As you can tell by the photo above our 2011 Camry Hybrid is snowbound.
For 2011 the Camry Hybrid remains unchanged from the somewhat refreshed “mid-cycle” updated Camry that rolled out in 2010. Perhaps the most noteworthy change for 2011 is the throttle-pedal modifications designed to prevent unintended acceleration that plagued Toyota in 2010.
If you want a all brand spakin’ new Camry, you’ll have to wait until 2012 when a new Camry and Camry Hybrid will roll out of the factory.
We had a chance to review the 2009 Camry Hybrid HERE and we posed and answered the question, “Is it really like driving a refrigerator?”
The 2011 model (from a driving standpoint) is almost identical to the 2009 we drove and reviewed two years ago. That is to say you don’t really sit in the Camry Hybrid and much as you sit on top of it. The Camry Hybrid is not a car for the sporty minded driver.
It is however a solid bit of technology and clever engineering that will get you to work and back in a combined EPA 33 MPG forever. It will also retain it’s value, it will give you countless hours of quiet and trouble-free driving, but it won’t straighten the local twisty road into submission by any means.
If you want a hot blooded Toyota Camry…check out the video review of the 2010 SE V6 we tested last year below.
And while the 2011 Camry Hybrid provides excellent EPA numbers for a family sedan it does not provide excellent deep snow driving. We found the car’s combination of all season tires and very active traction control worked well when the snow began to fall, but not so well when it got deep.
In Colorado where side roads don’t get plowed a front-wheel-drive car on all season tires can be a handful…and that includes the Camry Hybrid.
If you want a Hybrid Toyota with deep snow capability we suggest the Lexus RX 450h as a better snowmobile.
Our 2011 Camry Hybrid came with a sticker of $32,453…which is steep considering the non-hybrid 2011 Camry’s range from $20,480-$30,130, or about 1.5 percent more than the 2010 models. Basically the Hybrid Camry cost about $1,500 more than the standard version.
For your $32K you get one 2.4L engine that puts out 147 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque and you get one 45-hp electric motor that along with the gas engine powers the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT).
You also get a ton of technology including Navigation, Bluetooth, Leather, back-up camera, sat radio and the list just keeps on going.
What you don’t get is the perfect Colorado ski car.
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