the road right now, that nearly guarantees it will hold onto its crown as the best-selling car even here in Nigeria