Thank you Toyota for the lovely experience and the opportunity to test drive the Camry! As always, opinions are my own and the loan was given in consideration for my very opinionated opinion and all observations are my very own!

Toyota celebrated two holidays last month: Valentines Day AND #GalentinesDay – a fun new take on the traditional romantic holiday. Galentines Day celebrates friendship and the anti-romance that can really make people feel isolated. And what better way to celebrate friendship solidarity than a fun event that also celebrated the 8th generation model of the Toyota Camry 2018 model.  Toyota brought together some local style influencers at Upstairs Circus (seriously my new favorite thing)

So, let’s talk about the 2018 Camry Hybrid XLE Sedan. Thrilled with this word: HYBRID … they had me at 47 mpg overall  (combined city and highway). I mean, C’MON. Add in performance and luxury and fabulous upgrades and it’s a super fun experience
My overall take: it’s truly a well-performing sedan. Here are a few notations & observations (along with some subnotes of other reviews I observed online that I agree with)
  • Very fuel-efficient while still having strong acceleration
  • Impressive cargo space for a hybrid sedan
  • Comfortable and spacious interior
  • Very fuel-efficient while still having strong acceleration
  • The design details are surprisingly rich. The XLE’s standard furnishings included quilted leather seats in a subtle, two-tone tan that are similar to the chairs in more expensive sedans. There are plenty of soft surfaces and the hard plastic trim pieces are well disguised.
  • Camry has received a major overhaul, including a new platform, more aggressive styling, and vastly improved driving dynamic.
  • Here’s a new fact (Jack – ha!)  Toyota relocated the battery to under the rear seat, the Camry Hybrid now has more cargo room than most other hybrid sedans.
  • Plenty of passenger space, and good visibility.
  • Best-selling car (pickups excluded) in the United States for 15 years straight
  • Camry Hybrid is now just about as fuel-efficient as the Prius, while also being more powerful and more engaging to drive. Prius has more cargo room and the Camry Hybrid, more passenger room
  • The Entune infotainment system is intuitive and easy to use. The touchscreen is responsive, and there are redundant physical controls for some functions 
  • Forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking is standard
Upgrades:
$1050 – Driver Assist Package with Bird’s Eye View Camera – GREAT feature
$415 – Adaptive headlights
$845 – Moonroof – this really opened up the interior of the car!
$1800 – Audio Package – I think this upgrade is totally worth it! Especially with how on the go I am and always in need of map direction and phone juice! Entune, 3.0 Audio Plus with JBL Clari-Fi, Connected Navigation & App Suite, Qi Compatible Wireless Smartphone charging
With upgrades, total MSRP is $37,255.  not to hard on the wallet but also provided style, performance & comfort.
A little about Upstairs Circus:
A social bar where people can gather together to create unique D.I.Y., art & design projects; think Maker Studio meets Full Bar. We are: a DIY Bar, a Project Bar, Creations & Libations, a Craft & Sip, Crafts & Cocktails, a DIY & Drink, and so many other amazing descriptors! Upstairs Circus gives patrons the time, supplies,  tutorials and assistance to make something amazing.
I made a jewelry holder and was really dang proud of myself! 😀
Oh and the fun swag from Toyota was amazing: I LOOOVE my little mini speaker, a fun sweatshirt material tote bag, fun bracelet bangles (GalPal). I ended up giving the kids the giftcards because that’s their jam!
You can see that our family are HUGE Toyota fans. Charlie drives a 2017 Toyota RAV 4 and I drive (in between reviews) a 1999 Toyota 4Runner
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