How the 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid Stacks Up
When we first examined the 2008 Camry Hybrid, a number of questions surfaced that needed answering. First, part of the reason Toyota has been so successful in the hybrid arena has been visibility. When you drive by a Toyota Prius, you can immediately identify that car as a hybrid vehicle, and many Prius owners take pride in that fact. What advantage then, could the newest Camry have if the only difference between it and the non-hybrid version was a hybrid logo discreetly placed on the back? Would consumers be interested in a hybrid version of America’s most popular car? A plain-vanilla hybrid doesn’t sound all that sexy, but it is affordable and efficient, and surprisingly enough there’s a market niche for it there.
How Affordable?
Being a mid-size car and a hybrid means that the car isn’t going to be incredibly cheap. With a price tag of $25,200 (estimated), it’s still a little steep for the average American Consumer. The aim here isn’t just so you can own a hybrid, it’s so that you can own an efficient, reliable, comfortable family sedan that also happens to run on gasoline and electric power. When taking all of this into account, the car actually seems very reasonably priced. Even CNN named the Camry Hybrid as one of the most cost effective green cars to own!
So I can Afford it…How’s the Interior?
There isn’t a whole lot of difference form the straight up gas model Camry and the hybrid model. Both seat 5 comfortably. Both have “Well shaped, well padded” seats, according to Forbes. Forbes even goes on to say that the car’s design "allows the interior to feel quite spacious, with decent space in front, a rather cavernous trunk and a backseat that's comfortable enough to seat two and just wide enough to fit three smaller folks in a pinch."
Sounds Good…Hit me with Performance!The specifications for the 2008 Camry Hybrid don’t really sound all that impressive at first glance. It runs on a 4 cylinder engine, and a 105 kilowatt electric motor. Despite this, however, the car is described as running almost exactly like a normal car would. Forbes noted that: “Most of the time you can quite simply forget that you're driving a hybrid, because it behaves almost exactly like a gasoline-engine car -- which says a lot about the sophistication of the hybrid system.”
Any Potential Downsides?You caught us, there is one noticeable difference in the specifications between the regular gas model and the hybrid version…the trunk! Because of the layout, some of the trunk space is taken up by the car’s larger battery system. Overall this is a rather miniscule catch given the reliability and price tag.
Overall the Camry Hybrid 2008 model has gotten great reviews from users and firms like Consumer Reports and Forbes alike. Being huge fans of the car ourselves this isn’t entirely surprising, and we fully expect this to continue into 2009.