Toyota Camry Hybrid facelift debuts in Europe – larger infotainment display, expanded Toyota Safety Sense - Latest Car News, Bike news & Reviews, Auto News

The eighth-generation Toyota Camry has received a mid-lifecycle facelift for 2021, after the updated D-segment sedan made its debut for the North American market in July. Shown here is the Hybrid variant, which wears similar exterior kit as that on the standard version of the United States market model.

The Camry Hybrid features a 2.5 litre hybrid powertrain which is most likely the A25A-FXS inline-four cylinder that is paired with an electric motor like the powertrain in the pre-facelift Camry Hybrid, here with a total system output of 218 hp, according to Toyota.

Like the American market car, the Camry facelift for Europe gets a lightly redesigned front end with a more defined front intake sculpting, along with a slightly revised upper grille section. Here, the lower grille can be had in a black or dark grey finish, while the upper grille trim can be finished in chrome or silver.

Rolling stock for the 2021 Camry comes in a choice of 17-inch or 18-inch wheels, featuring twisted V-shaped spoke design and a machined, two-tone multi spoke design respectively. At the rear end, the 2021 Camry gets a set of revised tail lamp clusters.

Inside, the dashboard structure has been revised to accommodate a larger, nine-inch touchscreen display which is now a floating-style item – now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration – and which now sits above the central air-conditioning vents. The dashboard’s S-curve separation of infotainment and air-conditioning controls from the gearlever remains.

The Europe-market Camry also gets revised leather interior upholstery in either beige or black, along with a ‘leather-like’ upholstery fabric insert panels. These are complemented by two interior trim panel choices – a Black Engineered Wood trim pattern, and a Titanium Line pattern.

Safety equipment updates on the facelifted Camry include additions to the Pre-Collision System (PCS) feature set, which now includes daytime front-to-front oncoming vehicle detection, Emergency Steering Assist (ESA) and Intersection Turn Assistance.

The latter warns the driver if he or she turns across an intersection in front of an oncoming vehicle in the opposite lane, or a pedestrian crossing the road from the opposite direction after the turn. This system can also provide automatic braking if required.

Additional driver assistance systems include full range adaptive cruise control and road sign assist as part of the intelligent adaptive cruise control setup, which helps the car match its preset cruising speed to posted speed limits, and to work with the Curve Speed Reduction function.

Driving through bends is also assisted by lane trace assist (LTA) which helps keep the car centred in its lane, and will apply corrective steering if the system detects a risk of lane departure.

Improvements to LTA include more precise lane detection, shorter reactivation times after completing a lane change, increased counter-steering angle to counteract turbulence when passing big trucks, earlier notice of a curve radius, and increased steering force to keep the LTA system active at higher speeds.

The Toyota Camry facelift gains a new colour in its exterior paint palette, Deep Metal Grey as seen here, and the Camry Hybrid goes on sale throughout western Europe this autumn.