New 2015 Toyota Camry

Seen here is the new 2015 US-market Toyota Camry, revealed at yesterday's New York International Auto Show. Technically, the model is a facelift of the current generation US-market Camry (which is different from the model on sale in Malaysia), but the amount of updates done on the car is so extensive that it could have been an all-new model.

The new Camry have been updated over 2,000 new parts (including a new body structure), a new soft-touch interior which Toyota says is the most upscale in its class, a segment-first wireless charging feature for mobile devices and the model range has been expanded to include two new sporty variants - Camry XSE and Camry Hybrid SE.

The changes are very unusual considering that the current generation Camry is just three years old in the US. The major improvements are probably motivated by the unprecedented challenge from Honda, Nissan and Ford.

For 12 consecutive years, the Toyota Camry has been the best-selling passenger car in the US. But today the Camry is not even among the top-3 best selling cars in the US anymore. The former king has since been knocked down by the all-new Honda Accord, all-new Nissan Altima (Teana to us) and the Ford Fusion (US-market Mondeo).

According to US automotive market intelligence company Autodata Corp., Camry sales in the US fell 17 percent in the year’s first two months of 2014 and were trailing Nissan's Altima by 1,034 units. Sales of the Camry last year rose 0.9 percent while the Ford Fusion accelerated by 22 percent, the Accord gained 10 percent and Altima advanced 5.9 percent.All-new Chassis

Although it is just a facelift model, the new Camry's body structure is new.

"We stripped the current Camry down to the chassis and started almost from scratch," said Bill Fay, Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager, Toyota Motor Sales USA.

The new body is now 45 mm longer and 10 mm wider. The front features new LED headlamps which Toyota says is the best in its class. The headlamp features LED low- and high-beam. 

Upscale Interior

Inside, the interior has been redesigned, highlighted by a new centre stack with controls that Toyota says is now more intuitive and simpler to use.

The center console tray has been redesigned to increase capacity while offering a convenient power source in the storage box. The new enclosed bin in front of the shifter now offers 12V, USB and a segment-first, available wireless charging system for select smart phones.

On the Camry XSE, XLE and SE models, the instrument panel features a new 4.2-inch TFT screen nestled between the three-dimensional Optitron gauges.

Some interior parts are now finished in satin chrome. Depending on models, the seats are now covered in either premium cloth, genuine leather or Ultrasuede with durable, high contrast French-stitching.

The JBL audio system has also been customed tuned for better sound quality.Quieter Than Before

The side mirrors have been redesigned and moved further out to reduce wind noise while the carpet now features 30 percent more insulating material.

Improved Driving Dynamics

Body rigidity has been improved by increasing the number of spot welds on the door opening flanges while the car's electric power steering has been improved for better on-center feel, better straight line stability and more direct-feeling steering inputs.

Braking feel has also been improved by using new hydraulic two-stage brake booster.

Engine options remain the same - 2.5-liter four-cylinder or 3.5-liter V6 gas engines paired with 6-speed automatic transmissions, a 2.5-liter Atkinson Cycle petrol-electric hybrid engine matched to an E-CVT. 

As mentioned earlier, the Camry model shown here is a US-market model and is unrelated to the model sold in Malaysia.