The dominance of SUVs over the last couple of years has meant that the sedan segment has gone somewhat overlooked. However, it has felt as if sedans have gone through somewhat of a comeback in recent times. The Hyundai Sonata, Kia K5, and Honda Accord have all been doing well for themselves.
One of the key players in this segment is the Toyota Camry. With eight generations of history behind it, the Camry is a household name and has continued to deliver on its sleeper car persona. With the option of a V-6 engine, classic Toyota reliability, and super competitive fuel economy, the Camry is somewhat of an underrated hero.
However, the current generation of the Camry is getting old and its age is starting to show in a lot of places. Hence all the excitement and hype around the spy shots circling the web of what seems to be the next-generation Camry. With a re-haul on its way, here’s everything you can expect to change with the anticipated ninth generation.
Information for this list of 10 things to expect on from the 2025 Toyota Camry is speculative but based on solid data from current Toyota press releases.
10 C-Shaped Headlights Adorn The New Camry
Toyota has recently undergone a change in identity. All their cars are starting to shift and speak to us in a new design language. The Crown and the new Prius hatchback are prime examples. Looking at the spy shots of the Camry, it’s likely that it’ll feature a lot of similar elements.
One of the features that has defined new generation Toyotas is C-shaped LED headlights. Peeking through the camouflage, the outline of the new Camry looks to mirror that of the Crown and Prius. This may also mean the introduction of bi- and quad-LED projector light technology that features on some trim levels of the Crown. As well as the changes in the front end, Toyota has also been following the lightbar trend and its expected that the new Camry will follow suit.
9 We Spot A Rather Pronounced Rear Spoiler
One of the most important aspects of the Camry’s current identity is its sporty nature. Toyota has always intended for the Camry to be where fun and sensibility meet. The current Camry comes in a multitude of trims but the sportiest by far is the TRD. The Camry TRD features a bunch of aero upgrades including a rear spoiler.
When turning our attention back to the sneak peeks we’ve had of the next-generation Camry, one of the standout elements is also a rear spoiler. It looks more like a duckbill than the spoiler on the TRD but the camouflage hides it well. At the very least this signifies Toyota’s intentions to continue the sporty legacy of the Camry. Whether the TRD sticks around we’ll have to wait and see.
8 Only Hybrid Powertrains For The Base Camry
One of the main focuses of the Camry has always been its fuel economy. The current generation Camry beats out a lot of its key rivals in this area, even when fitted with the more powerful V-6 powertrain. This is something that Toyota clearly values and the addition of hybrid options has been a great testament to that.
The current Camry has three powertrain options, a 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder, a 2.5-liter inline-four hybrid engine, and a 3.5-liter V-6. The base, un-electrified inline-four engine is thought to be getting the axe, with base models going hybrid. A 2.4-liter turbocharged hybrid engine may also be joining the line-up, replacing the current V-6. The turbocharged engine is currently run in the 2023 Lexus RX F Sport 500h and Toyota Crown with great success. It’ll give the current V-6 a run for its money as it can potentially deliver up to 67 horsepower more than the six-cylinder.
7 The Camry Will Keep The TNGA-K Platform But May Be Only AWD
Although the Camry’s outward appearance looks to be taking a drastic turn, there are a few things that we can expect to stay the same. Despite the car taking on a lot of design elements from the Prius and the Crown, it’s likely that the Camry will continue to run on the TNGA-K platform that the current generation utilizes.
The TNGA-K platform is shared with a large number of other Toyota and Lexus offerings and gives us some insight into some of the future Camry’s capabilities. The TNGA-K platform is offered in both front-wheel and all-wheel drive. This means rear-wheel drive is off the table, not that we were expecting it. It also means the wheelbase of the Camry will most likely stay the same at 111.2 inches, with some slight changes to make it look a little longer than it is.
6 Next Gen Camry Means Next Toyota Gen Safety Sense
One of the many aging components on the current generation Camry is the fact that it only has Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+. To be clear, it is only aging within the bounds of what Toyota is delivering; the Japanese firm is decently ahead of the curve compared to its competition. However, an update to the safety features will put the Camry in line with other more modern Toyotas.
Some of the prominent features included are automated emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, and auto high beams. These features will put the Camry ahead of the curve compared to its direct competition.
5 Improved Radar Based Cruise Control And All-New Proactive Driving Assist
Looking underneath the outline of the headlights we get another clue at what updates the ninth generation of the Toyota Camry might feature. A prominent looking feature pushing through the camouflage is the front grille, which looks as if it follows a similar shape pattern as the Crown, with Toyota once again borrowing from its new flagship sedan.
New technology that we’ve seen featured on the Crown, thanks to its large mech-pattern grille, is an advanced radar-based cruise control system. This system, which Toyota dubs the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, improved as a part of Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, essentially uses forward-facing cameras and sensors to detect traffic in front of you and slow down or speed up when necessary.
Along with the improved version of Radar Cruise Control, the new Camry will benefit from Toyota's new Proactive Driving Assist, a feature that gently assists with steering and braking into corners as well as when detecting and avoiding other cars or pedestrians.
4 An Updated Dashboard Similar to The Crown
As we’ve established, the next-generation Camry is going to likely borrow a lot of elements from the Crown. Toyota has spent a lot of time developing and designing the Crown to be their flagship design and to communicate their new direction to the public. This means that design elements that are present on the crown can be expected to be carried over to most new Toyotas, including the Camry.
Part of the new overhaul of the Camry will be an update to its interior. The current generation Camry’s biggest drawback is the quality of its interior. Once again, this is an area where it becomes a bit more obvious that this generation has been around for eight years already. Tidying up the interior and making the design as seamless and user-friendly as the Crown’s will be a great step towards modernizing the mid-size sedan.
3 The Camry Will Receive An Update To Its Media Interface
A big part of the draw when it comes to interior features is the media interface. The current Camry’s interface is not by any means bad. It runs on Toyota’s Entune 3.0, with enhanced versions of the system available on higher trims. It comes standard with a ton of features and its response times are relatively quick.
Toyota wants to push the infotainment system even further in their next-generation vehicles. The newest Prius and Tundra both host a new multimedia interface that comes in either 8.0 or 12.3 inches along with a fully digital driver display. Voice control is standard along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. They are also fitted with a JBL premium audio system. These are all features that should grace the next-generation Camry and potentially push its standard tech offerings even further.
2 The V-6 Might Stick Around For A GR Camry
There are some rumblings from Gazoo Racing that the sub-brand is looking to expand its offerings. Already in the line-up are the Supra, the 86, and the Corolla hatchback. Rumor has it that Toyota’s Gazoo Racing is also looking to add a four-door sedan to its list of high-performance cars. Not much is known about this performance four-door sedan but it could very well be the Camry. The other likely choice would be the Corolla sedan.
If it were to be the Camry, however, it's likely that one of its combustion engines would be used. Gazoo Racing has been on record saying that they may look to electrify their cars long-term but that they would use traditional powertrains for the time being. This means that a GR Camry would either feature its 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder or its 3.5-liter V-6; granted the four-cylinder is more likely.
1 The New Camry Will Likely Hit The Shelves In Late 2024
The only real question left to ask is when the ninth-generation Camry will go on sale. The truth is that we still have a decently long wait ahead of us. The 2024 Camry is still yet to go on sale, with it expected to be debuted at the L.A. Auto Show in mid- to late-November. This means that the 2025 Camry may only see the light of day towards the end of 2024, into early 2025.
Overall, the Camry is an incredible nameplate that has endured the wave of SUVs, still sitting in the top five of the most-sold cars in the United States. Even with the current generation starting to show its age, its sales figures haven’t wavered. The 2025 Camry will likely continue the trend and make it even harder for competitors to keep up with Toyota’s mid-size sedan.