The 2025 Camry XSE

So, I did something financially ill-advised, and traded in my 2023 Camry XSE to a 2025 Camry Hybrid XSE. Total cost was $50 a month more than I was paying at present, mainly due to interest changes. Yes, not the best financial move, but I had originally wanted a hybrid, and those were unobtainable at my local dealer at the time. 😄

This year, Toyota removed the non-hybrid variants from the Camry line, so it is hybrid only. They also did a major refresh.

I'm not really doing photos for this one, suffice to say there are plenty online that me adding more would be unnecessary.

Overall, I'm happy with it. It's a lot zippier than the 4 cylinder I had before. Around town, mileage is a lot better. The fully modifiable gauge display is nice, letting me put up the gauges and info I care about. The cameras are sharp and clear, and their related safety features / proximity alerts seem well tuned.

Wireless Android auto is available, though it is a little hit/miss for me. I suspect it's my 2 year old phone, so I wouldn't put too much worry there.

The HUD features are present, but some features that were available in the previous iteration aren't there now. For example, when you skip a song in Android Auto, it doesn't show up in the HUD now, you'd have to look down at the gauges or over at the main display to see the song that is playing now. It also still doesn't support having the navigation display in the HUD, unless you're using the built in system. But, the mileage display and driver aid's are just as useful as ever. Along with the previous model's ability to have speed limits in the HUD, it can also (amusingly) copy upcoming street signs like stop signs into the HUD as well. Just in case you're not fully paying attention I guess?

Safety features are solid. The adaptive cruise control continues to be amazing. Obviously, one should always be prepared to slow down if needed, but it works very well, even if you get cut off. They added cross traffic alerts for turning which is helpful as an extra alarm. One new feature is lane keeping, wherein the car will keep you in the lane you're in, even around curves. I have zero faith in tech like that, but it seemed pretty accurate in very limited testing.

Comfort wise, it's pretty alright. Did a 10 hour drive with it and the kids, and everyone got there happy.

Some minor things that irk me, but not enough to not recommend it:

1. The gas tank is about 3 gallons smaller than the 2023 was. So while you're saving mileage due to hybrid, your actual range is about the same in my very non professional testing.
2. They got rid of the small pullout drawer to the left of the steering wheel which was my dedicated "spicy gum to stay focused" storage unit.
3. While the heated part of the seats is solid, the cooling/ventilated part does not seem to be as powerful as the 2023.
4. Gas mileage about 55 seems to be on par with the 2023. Could be me not understanding hybrids, or it just might not be as optimized as the 8-speed 2023 was.
5. Auto wipers / driver seat configuration memory isn't an option on the XSE, only the XLE which is....weird?

Overall, quite happy with it! Going to be a long-term car!