2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid User Reviews

Pros

highway mileage good, flashy style with word "hybrid" on outside

Cons

Poor gas mileage, gauges are not accurate, not reflect true mpg, cheap interior, cheap radio

1. Alot of hype over fuel economy. It does not rate 33 mpg in city
far from it- I have received as low as 23 mpg, and a couple of
tanks were 29 mpg. Current tank so far is 26.5.

2. BEAWARE- if the gauge that says average tank reflects 34.8, you
are reallly only 31.28. If it says 30.1, you are probably at 29 pmg,
and if 29 mpg the actual is 26 mpg, in order words Toyota is
trying to fool the consumer with this gauge that says average tank
NOT accurate at all and Toyota refuses to admit it.

3. Plain Jane dash, interior, just not an exciting interior.

4. Cheap stereo even the upgrade.

5. lights around the dash and radio are boring,very boring.

6. Car has many blind spots, use your mirrors all the time or
you might hit another car that you will not see....read morehide

Pros

Mileage in good waether around town, pillowy ride, easy to steer in parking lots

Cons

Styling, no door protection strips, rear visibility, price, handling/steering, rough hybrid system

The bland Camry hybrid my wife insisted on buying due to the outrageous gas prices is really just a feel good stop gap measure until something more permanent comes along. The power is decent once you get moving but the hybrid powertrain is sometimes rough when transistioning from gas to electric and back again almost as if it's confused. The ride, handling and steering are typical Toyota, ie for the older set with it's pillow soft suspension so don't even think of buying one of these for handling prowess. The mileage in the Winter months wasn't anything special, about 26 combined but it has improved to around 30-32 the past few warmer weeks which is decent. The rear visibility is poor, the trunk is robbed of much of it's space due to the batteries and you lose the split folding rear seat which stinks so forget about taking a family trip in one of these. Styling is in the eye of the beholder but Toyotas models of late are lame and very bland. The lack of a side door strip only adds to the blandness and the grille is positively ugly. If your on a budget look elsewhere. Looking for 40 MPG, try out a diesel Jetta, a much more fun to drive car overall....read morehide

Pros

smooth ride

Cons

fuel economy isn't that great, small trunk, small interior specially if you have car seat in the bac

Fuel economy will drop if you put better tires like michelin, not very efficient in mountains, cannot turn off trucktion control so if you get stuck in snow, you'll have to walk back.
I sold mine. Wasn't too happy and lost money. Hybrid option might pay for itself in very long time, I figured at least 5 years....read morehide

Pros

Great fuel economy, GPS and Bluetooth work great. Great value for the price, very quiet/comfortable

Cons

Takes a little getting used to the different feel/sound etc. of Hybrid

Overall, the 2009 Camry Hybrid is a great value for the money. It is a very comfortable car and has all the options I could ever want. The fact that it is a Hybrid takes a little getting used to. Taking off from a stop with no engine noise is weird at first and when you are backing up and the engine cycles off, at first it seems like a stall when it is only normal. Once you get used to it, it is fine. The power is not great, but when you think about it, if you are getting a Hybrid, you are concerned about using too much gasoline and polluting the environment, so driving it like a Ferrari is not really a concern. It does have more than adequate power and pickup when it is needed and it is well worth the trade off to get 35 plus miles per gallon in such a large, well equipped car....read morehide