Toyota Camry review

In the States, where this generation of Camry has been on sale since mid-2017, you can get one of these things with a burly V6 and a conventional eight-speed automatic gearbox. But in Britain we only get the hybrid. Seems reasonable.

Toyota bills it, and all its other hybrids except the plug-in Prius, as 'self-charging'. Sounds fancy and clever, but really it’s just a phrase invented by marketing men to set Toyota/Lexus cars - which you can’t plug in - apart from the new wave of plug-in hybrids, which you can.

This whole 'self-charging’ thing isn’t really indicative of any new technology - principally, the Camry Hybrid isn't much different to hybrids that pre-date that phrase. It’s still a hybrid that can travel a couple of miles at most on battery-power alone before the engine kicks in. Most of the time, it’s about balancing petrol and electric power for peak efficiency, something it does quite well.

A 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine and a small electric motor and battery give a combined 215bhp, sent to the front wheels only via a CVT gearbox. 0-62mph takes 8.3 seconds, which isn’t bad, and the top speed is 112mph.

You won’t want to use all that performance, though. While this is among the least offensive CVTs we’ve tried, you’re still actively discouraged from accelerating quickly. First because of what such an act would do to your average mpg, and second because nobody wants to hear that engine droning away at 5,000rpm.

The Camry feels more at home driven conservatively, with smooth, considered inputs that keep the engine spinning at low rpm, or not at all. As with all hybrids of this ilk, it's better (and more economical) around town than elsewhere. It’s quiet (unless you’re accelerating hard), with little road or wind noise, and rides well. Handling is broadly tidy, though uninvolving - the brakes take a bit of getting used to, too. Not much grip either, thanks to skinny eco tyres.

You won’t have fun driving it, but go into it with your eyes open and you won’t be offended by any of its idiosyncrasies. Except perhaps the CVT, the first time you have to pull onto a busy road. For the most part it’s as ordinary as they come. Bland.