CAMRY HYBRID - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

If you wanted more mileage for your gas, then Prius; however if you wanted more mileage and comfort/luxury, then go for Camry Hybrid.
I got my Hybrid on June 10 and up to this date I continually monitor my gas ==> my Camry gives me 37-38mpg on my daily commute of about 100 mile/day from Brentwood to Fremont in the BayArea. The comfort, safety features and other ammenities built in on the Camry are comparable to other high-end cars. Bluetooth, Vehicle Stability Control, Side-wall, knee and seat airbags, Tire-Pressure monitoring, Keyless are the features I like most.
Toyota dealer yards do not have enough stocks yet for Camry such that you need to "reserve" with them. I heard that Car Rental companies are buying all Hybrids!
Bottom line: I did not regret buying Camry and in fact I love it.

I got the Camry Hybrid last week, thus far avg 37.8 mpg, though was at 40mpg when driving more of a highway/city combo, especially with cruise control and downhill. Going to TN next week so should get a real highway test and mountain test. After about 3 miles the car will remain in stealth mode for most of my city driving under 40 mph.

I've had my Camry for about four weeks. My first tank got 36.7 mpg which I thought was fantastic for a first tank (supposedly it improves with time.) The car is comfortable and rides nicely.

I was very tempted with the Honda Civic hybrid which had more upgrades (like navigation) for less money and far better mileage. Decided to take the Camry. It was tough because when either of them came in it was take it now or someone else would. So I couldn't go back down the street and drive the Honda again because it was long gone.

I also had a hard time deciding between the Prius and Camry hybrid. In the end, I decided based on the type of driving I do - daily commute on two of LA's busiest freeways. The Camry's five-star crash ratings and extra size swayed me, since I feel like I need all the protection I can get on that commute. The extra power can also help keep you out of trouble on the freeway. So, I decided to trade off a bit of fuel efficiency for extra safety. If I was doing a milder commute, especially in the city, I would have gone for a Prius.
Having made that decision, I bought a Camry a month ago. I couldn't be more pleased! It is a wonderful car - quiet, all the power I need, luxurious, lots of nice tech features. The various feedbacks to gas mileage are great (should be standard in all cars), so I'm driving a bit more conservatively than before, but still going with the flow of LA traffic. I've only filled the tank once, but got 38.3 mpg. So far, I'm doing a bit better on the current tank. This is about 90% freeway driving, not necessarily ideal for a hybrid, but there's frequent stop-and-go driving, which seems to improve my mpg.
The Camry Hybrid is a normal car, and you can drive it without even paying attention to its hybrid state, and I'm sure the mileage would be very goodstill. But some minor, fairly inconsequential changes to driving style lets you get excellent mileage, especially for such a nice family-sized car.

The big difference would be the ride quality. I also have a highlander hybrid and a rav-4. The rav-4 is fun to zip around town in and parks and turns so easy,but on a hwy trip from minn to las vegas the rav-4 was not even close to the highlander for comfort. I think it would be the same with camry vs prius

I knew the trunk space was reduced, but until I bought it and started to put stuff in, I didn't realize how small it really was. I'm not sure yet whether a suitcase will even fit in there?

But I figured I could live with that for the amount of times I need the extra trunk space.

I've had my Camry Hybrid for 5 months (new in March, '07) and have put on just over 5,000 miles. The car is equipped with the standard Hybrid model equipment including cloth seats. I added FE (50 state emmisions), HM (heated outside mirrors) and SR (Moonroof Package includes: Power Tilt/Slide Moonroof w/Sliding Sunshade, Dual Illuminated Visor Vanity Mirrors & Rear Personal Reading Lights). I chose to not get the leather and nav options. I paid $26,028 plus Ohio state fees and taxes. My previous car was a '99 Ford Contour that I drove for 8 years. Keep this in mind as you read the following review of my experience so far with the Camry Hybrid.

Pros:

Really enjoy the cabin tech; e.g. bluetooth, JBL radio (including AUX input), Smart Key (the best!) and instrument cluster indicators.

Roominess of passenger compartment.

Comfortable ride.

Fuel economy (averaging 41 MPG!).

I drive less aggressively trying to minimize the ICE (internal combustion engine) operation and maximize MPG. It's become a game with myself to maintain 35-40 MPH on suburban streets with just the traction motor operating; keep the needle of the "Fuel Economy Meter" on the "E MODE"; quickly increase the brightness of the arcs around the Fuel Economy Meter and Speedometer indicating greater fuel economy (see page 137 of the manual)!

Plenty of interior storage in console and dash.

No visible radio antenna.

Excellent value for the money.

Annoyances:

Turn signal almost inaudible.

Wind buffeting with rear windows open.

Small trunk (The price you pay for battery storage and a roomy passenger cabin).

Weak climate control fan.

When the Air Intake Selector is set to Fresh (indicator light off), warm, stale air comes out of the instrument panel vents even if the outside air is cool.

Instrument panel hard to read when wearing sunglasses.

After letting up on the accelerator pedal and coasting towards a stop, lightly touching the brake pedal as you are braking to a stop, the car suddenly seems to slightly speed up as if something has been disengaged such as the traction motor. This is a very subtle feeling and took several weeks of driving to realize.

Despite searching for a .pdf version of the Owner's Manual, I have not been able to locate one. There is an online version that is hard to navigate at http://toyotaiguide.com/content/07Camry/iGuide.htm. The video at this site will be very helpful to new owners who are too impatient to fully read the printed manual. I was able to "print" the individual manual sections from this video to a printer configuration set as "PDF Fill PDF Writer" which saves the output as a .pdf file (308 pages).

I just purchased a slightly used 2007 TCH. It has 2,600 miles, and I love it. I've been researching hybrids a bit and this car seems like a great balance to me. 40+ mpg so far with 2 days work commute (70% highway, 30% city).:D

Looking at buying a 09 hybrid camry and I have some questions which I hope someone can answer. Here they are:

Is everyone still happy with them? Is mileage really good?

Any problems with the electric motor or battery system?

Are they worth the extra money?

Are there any special maintenance costs you have encountered?

Thank you for all your help.

I'm averaging 38.5 for the first 9,000 miles. The car should be the same cost to maintain as a standard Camry and possibly cheaper as the brakes are not used as much. With the warmer weather we are having now my average per tank is running around 40.5 to 41.5 vs. the 36 to 37 during the winter (bought the car in late October). Can't wait for summer formulation gas and warmer temps to see how things go.

Just bought my 2009 Camry Hybrid yesterday May 19, 2008.
I had a Camry a few years ago and loved it. I had it for 5 years and only needed to put brakes on it. I just switched from a CTS which I really like but being in sales I needed something with better mileage. I was spending close to $500.00 a month on gas.
Anyway I test drove one at the dealership but it had alot of extra options on it $4000.00 that I didn't want so I thought I would go to the other Dealerships and see what they had. They all had nothing and Told me it would be a couple of months before that would get more delivered and they were spoken for. Sp thanfully by the time I got back to the Dealership the one I first drove was still there so I jumped on it. It was stickered at $30200.00 I got it at $29500.00. It wasn't much off the stickered price but they said the new ones will have a $2000.00 premium tacked on them because their in such high demand and you can't get them.
Anyway I love the car. If you can find one get it.

What a great car.Me and my family love it and I drive almost 100miles daily and its a big relief on my purse.Its quite and comfy.In my family two other members are planning to buy Camary Hybrid.I love it and enjoy driving.I get an avg of almost 40.

I use my air all the time with the Eco mode on and I'm averaging a little over 40mpg all around.
I've had it for three weeks and have put on 1800 miles.

We just traded a high end Station wagon for a Camry Hybrid,we looked at the Prius which has a little better gas consumption but not as good value as the Camry.

I have driven high end luxury european cars for many years and loved them but I am amazed at the quality oty the Camry not mention the great value received.

The gas consumption is amazing ,40 to 50 MPG
using regular gas and of course we must not forget it has 70% less carbon emissions too.

The Hybrid Battery is warrantied for 8 years something that peopled had a concern about so dont worry.

A Happy Owner.

I recently purchased a Camry Hybrid, I am very excited in anticipation of its arrival. I had a couple of questions.

Is there anything I can do to make the car get even better MPGs? Are the tires on the car the best or close to the best in terms of Roll Resistance?

Also when the EPA tests the car do they use the Eco drive heat/cool function on the car? Thank you in advance for your responses. Any other tips would be great!

I have a camry hybrid I am trying to sell. Please see my craigslist ad http://norfolk.craigslist.org/cto/898046717.html. This car is great my husband and I are movinga and we need all the cash we can get. Please let me know if you have any questions.