2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid 4-Door Sedan

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.