Hybrid Car Review

And to put it briefly, they seem to be impressed. In summary, you get good performance (0-60 in 7.7 seconds). The EPA rates city/highway at 43/37 mpg, although they had an observed 33 mpg mixed metro driving.

They also had only good things to say about its looks and feel:

Short Take Review: 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid - Car and Driver - June 2006

Hybrid or not, there’s a lot to like about this new Camry, starting with its intriguing shape. It crouches with its nose low, ready to pounce as you approach from the front. The side glass arcs inward as it rises, suggesting a canopy. Inside, the feeling is spacious, with the windshield and dashboard pushed forward and out of your face. The driving position is excellent. Even with the optional navigation system, remarkably few buttons are needed to operate this complex machine. The new instrument cluster, with large white-on-black markings, is wonderfully legible. Instead of a tach, the hybrid features an instantaneous-mpg gauge that swings a long, well-damped needle over a broad arc marked from 0 mpg to 60, and then into a blue range beyond the numbers — the zone of infinite mileage that the Camry enters when it drives without engine power.

The Toyota Camry hybrid is a full hybrid, capable of electric power only at low speeds. Regenerative braking makes the braking feel different from conventional cars, but the reviewers felt the Camry wasn't too bad, if not as good as in a conventional Camry.

The large (150 lbs nickel-metal hydride) battery is in the back, which takes out four cubic feet in the trunk and reduces the gas tank by 1.4 gallons.