New Toyota Camry facelift updated with mild styling tweaks and improved safety suite



Three years after the international debut of the XV70 Camry, Toyota has now unveiled the first facelift for the eight-generation D-segment sedan with a minor revision to the exterior and interior, and an upgraded safety suite.

The standard LE variants in the United States, which will most likely make its way to our region, gains a slightly redesigned front fascia, which includes a reshaped lower grille with a more defined air intake area, along with a slightly tweaked upper grille that’s now wider around the Toyota badge.

Meanwhile, the XSE “Sport” variants, which are not available in the ASEAN region, gets a new front-end with a much more aggressive design, featuring larger “air inlets” at the side, along with a more prominent front splitter.

New 17- and 18-inch wheels round up the updated exterior; the rear-end of the Toyota Camry remains untouched in the facelift exercise.

Inside, the facelifted Camry gets a slightly reworked dashboard layout. The infotainment display swapped places with the air conditioning vents, now placed at the top of the centre stack with a new floating design.

The system itself has also been updated to support Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa compatibility, along with internet connectivity for other connected services and over-the-air updates. Depending on variant selected, the infotainment display is either seven- or nine-inches in size.

Interior trims also gain new materials across the board, finished in either linear dark, wood inlay, or patterned metal depending on the selected variant.

The updated Toyota Camry will be the first model in the line-up to feature the new Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) 2.5+ advanced driver assistance suite, which now adds bicycle detection (daytime only) and intersection support to the Pre-Collision System.

The existing pedestrian detection feature now also works in low-light conditions. There is also a new emergency steering assist function to help stabilise the driver’s emergency inputs when swerving to avoid a collision.

The Dynamic Radar Cruise Control system has also been updated, which now features an overtaking function to automatically speed up the vehicle when the turn indicators are switched on in preparation of the lane change-overtake manoeuvre.

Other features in the TSS 2.5+ suite include Lane Departure Alert, Lane Tracing Assist, Automatic High Beam, Road Sign Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Blind Spot Monitor.

In the US, the powertrain options in the updated Camry remains unchanged from before: A 2.5-litre Dynamic Force naturally aspirated four-cylinder mill with 203 hp and 250 Nm, a 3.5-litre V6 with 301 hp and 362 Nm, as well as a hybrid powertrain utilising the same 2.5-litre engine paired to a 118 hp electric motor for a combined system output of 208 hp.

All petrol-only variants are fitted with an eight-speed Direct Shift automatic gearbox, while the hybrid variants get an e-CVT gearbox. The 2.5-litre model will also be available in all-wheel drive configuration.


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