2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid starts at $25,900

Toyota announced MSRP prices today for the new 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid. Being one of the most popular family sedans on the U.S. market during the last decade, the Camry will have to prove estimates, made by Toyota's marketologists. Those guys think that Japan, the United States and Europe can swallow and digest about 60,000 Camry Hybrids, or 15 per cent of all Camry sales.







Perhaps, they can be right, because, according to the company's latest press release, the new Camry Hybrid will have a base MSRP of just $25,900. That is $4,100 below previous estimates, made by independent observers.

For this money future buyers will get a Camry equipped with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive System, which consists of two complimentary gas and electric power sources. The gas one is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder fuel-efficient Atkinson-cycle internal combustion engine that produces 147 horsepower and is mated with a continuously variable transmission.

The electric part consists on a 105-kW electric motor and 244-volt battery pack that produces a peak of 45 hp. So, the total power output of this hybrid system rises to 192 horsepower providing the car with acceleration from zero-to-sixty mph of about 9.4 seconds -- a result, good enough for a basic sport-sedan like BMW E60 520i with automatic gearbox.

Standard features include a 'tire-pressure monitor system, halogen headlamps with automatic on/off, a premium JBL audio system with an audio auxiliary jack and Bluetooth technology, cruise control, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, an eight-way-adjustable power driver's seat, a 60/40 split fold-down rear seat, 16-inch aluminum wheels, heated outside rear-view mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control heating and air conditioning with a Plasmacluster ionizer, and so on.

As to the fuel efficiency, Toyota claims that the Camry Hybrid with Hybrid Synergy Drive will run around 40 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway and about 39 mpg in a combined cycle.

The Japanese company plans to ship first Camry Hybrids this May.

Photos: Edmunds.com

See also: Prices for the new Toyota Highlander sport SUV announced