![]() (EV mode didn’t significantly increase the time the car spent driving solely on electricity.) You’ll notice almost no regenerative braking when you lift off the throttle (coasting saves energy) and some electric-only acceleration up to 10 or 15 mph if you’re light on the accelerator. To do this, you’ll want to drive in Eco mode, which deadens throttle response and keeps engine rpm as low as possible. Those are small negatives relative to the satisfaction of making big numbers roll up on the readout in the gauge cluster and on the center stack’s hybrid-system screen. The system does have one remaining behavioral flaw in that, at walking speeds, the brakes sometimes can be annoyingly grabby. At any speed beyond about 5 mph, the XLE hybrid’s brakes feel virtually normal the pedal is firm at the top of its travel and easy to modulate. Toyota has done better when dealing with the squishy brake-pedal feel and inconsistent response that plague many electrified cars’ regenerative braking systems. Not that Toyota didn’t try: It added a manual mode that enables the driver to sift through six simulated gear steps with the console-mounted shifter, but it had little effect on either the noise emanating from underhood or the rate of forward progress. While it’s not a terrible sound, we’d still rather there were less of it penetrating the otherwise quiet cabin. Request anything more than modest acceleration, though, and the hybrid’s CVT-like arrangement allows the engine to zing up to moderately high rpm and hang there-a behavior common to continuously variable automatic transmissions (CVTs) and to hybrid powertrains. Acceleration is seamless, and off-the-line throttle response in the Normal and Sport modes is far livelier than the hybrid’s 7.9-second zero-to-60-mph time would suggest. We found the hybrid powertrain a good fit with the XLE’s relaxed driving persona. The Camry lineup offers three engine choices, all of them new for 2018: a base 203-hp 2.5-liter inline-four (206 hp in the XSE) a 301-hp 3.5-liter V-6 and the 208-hp (total system power) hybrid powering our test car. The XLE still is not a car that you hurl at apexes-skidpad grip is a reasonable 0.84 g, although the stability control jumps in early and often-but it’s in the zone now, a thoroughly competent sedan that goes about its business with an air of composure. The steering, light at low speeds, actually feels connected to something now, with surprising heft at highway velocities, a strong sense of center, and crisp response when you swing the wheel into a bend. Tar strips and other road blemishes are muffled thumps heard more than felt. It now lopes across the larger swells and damps out bumps swiftly and smoothly, with no aftershake. No longer does the Camry bob disconnectedly over ruffled pavement as if someone unbolted the shocks and threw them overboard. It has clearly benefitted from the switch to the TNGA underpinnings-the body’s torsional stiffness has increased by 30 percent, and the old car’s rear struts are replaced with a more sophisticated multilink setup. The pleasant surprises extend to the way the XLE drives. A strip of faux wood flanking the sweeping center stack refracts light in a way that makes it shimmer intriguingly. The eject button for the CD player in the top Entune 3.0 infotainment system is integrated elegantly into a thin band of bright trim so it all but disappears. For instance, the delicate interior door handles are the tips of the satin-aluminum spears adorning the door-trim panels. ![]() The Camry TRD impresses in this regard.Designer touches unexpected in a mass-market sedan are scattered about the cabin. So, at slower speeds the handling is surprisingly good, but it's at higher velocities where the soft suspension and tires do deflate and reveal some shortcomings. ![]() Abilities are limited at higher speeds, though, where a quick flick for a hard 50 MPH kink was met with a delayed shift in weight transfer that just didn't feel at home as the left front was not happy to deal with so much inertia at once. Grip is limited by the economy tires, but the actual balance is impressive for a vehicle that's never been once thought of as 'sporty' in prior generations. ![]() The steering is accurate and has a morsel of weight to it, adding some confidence, and the front is quite willing to go wherever you choose. I think most Camry owners will be pleasantly surprised to know how balanced and capable their commuter really is on this front, with most Camrys reserved to just mundane highway traffic. Climbing up to the famous Twin Peaks lookout, above San Francisco, I luckily had a series of twisting spaghetti to myself, helping explore the handling characteristics.
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