The 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid's green technology ups the ante for a competent sedan. New Car Test Drive says, "The Hybrid is a good performer and one of the most fuel-efficient mid-size vehicles anywhere."
Despite the fact that the four-cylinder engine works with a 105-kilowatt electric motor, Forbes reports: "The driving experience in the Camry Hybrid is remarkably normal. Most of the time you can quite simply forget that you're driving a hybrid, because it behaves almost exactly like a gasoline-engine car -- which says a lot about the sophistication of the hybrid system." But there were a handful of test drivers stuck on the learning curve. Cars.com states, "Once I trained my right foot to know exactly where the threshold was, I was able to drive in electric mode as high as 20 mph before the gas engine started up. Drivers behind the hybrid may have little patience for this, as engine-free acceleration is slow." New Car Test Drive also had to adjust. "When it's started, and sometimes even when you press the accelerator, the gas engine does not immediately fire, so you won't hear it or feel its slight hum of vibration," the review states. "As a result, you may not realize that this Camry is ready for action. So you'll press the start button again, thinking it didn't fire the first time, and actually turn the car off."
The 2008 Camry Hybrid is a 4-door, 5-passenger family sedan, available in one trim only, the 4-Door Sedan.
Upon introduction, the Camry Hybrid is equipped with a standard 2.4-liter, I4 , 192-horsepower, hybrid engine that achieves 33-mpg in the city and 34-mpg on the highway. A variable speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.
The 2008 Camry Hybrid is a carryover from 2007.
Reliability
The 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid reliability score of 8.0 out of 10 is the Predicted Reliability rating provided by J.D. Power and Associates. This score is based on trending the past three years of historical initial quality and dependability data from J.D. Power's automotive studies, specifically the Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) and the Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Toyota offers a three-year or 36,000-mile basic warranty for the Camry Hybrid, which is also covered by Toyota's five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty. All hybrid-related components are covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
