It’s no secret that cars are now frighteningly expensive. If you feel like $50,000 is the new $40,000, that’s because it is. Data from the analysts at Cox Automotive spells it out plain as day, with average transaction prices up nearly $9,000 since 2019. So what if you’re going car shopping with 2026 expectations and a 2019 budget? You might want to skip that base-model crossover SUV in the window and go look at a mid-range all-wheel-drive Toyota Camry.
Okay, so it’s not a crossover, but dig a little deeper, and it ticks heaps of boxes. Hybrid economy and available all-wheel drive usually aren’t things that go together in a midsize sedan, and a nicely spec’d Camry SE or Nightshade isn’t much more expensive than the cheapest trim of RAV4. Like, skip that Chipotle slop bowl twice a month and you’re there. So, what’s it like to live with? I spent a full week with one to find out.
[Full disclosure: Toyota Canada let me borrow this Camry for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it with a full tank of fuel, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Engine: 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle naturally aspirated 16-valve inline-four.
Battery pack: 251.6-volt, 1.04 kWh lithium-ion.
Transmission: Power-split eCVT, single-speed rear drive unit on all-wheel-drive models.
Drive: Front-wheel-drive standard in the U.S., through-the-road all-wheel-drive with an electric motor on the rear axle standard in Canada and optional in the U.S.
Output: 225 horsepower on front-wheel-drive models, 232 horsepower on all-wheel-drive models.
Fuel Economy:
- 52 MPG city, 49 MPG highway, 51 MPG combined on the base LE model
- 50 MPG city, 49 MPG highway, 50 MPG combined on the LE with AWD
- 47 MPG city, 45 MPG highway, 46 MPG combined for front-wheel-drive SE, Nightshade, XLE, and XSE models
- 46 MPG city, 46 MPG highway, 46 MPG combined for all-wheel-drive SE, Nightshade, and XLE models
- 43 MPG city, 43 MPG highway, 43 MPG combined for the all-wheel-drive XSE.
(Deep breath)
- 5.0 L/100km city, highway, and combined for Canadian-market SE FWD models
- 5.1 L/100km city, 5.2 L/100km highway, 5.1 L/100km combined for Canadian SE and XLE AWD models
- 5.5 L/100km city, highway, and combined for Canadian XSE AWD models.
Base Price: $30,295 including freight ($36,535 in Canada).
Price as-tested: $37,765 including freight ($42,147 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
Baseball. Bloomin’ onions. Black Friday-related assault and battery charges. The midsize sedan. We’re talking about American institutions that are revered, if not quite as popular as they used to be. These days, everything’s a crossover. The default family car? A crossover. The hit television event of the summer? A crossover. The reason your home hi-fi now makes every song sound like “Ocean Man” by Ween? Probably the crossover. Still, there’s merit to the traditional midsize sedan beyond slobbering, incoherent chants of “Return!” and the Camry is one of four still carrying the torch.
How Does It Look?
Most of the time, the latest Camry looks positively normal. A blend of modest, up-to-the-minute styling cues, from the tall rear bumper trim taking the edge off an even taller rump to the tasteful flaring of the lower body sides. It’s only when you catch it head-on that you realize it has a mouth like a moderately disheartened baleen whale, but then you forget about that five seconds later. Have I simply been blinded by a glowing hue of red? Perhaps, but while we’re on the subject, Toyota’s Supersonic Red is absolutely worth the premium color charge. Really though, Toyota’s done a solid job of cloaking a familiar platform in a new tracksuit.
What About The Interior?
Modern, minimalist cabins generally look sleek in photos, but can be more austere than a cinderblock outhouse in person. The cockpit of the Camry is the complete opposite. Okay, the giant slab of shiny black plastic smeared across the dashboard looks and feels like the homogenized carcasses of LG’s 2011 mobile phone lineup, but the rest of the materials in here range from fine to fabulous. The dashtop and door cards are adequately soft, the armrests are plush enough not to tire out even the boniest of elbows after several hours in the saddle, and I’m a big fan of the almost-corduroy fabric clothing the lower swoosh of the dashboard.
So far, so good, but what about comfort? Well, there are acres of space in both rows, and every seat strikes a nice balance between comfort and support. Maybe don’t try your best Jimmie Johnson impression around an on-ramp because the modest bolstering could lead to some unexpected intimacy between rear seat passengers, but come on. The only thing a real Camry shares with its NASCAR sibling is a visual resemblance. I do wish the telescoping steering column telescoped out a hair more, and a proper handle to close the trunk would be a welcome addition, but neither of these are dealbreakers for the money.
How Does It Drive?
The first thing you need to know about the latest all-wheel-drive Camry is that it’s not slow. Line it up against the Japanese sport compact cars of 20 years ago, and this sensible hybrid will genuinely kick some of them in the ‘nads and steal their lunch money. Figure zero-to-60 mph in under seven seconds and just enough passing power to encourage optimistic overtakes. In short, this is a 46 MPG car that can keep up with an eight-generation Honda Civic Si. So what’s the caveat? Well, it isn’t the well-tuned planetary gearset that helps send engine power to the road. Toyota might call it an eCVT, but it’s far more civilized than any belt-type CVT on the market. No, the real asterisk lies in this car’s through-the-road all-wheel-drive system with a tiny little 64-horsepower electric motor on the rear axle. Enough to get you out of a snow drift, but not enough to really rotate the car or take a huge load off the front axle. It’s good enough for most people’s needs, but those seeking the full traditional all-wheel-drive experience won’t find it here.
Beyond the unexpectedly reasonable straight-line performance, the Camry is born to soothe, yet not born to bore. It feels quieter and more composed than a Honda Accord Hybrid, swiftly dispatching with post-apocalyptic tarmac without sending huge reverberations through the floor. There’s a composed confidence to the ride quality, and the nicely weighted steering is night-and-day from the helm in the previous-generation model. Simply put, this is the best-driving Camry in decades.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Does it ever. Dual-zone automatic climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a digital instrument cluster, a powered driver’s seat, loads of USB-C charging ports, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Canadian-market Camry Nightshade comes as standard with a moonroof, heated seats and steering wheel, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and keyless entry, but you’ll need to add $1,970 in options to an American car to reach the same spec. Speaking of electronics, shoutout to having loads of physical controls. There are rocker switches for the dual-zone climate control, dedicated buttons for drive modes and seat heating and map light operation, and a flurry of real things to press on the steering wheel. In fact, as-equipped with the heated steering wheel and heated seats and stuff, I only found one blanked-out button inside the Camry Nightshade. And this isn’t even a fully-loaded model.
So, this Camry is comprehensively equipped, but how does it all work? Brilliantly, as it turns out. There’s heaps of configurability to the gauge cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay functioned flawlessly, the heated seats get to roasting chestnuts after about ten minutes on high, none of the driver assistance functions are intrusive, and even the six-speaker stereo sounds far better than you’d expect. You can drive a suitably equipped mid-range Camry and, unless you must have ventilated seats or a 360-degree camera system, never have a desire to jump up to the top trim.
Three Things To Know About The 2026 Toyota Camry Nightshade
- There’s only one blanked-out button in the entire interior.
- It features the same sort of all-wheel-drive system as the RAV4 crossover.
- The SE does away with the black accents, but is otherwise identically equipped and less expensive.
Does The 2026 Toyota Camry Nightshade Fulfil Its Purpose?
Strip away the blacked-out accents by going with a similarly equipped all-wheel-drive SE trim, and you get a car that’s less than two grand more than a base all-wheel-drive RAV4, better-equipped, more efficient, nicer to drive, more comfortable, quieter, quicker, features the same sort of hybrid powertrain, the same sort of all-wheel-drive system, and even has the same badge on the nose. The only catch is that you can’t put a labradog in the cargo area. I mean, you could, but that would be cruel. So, if all-wheel drive is a must but you don’t strictly need the tall, square cargo space of a crossover, a new mid-range Camry might be the move. It certainly shows how far your dollar can go.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2026 Toyota Camry Nightshade?
It’s so much car for the money, you almost feel like you’re getting away with something.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
I cannot in good conscience recommend a sedan with the truncated mail-slot trunk to anyone. Can we just boycott all slope-back sedans until they change them all into hatchbacks?
I will never claim to be up on the latest slang. What is meant by “through the road?” Are we admitting that the only mechanism that communicates input from one end of the car is The Earth?
That’s correct. The front and rear drive are in no way linked together on the car. The rear receives power independently if grip levels (or throttle input) calls for it. I don’t love the terminology, as it sounds like a nice way for marketing to rebrand eAWD as a positive thing (which it its from an efficiency standpoint, just not from a grip strandpoint)
No way I’m paying 40k for that.I know I’m cheap,old,out of touch but no way.
The base Camry provides enough standard stuff over a hybrid AWD corolla to, I think, be worth the price premium. But once you start adding options to the Camry, you lose me.
Is it me, or is that screen super small? Size sometimes doesn’t matter, but if a Civic has a bigger screen, that’s odd. For some reason, when I first saw this design, I liked it, but over time, it’s faded completely. In my opinion, Toyota needs a new interior design team. Their cars have looked gross both in and out for years. Lexus is doing well and has always looked nice on the exterior. But the interior, well, it’s like they are years behind everyone else. Also super torn on Hybrids to this date; those batteries must throw a wrench into long-term ownership and trade-in values once they reach a certain level of usage.
Careful now, that’s a slipper slope into blaming millennials lack of housing on avocado toast. Such comments don’t age well.
I know it’s not an AI summary, but it’s like you are trying to make it sound like one?
Ugh, I live in the dumbest country. I mean, we don’t deserve nice things, but still.
You can’t afford a $3,500 monthly starter home mortgage payment because you buy a $7 Starbucks twice a week and you’ll never convince me otherwise!!! I know my maths!
Nice Ween pull!
I can confirm that even in rental trim, the hybrid Camrys are indeed quite quick. And will cruise at triple digit speeds very smoothly. Once you get a taste of battery-fueled acceleration, it’s hard to give that torque up. Especially for a commuter car where engagement isn’t your primary concern.
This is so true. There was a “base” Camry LE near me for $28k, fees included. We’ve let unchecked desire and vanity create needless shackles for so many. I routinely travel with 4 adults and three small dogs in a vehicle of similar size-ample space and comfort for all. Finally, this thing will only be worth a few thousand less in several years.
The midsize sedan segment may be dying but Toyota seems to want to be the last one standing. Hard to find a bad review of this generation of Camry. 7 seconds to 60, mileage in the 40s, good ride/handling balance and chassis, far less than the average new vehicle price.
It’s certainly kicking in the teeth of the Accord in the sales race.
I noticed that the all the companies in the US that offer midsized sedans are ones that also happen to sell those cars globally
Every time an article comes out about rising average transaction prices resulting in the predictable “CARS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE” posts from commentators, I think of the Camry. For 90%+ of buyers of midsize CUVs, this Camry (or any remaining midsize sedan) would fit their needs perfectly, while costing less to buy and run.
My wife has always had an SUV – she grew up in the countryside of western NY where big hills and unplowed roads were the standard for a quarter of the year. The most refined of which was her 2012 Rav4 which she had for a decade.The first non-SUV/truck she really spent a lot of time in regularly was my FRS, which certainly isn’t what you’d call comfortable.
We had a Malibu as a rental car a little while back. She was shocked by how comfortable it was for, you know, not exactly a premium sedan experience. I explained that cars can have softer suspensions because they have less body roll by default. Smoother and quieter ride follow from there.
That really opened her mind up to the option of a corolla or camry as her next car. Some people don’t know or just don’t remember how much better a cheap sedan is than a cheap crossover at doing regular car stuff.
You are absolutely right. I have experienced many late-model rentals in my work travels. The Malibu is user friendly, comfortable and quicker than it needs to be. A base Camry offers a significantly nicer experience than a base RAV4. The RAV4 belongs in rental car perdition with the Jeep Compass and Nissan Altima.
I believe this Malibu had the same powertrain as my Equinox work vehicle. Not great fuel economy, but felt a little less lethargic than the equinox due to the lower weight. I was really hoping for a new Camry because of fuel economy – we knew we’d do close to 1000 miles and the hybrid would have saved us some cash on gas. On the flip side, I didn’t feel as bad about offroading a 45k mile Malibu in Yellowstone as I would have in a shiny new Camry.
I’m sure it’s fine. But for me, it’s not worth taking on car payments for.
Also a great take.
Pay cash then.
$40k in 2020 is $50k in 2025.
We really found the accelerator pedal on the old inflation machine.
This leads me to wonder what Warhammer 40K is when adjusted for inflation.
Based on the publication of the original rule book : Warhammer 113.4k
Perfect. No notes.
Pretty all right ride, especially for the price. My son calls the blank-out buttons poverty buttons.
sounds like your son has a conic case of marketing susceptibility. might want to get that checked out before it ruins his life.
I can’t speak for their new models, but 1990s and 2000s BMW definitely cared and would make different trim pieces depending on your options so you didn’t have blank buttons.
Outstanding.
Have we circled back to the 80’s where engine bays just look like a mess of tubes snaking every which way?
I prefer as few snakes as possible, but that’s just fantasy considering how complex modern drivetrains are, even normally aspirated ones. Still, I’d rather have the snakes visible as opposed to them being hidden under a few square feet of black plastic covers.
I had one of these as a rental for a couple weeks last year after my 86 got totaled by a red light runner and thoroughly enjoyed it. My main impression of it was how similar it felt to my mom’s 2016 Camry despite having a completely different powertrain. Definitely considering to lease one in the next couple years once I get my current 86 paid off to have as a work transportation pod/long distance driver.
1kWh pack? Like… Why?
It can drive the 64hp motor for 80 seconds, at best.
LFP packs are so cheap–wholesale in China is $80 per kWh, and weighs only 15lbs or so. Give it a 10kWh pack and it can be a genuine plug-in hybrid.
It would be great if they had a bigger HV battery even if it doesnt come with a plug, the ability to drive on EV Mode was good till you crossed 25mph.
There’s the Prius for that if you want a PHEV.
So people don’t get stuck in snowbanks.
Snowbanks, this time of year, are mostly ice.
You’re less stuck, and more impaled by the snowbank.
Maybe I’m using the wrong word. What do you call the pile of snow that snowplows make at the end of your driveway, or along side your car if you’re street parking?
I remember almost getting fired back in the day when I had a FWD Neon; I was street parking downtown and facing uphill, and the plow came along and put a 2′ pile along side my car. FWD + uphill + tons of snow = I was like 45 minutes late. Some passerbys wound up pushing the front of my car towards the center of the street while I was flooring it lol
What do you expect from a company that is down with Nissan and Stellantis on R&D budget spending percentage? New products more than every decade or two? /s
“Below industry average were Tesla at 3.8%, Toyota at 3%, and Stellantis and Nissan at 2.9%.” https://www.wardsauto.com/news/archive-wards-general-motors-tops-the-auto-industry-in-r-d-spending/797012/
That said, PHEV batteries seem to be in a strange middle ground between power dense hybrid batteries and energy dense EV batteries, so it’s probably more complicated than just slapping in some extra batteries to maintain durability and such.
I would skip the AWD. The 1kWh is enough to achieve the hybrid MPG goals. The entire AWD system is just to tick a box and adds weight and complexity that for many drivers will get used so rarely it’s not worth the effort – as would putting a much larger battery that would add weight and take up space.
You do know self-charging hybrids exist, right? Not everyone wants a PHEV. If you don’t charge at home, PHEVs barely use any of their capacity anyway so you end up lugging around a heavy, dead battery.
I’m convinced that’s why companies don’t offer PHEVs over regular hybrids
PHEVs don’t compel drivers to utilize the “electric” part, and to your point, they have to be charged at home or have access to a parking spot where it can sit for a few hours because they can’t fast-charge like an EV
Not only are they more expensive, it also has the complexity, weight and maintenance requirements of two drivetrains. Still gotta do oil changes
Better to go HEV -> BEV and skip PHEVs as an intermediate step
I got a 25 Camry Nightshade as rental that I drove from Arizona to Michigan last month when my SN95 decided to eat the headgaskets. Front wheel drive without the heated stuff. Somehow I only managed to get 34MPG but thats amazing to me based on my driving and weather temperatures. Gas very cheap (Around $2.00 per gallon) so I cut my expenses by half compared to my drive there.
Very solid car, I liked it. Just the engine noise under load sounded like a blender machine but thats about it, perfect commuter car.
The closer-to-$30K front-wheel-drive base Camry seems pretty good per all the Youtube videos I’ve watched about it. Not as pretty as the red one reviewed here, but if you didn’t need the very limited rear-wheel motivation providing brief AWD, it’s like $8-10 less expensive, with the same hybrid engine and CVT w/a real first gear. Every time I have to deal with agita resulting from costs to get one of my cars to pass smog testing (22, 31, and 37 years old) I think to myself ‘maybe a Camry/Corolla, or better yet a Mazda 3 or CX-5 would just make sense?’
BTW, what’s a SN95? I’m sure it’s obvious to most, but all I come up with is Windows 95 and Saab’s 9-5 and you didn’t mean those. 😉
Mustang
OH! Thanks Red. Not an area where I’ve any expertise at all (Mustangs) hence my ignorance.
BTW, I meant $8-10K less expensive.
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced someone referring to a blender as a blender machine
I’ve driven one of these a few times from the rental counter last year. I found the design of the passenger dash off putting and the center armrest was to high. I constantly found my elbow banging into the side of it.
Related to the article specifically, the AWD XSE massacres the fuel economy.
I wish they made a long-roof version of the Camry for utility.
Agreed. Hasn’t been offered in a while, and that is why I drive an older Highlander. But this looks good. Maybe I should pick up a Camry and just connect with a kennel when I go on a road trip instead of bringing the dog.
It’s safer for the dog to be in a comfortable and crash-tested harness attached to a safety belt that will allow it to lie down when it wants to. If your luggage will fit into the trunk, the only reason for the cargo area of a wagon or SUV is if you need to load children lengthwise.
It would be nice if they even made it a liftback. Not holding my breath on the wagon coming back.
Yes, a liftback or true wagon would be awesome, particularly if it didn’t cost too much more than the sedan. Like you, I don’t expect either one. Whenever I see an old Camry wagon with that funny rear window area, I think to myself how handy it seems size-wise.
Yeah, I’d be fine with an appliance like this, but it needs more utility.
Was thinking the exact same thing-if they offered this as a wagon or at least a useful hatch would seriously consider this for our next family car. But I don’t think that will ever happen, not least bc most americans would obviously prefer the RAV4 that is essentially the tall and long roof version of this car.
They do, in their minds anyway. Three of them: RAV4, Crown Insignia, and Highlander. Wagon Basic. Wagon Fancy. Wagon Big.
I understand what you’re saying, I just thoroughly, and to my very core, disagree in it being equivalent.
That’s because it isn’t equivalent. But it’s reality, and given the improvements in vehicle dynamics and fuel economy it’s not really that far off.
No one wants a true Camry wagon, even if you and I do.
Don’t we all.
There’s the Crown Signia, with an eye watering $45K MSRP. I wonder what’s Toyota thinking when the vehicle it replaced was $8K less yet it never sold in high numbers…
I understand that enthusiasts hate crossovers, but I am firmly in the camp that they did not replace the midsize family sedan that dad used to drive. It’s my opinon that was replaced by the 4 door pick-up truck.
And piano black trim is pratically an automatic veto for me.
Crossovers replaced wagons & hatchbacks.
and actual SUVs.
Hit that nail on the head to add to it, mom’s minivan was replaced with a 3-row crossover.
Great review! I think RAV4s in the US come equipped with a $5k somethingdoodle dog as standard equipment, so factor that in the price.
I believe it’s RAVs4.
Joint Chiefs of Staff
Whoppers, Jr.
https://theonion.com/william-safire-orders-two-whoppers-junior-1819565735/
“It’s so much car for the money, you almost feel like you’re getting away with something.*”
*assuming you can get a Toyota dealer to sell you one anywhere near MSRP.
Botanist here, Nightshade is poisonous.
Not all though. Some in the solanaceae family can be quite delicious.
The ones with “nightshade” in the common name are usually poisonous. I was not referring to the entire family.
likely too is the black plastic, if you ate it.
I prefer to micro-dose my plastic.
What a time to be alive!
Tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes are all nightshades.
The Camry is definitely very potato.
I know that but it is not in the name I was talking about the nightshades with “nightshade” in the name.
According to my parents, potato goes with everything.
I think it’s a description that fits, well, a Camry.
There’s an urban legend about how reverse psychology was used to get people to adopt potatoes as a crop and food source in Europe
There’s many versions of the story, but it goes something liek this: , and it goes something like this: Peasants avoided potatoes because they weren’t seen as a food. A local aristocrat plants them in a garden, posts guards during the day, but leaves it unprotected at night so people could sneak in and “steal” the potatoes
but some family members are delicious.