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By MURRAY HUBBARD and EWAN KENNEDY
15 February 2010
Toyota has launched its new Australian-built Camry Hybrid and
hopes it will sell 10,000 cars a year in this country. This is
Australia's first locally-built mass-produced hybrid car. It uses
imported parts for the hybrid drive system, these are mated to the
locally made Camry body.
Because it has a familiar body shape with a familiar name, Toyota,
believes the vehicle will be seen as a mainstream family car
unlike the hybrid-specific Prius.
There are two variants of the Camry Hybrid; the standard variant
at $36,990 and a luxury version with a recommended retail price of
$39,990. On road costs have to be added to these prices. On a
specification-adjusted basis this means the Hybrid will cost
around $2000 more than the standard Camry. To offset that Toyota
claims the Camry Hybrid uses 32 per cent less fuel than the
conventional petrol Camry. It is officially rated at 6.0 litres
per 100 km, placing it in the economy league of compact and small
cars.
The car has been launched at a time of unprecedented scrutiny of
the giant Japanese global car-maker due to a huge recall of the
Prius hybrid in many major markets, including Australia. Toyota
Australia's senior executive director, Dave Buttner says the
Australian-built Camry Hybrid used a different braking system to
the Prius.
While there are technical differences from Prius, the Camry Hybrid
has a similar power system using a 2.4-litre petrol engine. This
is a variation of the standard Camry 2.4 engine. The
Atkinson-cycle petrol engine produces 110 kW of power at 6000 rpm
and 187 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm. The petrol engine uses standard
unleaded fuel. The engine is linked to two electric motors that
produce up to 105 kW with 270 Nm of torque.
The two driving sources, petrol and electric, produce their
outputs at different times so you can't simply add the two outputs
and come up with a total. Nonetheless, this is the most powerful
Camry in the range. So it has better straight-line performance
than a standard Camry by more than a second in the zero to 100
km/h sprint.
Not that anyone should consider this is a performance vehicle. Mr
Buttner said Camry Hybrid was catering for people who wanted
economy plus performance in a family vehicle.
Camry Hybrid uses a seamless CVT transmission, again to reduce
consumption.
The car's main battery is stored in the boot between the rear
wheels. The boot is still a reasonable size at 389 litres. The
rear seats retain a 60/40 split but there's very limited access
between them and the boot.
Toyota launched Hybrid Camry out of Melbourne with a road test
program that saw us drive it on a mix of suburban roads as well as
on highway running. The first thing that came to our attention was
the petrol engine automatically stopping at traffic lights, as
well as the feel of the petrol engine and electric motor combining
at cruising speeds.
Our first driving impressions are that this is a big step forward
from previous hybrid cars. Steering, suspension handling have
genuine feeling compared with the flatness of other hybrids,
including Prius. The car's suspension and steering have been
optimised for Australian conditions and driver preferences with
the result that the suspension is stiffer and there's genuine
feed-back through the steering. There's some sway on corners but
the car hangs on not that much differently to a conventional
Camry.
When accelerating there's a slight shudder as the petrol engine
kicks in - but the overall feeling is pretty much seamless.
The engineers have done a magnificent job of noise, vibration,
harshness reduction when underway, with the cabin eerily quiet as
you pull up at a set of lights. The air conditioning fan dominates
the interior landscape as everything else shuts down awaiting a
slight prod of the throttle.
Camry Hybrid has slightly different styling cues to the
conventional Camry to make it identifiable as a hybrid. The front
mask includes blue-tinted headlamp extensions found on all Toyota
hybrid vehicles. The front bumper shares styling cues with the
latest generation Prius that not only provides cosmetic benefits
but also improved aerodynamics.
The outer edges of the bumper flow into the sides of the vehicle
with side faces that are almost flat for better airflow. Camry
Hybrid's radiator grille further differentiates the hybrid model
with a unique design and satin-chrome finish, also used as a
garnish on the boot lid. The lower grille is slightly larger and
more rectangular giving additional cooling to the engine bay.
Hybrid badges are featured on the front guards and on the boot
lid. The rear lamps have a clear cover and include LED lights that
use less power and as a result reduce fuel use.
Away from sight are three covers - under the engine, rear floor
and fuel tank - that improve airflow and reduce drag. The overall
drag coefficient is 0.27 which Toyota claims is among the best in
mass-produced family cars.
Inside, the instrument panel reflects the hybrid technology. Other
specific hybrid features are the blue highlights on the dials and
in the centre of the speedometer, a large `Hybrid Synergy Drive'
display. The main read out replaces the tachometer in the
conventional car.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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