Overview of the Toyota Camry
The Camry is a midsize car that debuted in the early 1980s and became immensely popular with fleet buyers in Australia - helping to make it the dominant seller in its category.
A Camry-based V6 model was marketed as the Aurion between 2006 and 2017. A petrol-electric hybrid variant has been offered since 2010.
The Camry was produced in Australia for 30 years before Toyota ended local production altogether. The latest (eighth-generation) model introduced in late 2017 is imported from Japan.
TOYOTA CAMRY GENERATIONS (SINCE 2002)
2002-2006
2006-2011
2011-2017
2017-onwards
RUNNING COSTS
Fuel Consumption
Latest model: 4-cylinder petrol 7.8-8.3 litres per 100km
Latest model: 6-cylinder petrol 8.6 litres per 100km
Latest model: Hybrid 4.2-4.5 litres per 100km
2011-2017 model: 2.5-litre 4-cylinder: 7.9 litres per 100km
2011-2017 model: Hybrid 5.2 litres per 100km
= Highly economical.
= Good economy.
= Average fuel use.
= Heavy consumption.
Servicing
Capped-price program. Every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever is sooner. Each service currently costs $195 per year. Toyota Camry parts and equipment can be found on Gumtree.
SIMILAR CARS TO TOYOTA CAMRY
Ford Mondeo
Mazda 6
Subaru Liberty
Volkswagen Passat
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR: TOYOTA CAMRY (2011-2017 MODELS)
If there's a more highly regarded second-hand car than the Toyota Camry, we don't know what it is.
Many years and multiple generations of Camrys have all made their mark as being superbly reliable and long-lived.
Plenty of fleet businesses bought Camrys for all the above reasons, and while an executive-driven example is worth a look, we'd be giving a wide berth to the ex-car-share Camry and the ex-taxi. The former taxi should be obvious, but the share-car Camry can be harder to spot.
Check all paperwork to determine the previous owner and avoid the ex-car-share example.
Plenty of taxi companies and Uber operators fell in love with the Camry Hybrid, but the big question is what happens when the battery-pack dies.
For now, they're available for reasonable money at parts recyclers right now, but that will change as more Hybrids need new batteries.
