With the acceleration of the trend of intelligence and electrification in the automotive market, the attention of many joint venture models at major auto shows has gradually decreased. However, at last year's Guangzhou Auto Show, GAC Toyota's booth led the way and attracted many attention, and its popularity was even comparable to that of the new power car booth. It can be said that GAC Toyota's performance at that auto show can be called "reborn", and the new 9th-generation Camry shows the fiery momentum of "the flagship and the king of traffic".
Camry, a top-of-the-line mid-to-high-end sedan trusted by more than 23 million households around the world, is not only GAC Toyota's flagship, but also a glorious witness. In the domestic market, its cumulative sales have exceeded 2.7 million units, of which the eighth-generation Camry has created a glorious record of more than 1 million units sold in a single generation. In 2024, GAC Toyota will usher in the important moment of its 20th anniversary, and as a benchmark for joint venture B-segment cars, the fully evolved 9th-generation Camry will be officially launched.
For such a flagship model, GAC Toyota has invested huge resources to prepare. So, has the new 9th-generation Camry kept pace with the times and "mixed with electric incense"?
Completely "rejuvenated" design
The 9th-generation Camry is available in three different styles, namely LE, SE and XSE. This time, we test drove the Camry Shuangqing 2.0HXS Sports PLUS Edition, and the price of this car is 206,800 yuan. It adopts Toyota's latest design concept, and the front line is specially designed and has a very strong sense of movement.
The front face of the new car looks particularly fierce, as if it is ready to attack at any moment. The nose swoops downward, the lines on the hood are particularly noticeable, and the front bumper is sharp, giving the car a sporty look. This is to tell us that the Camry can not only be stable, but also very sporty, and this is also the thing that makes this generation of Camry feel the most.
The new car has C-shaped daytime running lights, as well as the kind of integrated high and low beams, which look particularly conspicuous. Moreover, when the size of the lamp cluster becomes smaller, the new energy feeling of the entire front of the car is stronger.
The side profile of the 9th-generation Camry looks more subdued and gives it a very comfortable feel. You can choose between a monochrome or two-tone bodywork, and these sleek lines make the Camry still look elegant. The ratio of front and rear overhangs is also just right, and the window lines are designed to be relatively low, so that the driver can have a better view.
The size of the 9th-generation Camry has not changed much compared to the 8th-generation Camry. The length, width and height are 4915mm/1840mm/1450mm, and the wheelbase is 2825mm, which is the size of a proper B-segment car. The car we test-drove was equipped with 19-inch wheels, and the multi-spoke design looked particularly sporty, and it felt like it was ready to attract everyone's attention on the street.
The rear of the car, like the front, is designed with a C-shaped taillight cluster. Although the current trend of continuous taillights is not used, the blacked-out trim panels are used to connect the light clusters on both sides, so that the rear of the car looks wider.
Moreover, the new car has a black spoiler on the ducktail, and the rear surround also has multiple lines, which looks wider. Although the 9th-generation Camry has a hidden exhaust, the black trim on the bottom still gives the car a sporty look.
Overall, the design of the 9th generation Camry is more in line with the aesthetics of today's people, although some people say that the 8th generation Camry is a classic, but we have to admit that the times are changing, and we also need to accept its changes.
Texture upgrade, intelligence is no longer a short board
The 9th-generation Camry's in-car intelligent upgrade has done quite well, and it really didn't make everyone wait in vain. In terms of styling, although it is an asymmetrical design, compared to the 8th generation, the new car is significantly simplified and looks more concise and elegant.
Moreover, the physical buttons in the car have also been reduced a lot, which is more in line with the current car habits. The model we test-drove was in a black and red color scheme, which really looked sporty and young and stylish.
The workmanship and materials of the new car are very particular, especially the electrostatic touch air conditioning panel is used for the first time, which is particularly convenient to operate. The center console is also made of a large area of slush molding material, which looks high-end. Moreover, the 9th-generation Camry also has 64-color ambient lighting, which can change according to the rhythm of the music, so that the atmosphere of the entire cabin will move with it.
The new car's 12.3-inch LCD instrument cluster and floating central display meet the current demand for screen size, and there is also an AR stylized HUD to enhance the convenience of using the car.
The 12.3-inch central control screen uses the current mainstream Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip, the interface design is also new, and 12GB+128GB large memory, it is really as smooth as those popular new power products, it can be said that it is the top level in Japanese cars.
Moreover, there are many practical localized applications in the 9th generation Camry's car machine system, all of which are equipped with CarPlay, CarLife, and HiCar, which are three mobile phone interconnection systems, and the scalability is very good, which is worth giving a thumbs up.
The new car also adopts an intelligent voice system jointly developed by Huawei, which has a fast response speed and can support multi-language command recognition, including Mandarin, Cantonese, and English.
In terms of seat materials, the front and rear rows of the car we tested were designed with a mix of leather and suede. It looks more layered, feels comfortable to sit on, and is supportive.
In addition, for the first time, the 9th-generation Camry also adopts a panoramic sunroof with a beam design, with a lighting area of more than 1 square meter, so you can see more scenery from the front and rear rows. The backrest angle of the rear seat is also particularly suitable for us Chinese, even if you sit for a long time, you will not feel tired.
The chassis is solid, and the driving texture is high-end
The 8th-generation Camry that I drove before made a deep impression in terms of driving control, and the 9th-generation Camry Shuangqing Edition model felt like it had risen to a higher level.
The biggest highlight of the 9th-generation Camry Shuangqing version we tested this time is that it is equipped with the fifth-generation intelligent electric hybrid Shuangqing 2.0L hybrid system. This system combines a 2.0L engine and a drive motor, with a maximum power of 145kW and an official fuel consumption of only 4.2L per 100km, which is equivalent to nearly 1,200km on a tank of fuel. Compared with the previous 2.5L pure fuel version, this time's comprehensive performance is simply surpassed.
In addition, the fifth-generation intelligent electric hybrid dual engine has also been upgraded for the three-electric system, not only using a higher speed drive motor, but also upgrading the battery to Panasonic's ternary lithium battery pack, which is lightweight and the electric drive component has become smaller.
We also briefly tested the fuel consumption this time, three people in the car, air conditioning 24 degrees, driving 29.1km on urban roads, the fuel consumption displayed is 4.2L, basically the same as the official fuel consumption, the result is still very good.
The 9th-generation Camry is smooth and quiet, the accelerator pedal is heavy, which is also a consistent style, and the tighter steering feel gives it a good sense of control, and the linear output is easy to drive as always.
Of the three modes of Eco, Standard and Sport, the Standard mode is more suitable for daily driving, while the Sport mode has a more sensitive accelerator pedal, and the acceleration experience in the first half of the year is significantly improved.
It is worth mentioning that the new car is equipped with a new HEV braking system, using a new brake pedal return spring, a new tuning makes the entire braking process more stable and linear, and the new car also provides a brake nod relief system, which is comfortable enough. You must know that the brake tuning of hybrid models is a very test of engineers' skills, and it is not easy to strike a balance between kinetic energy recovery braking and mechanical braking, so Camry is definitely a benchmark existence.
Also in terms of chassis, the 9th-generation Camry has also undergone a lot of upgrades, using front and rear large-diameter lateral stabilizer bars and high-stiffness springs to bring better body stability, and also using the same oscillating valve shock absorbers as the Lexus ES to reduce roll and body swing when cruising at high speeds. In terms of actual experience, the vehicle's performance in filtering the road surface and supporting the body is still good after passing through fine potholes and high-speed driving.
In terms of quietness, the 9th-generation Camry uses front and rear double-layer soundproof glass, which is still good for wind noise suppression. When the speed reaches 90km/h or more, the noise in the car will increase slightly, mainly from the tire noise, but it is still within the acceptable range, and the communication of the members in the car will not be greatly affected.
In the area of intelligent driving, the 9th-generation Camry is also closely following the trend, with 5 millimeter-wave radars, 8 ultrasonic radars, 4 surround-view cameras and 1 front-view camera, equipped with a new generation of T-Polit intelligent driving assistance system, and equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 enhanced version for the first time. We also tested it at the venue, and there were a few things that impressed me.
The first is the PKSB parking assist braking function, such as usually you are in the community, shopping mall narrow parking space, or the basement is darker, when reversing, you will be especially careful about your left and right, for fear of scratching the mirror or touching other cars, but at this time often ignore that your rear may have been about to hit the wall, other vehicles or pedestrians passing.
This function will help you to monitor the obstacles around you, first alert, if you are too close, it will help you brake urgently, never avoid a collision, and at this time you continue to press the accelerator The car will not move, which is really very intimate.
The second is the PDA active driving assistance system, which can detect potential risks at a long distance, so as to decelerate, brake or bias avoidance earlier, we have also done about three or four tests on the spot, basically the dummy is identified very clearly, and the braking is not a foot to death, the feeling of pain in the seat belt, but the kind of gradual to the end of the vehicle stop, which is still very good.
Finally, there is the PCS pre-collision safety system, in daily driving, you may often encounter a crazy takeaway brother, or there is a slow car in front of you just changing lanes to overtake it when a slow car or obstacle suddenly appears in the blind spot in front of it, and its forward direction can also immediately identify the obstacles in front of you, etc., so as to make braking and avoid danger.
Through these active safety tests on the spot, I feel that the 9th-generation Camry can indeed help us in the process of daily driving, and the delicacy of the operation is also very good.
Write at the end
The current domestic new energy medium-sized cars have brought a lot of impact to the mid-level car market, but the 9th-generation Camry did not choose the old way of "responding to all changes with the same", but kept up with the pace of the times and became more individual, smarter and safer. The appearance is more individual, the intelligent car machine is better to use, and the driving assistance system is more comprehensive.
And in terms of price, the 9th-generation Camry also gave everyone a surprise. In the past, you had to spend 200,000 yuan to buy a hybrid model, but now you can buy a top-of-the-line model for just over 200,000 yuan. Therefore, on the basis of the success of the eighth-generation Camry, the ninth-generation Camry will definitely be more cost-effective and can still become the mainstream choice in the mid-size car market.