The Toyota Camry facelift arrives in Malaysia and here’s what our first impressions are.
UMW Toyota Motor has launched the facelifted XV70 generation Camry in Malaysia with some much needed upgrades. New to the Toyota Camry in Malaysia for 2022 is the Dynamic Force 2.5-litre engine and the accompanying 8-speed conventional automatic transmission. RM199,109.50 is the price tag.
Along with this major powertrain revision comes some new equipment, including power-reclining rear seats with seat, climate and media controls for rear occupants located in the centre armrest.
The Camry now also comes with tri-zone climate control, as well as a larger 9” infotainment unit with Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto readiness.
Last week, we got to drive the facelifted 2022 Camry to and from Kuantan for a day. The new engine and gearbox are a much better fit for the D-segment sedan. Not only is it quieter and more refined than the outgoing drivetrain, but the responsiveness, power output and delivery is vastly improved.
The outgoing Camry was a fine enough vehicle, but it did feel a little old school in terms of its pedal feel and throttle response. This new one is a lot more nimble and willing, with plenty of usable torque throughout the rev range and a renewed willingness to rev when pushed hard. There are also drive mode controls that change the throttle and ship maps.
While it’s not turbocharged, Toyota now has a powertrain that keeps up with the downsized turbocharged compact executives that are on the market. It has a healthy 209PS at 6,600RPM and 250Nm of torque at 5,000RPM, a bump of 25PS and 15Nm over the last engine. The engine now features D4S direct injection and is fundamentally a completely different engine to the last one. It’s so modern and high tech that Toyota claims it has a thermal efficiency of 40%! With the increased power the facelifted Camry had no trouble keeping up with the competition on the highway and this new powertrain finally does justice to the TNGA platform that the Camry is built upon.
Besides the changes to the powertrain, there are a few other noteworthy changes to equipment. The new Camry now comes with triple-zone climate control, giving both front occupants as well as those in the rear the ability to more finely tune the temperature to their individual needs. Up front, you also get a new, larger 9” touchscreen for infotainment that now comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-ready connectivity. This unit is now free-floating, unlike the last one.
And being the kind of car that people get chauffeured around in, both the new tri-zone climate control and the 9” infotainment unit can be controlled from the rear. Basic controls for these and the rear sunshade can be found in the centre armrest. What’s more, there are controls here that also enable the rear seats to be reclined by up to 8 degrees! As before, there are shoulder buttons on the front passenger seats that allow the rear passenger to easily re-adjust the front seat. The Camry is just as much a drivers car as it is one for those who enjoy being driven.
To top it all off, the new Camry now features the latest Toyota Safety Sense suite. The familiar Pre-Collision System, Lane Departure Alert, Automatic High Beam, Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Auto Brake are all here. These are joined by Intelligent Clearance Sonar, which automatically cuts power and brakes when it detects an object in the way whether the car is being driven forwards or in reverse. Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC) and Lane Tracing Assist now works for all speeds. New DRCC features include the ability for the Camry to automatically increase speed when it detects the driver wants to overtake and automatic speed reduction when it detects the car is being driven through a curvy road.
While the design doesn’t look too drastically different from before, a few things have been changed on this new Camry. The headlights and taillights have been redesigned and they’re more intricate.
The lower part of the grille and bumper are sharper and sleeker than before and the top half of the grille is a tad slimmer too. There’s just a little less chrome on the glasshouse and the 18” rims are sharper with a dual tone finish.
Inside, the finish graphic looks the same as before but the colour has been changed from brown to grey. The aforementioned floating infotainment screen and drive mode selector buttons have also been added and there appears to be more contrasty stitching this time around, but we’re not sure if this is different from before.
The same niceties like the heads up display and JBL sound system make a return. The Camry facelift is available in Platinum White Pearl Mica, Silver Metallic, Graphite Metallic, Burning Black, and Red Mica.
