2022 Toyota Camry

Overview

The Toyota Camry is for everyone and by that we mean it has everything you need starting from the optional AWD, an optional 301-horsepower V-6 engine, sportier looks, advanced driver assistance features as standard, and even a decently opulent cabin experience. The more you pay, the better the things get and Toyota has played the cards well, offering distinctive specs for different mindsets of people. For the 2022 model year, there are only a few new upgrades, starting with the dual-zone automatic climate control being offered as a standard feature, along with the availability of the Nightshade package being expanded to the hybrid models. While the spec-sheet is filled with impressive numbers, should you consider the latest Camry over the Hyundai Sonata the Honda Accord, or even the Nissan Altima? Let’s start with the detailed trims and the features available with the 2022 Toyota Camry.

Trims and Features

The 2022 Camry, like the outgoing model year, is offered in a total of six trims: LE, SE, SE Nightshade, XSE, XLE, and TRD. The first three trims are powered by a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four engine while the remaining three trims get a more powerful 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V-6. All trim levels drive the front wheels and the optional AWD is available only with the standard 2.5-liter engine. Here is a detailed list of all the available trims and features of the 2022 Toyota Camry.

LE.
Price: $25,295-26,695.

• LED headlights.
• 17-inch alloys.
• Dual-zone automatic climate control.
• 7-inch touchscreen infotainment display.
• 8-way power-adjustable driver seat.
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.
• 60/40-split folding rear row seats.

Standard driver assistance features available with the 2022 Camry are:

• Automatic high-beam headlamps.
• Road sign recognition.
• Lane-keeping assist.
• Adaptive cruise control.
• Forward collision mitigation.

SE.
Price: $26,835-28,235.

• 18-inch alloys.
• Black-colored sport grille.
• Body colored rear spoiler.
• Sport-tuned suspension.
• Leatherette upholstery.
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle-shifters.

SE Nightshade.
Price: $27,535-28,935.

• Stealth-black exterior trim.
• 18-inch trim-specific wheels.
• Trunk-mounted spoiler.

XLE.
Price: $30,045-35,170.

• Leather upholstery.
• Keyless entry ignition.
• Multi-level heating for front seats.
• Air vents for the rear row.
• 8-way power-adjustable front passenger seat.
• Upgraded multi-information display.
• Wireless charging pad.
• 9-inch touchscreen display.
• Adaptive cruise control with stop & go.
• Blindspot monitoring.

XSE.
Price: $30,595-35,720.

• +3 horsepower and +2 pound-feet.
• 19-inch alloys.
• Dual exhaust tips.
• Tuned suspension.
• Gloss-black front grille.
• Metal trimmed interior.

TRD.
Price: $32,360.

• More powerful V-6 engine.
• Aerodynamically optimized body trim.
• Sporty 19-inch alloys.
• Black exterior and mirror trim.
• Bespoke tuned suspension only for the TRD.
• Sportier exhaust.
• Bespoke leatherette upholstery with red-colored seat belts.

Driver Assist Package.

• Heads-up display.
• Rear automatic braking system.
• Surround-view camera system.
• Ventilated front seats.

Cold Weather Package.

• Heated front seats.
• Heated steering wheel.
• Heated mirrors.

Other optional features include:

• Navigation system.
• Nine-speaker premium JBL audio unit.
• Performance tires. (Available with the TRD only)
• Panoramic sunroof. (Available with the V-6 engine equipped Camry only)

Exterior: Just the green flag you wanted from a car

Surely the Camry did receive more aggressive front-end styling with the 2021 model year with the availability of LED headlights and daytime running lights, and the looks have not changed with the latest 2022 model year. Does that make it look dated? Absolutely not. The athleticism Toyota has portrayed through the Camry is what makes it stand out. Among all the trims, our pick would be the top-tier TRD which has a more dynamic look with an aggressive and wider intake grille and the aerodynamic parts at the rear like the spoiler and the diffuser. Now, all six trims get LED headlights along with a slightly redesigned grille which came into being with the 2021 model year. The base LE trim gets 17-inch alloys, while the rest of the range has either 18 or 19-inch alloys. The rear is pretty straightforward with Lexus-style LED taillights and a single exhaust tip. The XSE and TRD get a dual-tip exhaust while the other trims are set with just one. All of these make the Camry a sharp-looking mid-size sedan in the class.

The dimensions are largely similar throughout the trims with the length ranging from 192.1-192.6 inches. The curb weight is about 3,310 pounds with the base LE trim and goes up to 3595 pounds with the V-6 equipped trims. The overall wheelbase is set to 111.2 inches throughout all six trims. The Camry, by default, is 72.4 inches wide, 56.9 inches tall, and even has a pretty decent ground clearance of 5.7 inches. The TRD, on the other hand, has a bit wider and lower stance (73.1-inch wide and 56.3-inch tall) than the other Camry trims. In comparison to the competition, the Camry looks at the heaviest even in its standard form and has been followed by the Altima. The length and height are very similar among the segment leaders while the width is where the Camry shortens up a bit with about an inch less than that of the Accord and Sonata.

Interior: Ranging from cheap to opulent, but has been put together well

Yeah, that is exactly what we want to talk about in detail here. The cabin of the Camry is one of the most spacious in the segment and all that but the quality inside the cabin takes the hit in the lower trims. Is that a deal-breaker? Absolutely not, that is just common with almost every other mid-size sedan in the segment. We have tested both the base LE and the TRD, and the shift in the interior quality is huge. As standard, you will get a seven-inch display at the center, a digital-analog combo, a leatherette steering wheel, and dual-zone automatic climate control. The dashboard and the center console design are unique and we like them. The control buttons are placed well beside the infotainment display and the HVAC controls are placed just below for easier accessibility. The center console is sorted with a drive selector and two cupholders along with a few control buttons. From the XLE trim onwards, the plastic blocks get replaced with leatherette layerings with matching stitches on the dash and the door handles. The center display gets upgraded by two inches, leather-wrapped, and heated steering wheel functionalities are unlocked. The seats are all cloth-covered until you opt for the XSE for all-leather upholstery. An eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat comes standard while the heated front seats are available as an option.

As far as the seating comfort goes, it has been Camry’s one of the USPs. Even the standard cloth seats are decently comfortable with good cushioning, even at the rear. The ride quality is something you will not complain about too. The sportier XSE and the TRD get a slightly stiffer suspension but nothing like an AMG-tuned Merc, so the comfort is not compromised here. The cabin is evenly spaced-out with good headroom and legroom in both rows. The front headroom is set at 38.3 inches while the legroom is set at 42.1 inches, the driver and the front passenger would be more than happy with the front row spaciousness. At the rear, you are looking at 38 inches of both headroom and legroom.

The Camry has one of the most spacious rear rows after the Accord which has extra legroom of two inches. Behind the rear seats, there are about 15.1 cubic feet of cargo capacity which is decent for everyday use but is comparatively less than the Accord by a good 1.7 cubic feet and about one cubic foot less than the Sonata. That said, here are the standout interior features of the 2022 Toyota Camry:

• Dual-zone automatic climate control.
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel with paddle-shifters.
• Eight-way power-adjustable driver and front passenger seats.
• Heated front seats.
• Leather upholstery.
• Heated steering wheel.
• Leatherette and metal interior trim.
• Keyless ignition.
• Panoramic sunroof (V-6 variants only).

Toyota’s Entune 3.0 infotainment system is very user-intuitive and with the Camry, there are loads of features available throughout the trim list and that includes a seven-inch touchscreen display fitted as standard or a nine-inch one available for the higher trims. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connection is set by default and so is a six-speaker audio unit, Bluetooth streaming, USB connection, and SiriusXM. The higher trims are equipped with features like:

• 9-speaker JBL premium audio experience.
• 8-inch touchscreen display.
• WiFi hotspot.
• 10-inch color heads-up display.
• USB charging ports at the rear.

Performance and Handling: Powerful enough if you pay the price

Unlike most of the competition, the Camry is among the hottest sedans that can make you feel the adrenaline rush but more on that later. First, there are two engine options available with the Camry, a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated inline-four and a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V-6. The former engine produces 203 horsepower and 184 pound-feet while all of the figures are available after you pass the 5,000 RPM mark. The latter one is a whole lot more powerful with 301 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of maximum torque available at 4,700 revs. Both engines are mated to an eight-speed shiftable automatic while the drive type is either FWD or AWD with the latter being reserved for the base engine only.

Since both of the engines are not turbocharged, the Camry does feel jittery at lower revs while the kick down is great once you build up the revs. However, the XSE, with the same 2.5-liter engine produces 206 horses and 184 pound-feet which, in our opinion, will produce no significant acceleration results after all. So, if you compare the engine power figures with the other available options, the Camry emerges victorious among the competition. But, the optional engine-equipped trims from the likes of Sonata, and Accord are available at a much cheaper price tag than that of the V-6 powered Camry. That makes the Camry an expensive choice but the performance offered is just unmatched in the competition.

While both the engines are powerful, the base 2.5-liter engine offers relaxed driving and is best for people who would consider the Camry as a daily driver. In our testing, we found that the Camry in FWD guise and the base engine would manage to touch the 60 miles per hour mark in about 7.3 seconds which is not as bad as we thought, and given that it is slightly on the heavier side, it performs similarly to the 1.5-liter turbo-powered Accord. The optional AWD would help you to go even faster with about 6.9-7.0 seconds. On the other hand, the bossy 3.5-liter V-6 has been the highlight of the Camry, surely because of its unmatched performance. We have seen the engine powering the Lexus LC 500h and even the Toyota Highlander. But, as they are a lot heavier than the Camry, the power-to-weight ratio worked really well. According to the tests conducted by Car and Driver, the V-6 equipped Camry takes about 5.6 seconds for the 0-60 miles per hour accelerations. The standing quarter-mile timings are impressive with 14.2 seconds while topping out at 134 miles per hour.

The Camry in its latest iteration offers the most engaging drive, even when you drive the base LE trim. The steering feedback has been improved and matches the overall cornering stability while eliminating excessive body roll, something the earlier Camrys were accused of. The sportier XSE and the TRD trims get sports suspension for better cornering stability but do not sacrifice much on the ride quality. The more powerful V-6 equipped Camry might find it tough to get proper traction from the get-go but once you are off, the power seems to be apt on the speedways. Overall the Camry offers a lot of handling finesse while staying mostly comfortable.

Fuel Economy

Depending on your powertrain choice, the Camry will be a lot different when it comes to fuel economy. The base 2.5-liter engine with FWD has been rated 28/39/32 by the EPA. The AWD drops down the numbers to 25/34/29 which is huge. The numbers are very much identical to that of the Hyundai Sonata and the Nissan Altima while the only turbocharged base engine which the Accord has been rated slightly better with 30 miles per gallon in the city while the highway mileage gets cut by a mile. The optional V-6, as expected, produces a lot more power by sipping more gas. The EPA has rated the same with 22/33/26 for city/highway/combined meaning the figures are subpar and are quite expected from a big naturally aspirated engine.

How safe is the 2022 Toyota Camry?

With the utmost delight, we are here to tell you that the 2022 Camry is just super safe for you and your family. Reasons? Besides packing loads of driver assistance features as standard, the safety ratings are impressive with the IIHS awarding the Camry with the “Top Safety Pick+” for 2021 and the NHTSA rating the same with a 5-star, maxed-out. If spec sheets do not excite you then you should know that every Camry comes equipped with adaptive cruise control, something even the thriving German cars don’t come with as standard. Other driver assistance features include lane-keeping assist, automatic high-beams, road sign recognition, and forward collision mitigation. The more luxurious XLE gets features like adaptive cruise control with stop & go, and blindspot monitoring. Toyota also offers a Driver Assist package as an option which packs features like:

• Surround-view camera system.
• Heads-up display.
• Rear automatic braking.

Should you consider the 2022 Toyota Camry?

The Japanese mid-size sedan competition is quite strong and recommending just one by demeaning the others wouldn’t be fair. But, why we would recommend the Camry is because of a few key points:

• The base engine is fairly powerful but the V-6 is something that will fly past more expensive cars on the freeway.
• Comfortable cabin with average to good quality materials used. Cabin features are upmarket but not like the Hyundai Sonata.
• Advanced safety features including lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control make it hard for the rivals which mostly offer none of the two.

We liked the 2022 Toyota Camry and will recommend it to you if you have the aforementioned needs with an all-round practical cabin experience.

FAQ.

How much does the 2022 Toyota Camry cost?
The 2022 Camry starts at just over $25,000 and goes up to $32,360 with the range-topping TRD trim.

Does the 2022 Camry has leather seats?
Yes, the XLE trim onwards has full leather upholstery.

Is Toyota Camry reliable?
Absolutely, the Camry, being a Toyota means it will die the last when compared to the other brands even the more expensive ones.

How fast is the 2022 Toyota Camry TRD?
The TRD comes standard with the 3.5-liter V-6 which is responsible for the 0-60 miles per in 5.6 seconds and a standing quarter-mile timing of 14.2 seconds.