Toyota announced their new 9th generation Camry yesterday. The major change is under the hood. You can no longer buy a gas only Camry. All new Camry lineups are hybrid. However, they still employ the same 2.5L I4 engine and the 5th gen hybrid system bolted onto it. Another major change is the transmission. No more regular 8 speed. Every 9th gen Camry comes with eCVT.
It sucks they are all hybrid only, but is anyone really surprised? At least there is no turbo charged engine in their lineup. The styling and design is a little nicer than the 8th generation. Overall, it looks fine.
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Anyways, as far as buying anything from Toyota/Lexus more and more I am finding if I want to buy an ICE-only version with NA engine version and regular automatic I need to buy from the older generations. For me personally, I will never buy a hybrid nor one with turbo engines nor one with itty-bitty 3 cylinder engines nor with CVTs.
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I am in market for brand new Toyota/Lexus and the offerings are getting slimmer and slimmer. If I want a Camry it’s the 2024 Camry with the NA engine while you can still get them or the Lexus ES for what I presume will be one or two more years before the ES also goes all hybrid.
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Thankfully I keep my cars for 20+ years, so I don’t need to worry again until 2045.
goodbye Toyota reliability
It's not a surprise, this is due to insane stringent gas mileage regulations being imposed by know-nothing morons politicians and bureaucrats.
The best that can be said about it is that Toyota has the best hybrid system out there that has been refined for decades now. It should work out fine for most car buyers since not many keep a car more than 10-15 years.
My daily driver has been a Camry for over 20 years and I've never incurred any expenses other than those for routine maintenance. It's sad to see any popular and reliable car with an ICE being fundamentally changed because of politically correct government regulations.
It seems like a cosmetic update rather than a drivetrain update. Which is fine. So far so good with the hybrid drivetrain they are using. They use it everything from Camry, to RAV4, to Venza, to Sienna, to Highlander, and even the Crown.
TMK, the Toyota Hybrid Synergy System has never used an automatic transmission, it’s all eCVT with all hybrids. (The hybrid MAX system might be a different story.)
