Toyota Camry Hybrid 2009 basetrim photos Sedan Interior

Inside, the Camry offers a welcome counterpoint to its exterior styling. While the outside has been touched with a splash of pizzazz, the inside has been brushed with shades of elegance. The treatment is not quite up to, say, Lexus-level luxury, but, especially in the top-of-the-line XLE, this Camry sets a high bar on interior polish for mid-price, mid-size sedans.

The cabin is trimmed with a brushed metallic finish in the base, LE, SE, and Hybrid. Real-looking glossy wood grain is used inside the XLE, including surrounds for the door-release handles.

The fabric upholstery combines breathable, waffle-texture insets with smooth bolsters and backing. The leather upgrade isn’t quite kid glove, but it feels expensive. On the less positive side, the hard plastic covering the roof pillars looks cheap, and the mouse fur headliner disappoints.

2009 Toyota Camry interior

The Camry is a roomy sedan, with comfortable seats front and rear, though the seat bottoms are short on thigh support for taller occupants. Rear-seat passengers in the XLE enjoy a luxury rarely seen in this class: Reclining seatbacks.

The sloping hood delivers good sightlines from the driver’s seat. The thick C-pillar (that part of the body supporting the roof behind the rear doors), looks less imposing to the driver than from outside the car. Low-profile rear-seat head restraints leave the view in the rearview mirror mostly unblocked. Outside mirrors are placed farther rearward than we’d like, forcing a turn of the head for quick checks instead of just glancing sideways.

2009 Toyota Camry interior

Almost everything inside the Camry speaks refined function. The speedometer and tachometer are large, circular and easy to scan, save for brief periods at dusk and under certain types of street lighting, when the luminescent instruments on all but the SE can wash out.

Gauges in the SE, which are black on white with sharp blue backlighting, avoid this eye-straining fade. They’re part of this sporty model’s unique interior treatment, which features dark charcoal or Ash gray hues and a grippy leather-wrapped, three-spoke steering wheel.

The window switches are clustered nicely on the driver’s door armrest, just below the mirror switch and door lock, so they sit right where the hand rests when the driver sets forearm on the door. However, only the driver’s window switch is lit at night, and it’s not very bright. That means the other switches in the cluster, including the locks and mirrors, must be located by touch when it’s dark, rather than by sight.

2009 Toyota Camry SE V6 interior

Controls for audio and air conditioning are easily manageable, clearly labeled and logically positioned in the center stack, with audio above and climate below. The pastel blue-green lighting around the optional navigation system reminds us of Miami Beach, and we love the separate on/off switches for the audio and navigation systems. The dual switches are a welcome departure from a lot of other vehicles, many of which have single on/off switches, which means that, in those other cars, if you want the navigation but no audio, you have to crank the volume all the way down, and still run the risk of picking up interference. The Camry’s dual switches eliminate this issue.

The cabin offers lots of usable cubbies for storing things. Cup holders and assorted nooks and covered bins are located conveniently about the center stack and console. A large glove box spans the lower dash between the center stack and passenger door. Only the front doors get map pockets, which are fixed, hard plastic that allows most everything stored there to slide. A similar material forms the magazine pouches on the back of the front seatbacks. A covered storage bin in the fold-down center rear armrest doubles as cup holders for rear passengers. On the SE and XLE, it also conceals a pass-through to the trunk. The SE offers only this pass-through, rather than the folding rear seat on other models, because of an extra brace behind the seat that stiffens the body for sportier handling.

2009 Toyota Camry hybrid interior

Trunk space is adequate, at 15.0 cubic feet. The XLE’s reclining back seats exact a slight penalty in trunk space, dropping it 0.5 cubic feet compared to other models. The Camry Hybrid takes an even bigger hit, losing 4.3 cubic feet of trunk space to its battery. The Camry’s trunk is fully finished, and the XLE comes with a luggage net that keeps cargo from sliding. There’s no pull-down handle inside the trunk lid to spare fingers the grime and grit that can accumulate on exterior surfaces in winter.

2009 Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry  does just about everything very well and it’s supported by Toyota’s well-earned reputation for quality, reliability and resale value. It’s the best-selling midsize sedan in America.

2009 Toyota Camry

The Camry is exceptionally good in nearly every respect, bad in almost none, and it has a steady, set-and-forget quality that many drivers appreciate. This four-door sedan seats five in comfort, yet it’s relatively compact and easy to park. It’s smooth and quiet, but it can accelerate with vigor. Its cabin is attractive, functional and as refined as anything in its class. It’s pleasant to drive in all circumstances.

The Camry benefited from a complete overhaul for 2007, starting with a new, airy interior and continuing with more powerful engines, more transmission choices and increased fuel efficiency. The Camry’s aerodynamic styling shows more vitality than we’ve come to expect from a car many have labeled, and not necessarily in unkind fashion, as Japan’s Buick. The only change of any significance for 2009 is that what was the base model, the Camry CE, is now known as just the Camry.

2009 Toyota Camry

Models range from the well-equipped base Camry to the near-luxury Camry XLE. In between are the popular LE, a modest step up from the base and available with the V6, and the SE, decked out with suspension, tires and trim to please the sporty crowd.

The standard four-cylinder engine is not the strongest, though it’s more than adequate with the manual transmission. The available V6 is one of the most powerful in the class and it’s very smooth.

The Camry Hybrid features a combination electric motor/gasoline engine powertrain and a super-efficient continuously variable transmission, or CVT. The Hybrid is a good performer and one of the most fuel-efficient mid-size vehicles anywhere. It also makes a statement for environmentally conscious buyers, though it’s worth noting that all Camry models offer good EPA mileage ratings and low emissions in their respective categories.

2009 Toyota Camry SE V6

Since its debut in the United States well over two decades ago, the Camry has earned a reputation for smart design, pleasing function, great build quality and long-term durability. It’s not all hype. The Toyota Camry remains the benchmark by which its competitors are judged.

2010 Toyota Camry

The 2010 Toyota Camry receives exterior and interior styling updates and performance improvements. The standard engine for Camry, Camry LE and Camry XLE is a 169-horsepower 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine combined with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed automatic.

2010 Toyota Camry

Camry SE increases to 179 horsepower and a 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 is also available. Vehicle Stability Control with traction control is standard for all Camry trim levels. Exterior updates include a new grille, front bumper, larger lower air intake, larger projector headlights and restyled taillights.

2010 Toyota Camry hybrid interior

Camry and Camry LE receive restyled wheel covers, XLE features new 16-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels and SE offers 17-inch alloy wheels.

2010 Toyota Camry