The badge on a car is important. When you drive a Mercedes or BMW, or a Lexus or Acura, you proclaim that you have paid a premium to own a luxury car. But the gap between the popular models and the luxury ones is becoming thin. A top-line Merc can cost double or more than the price of a well-made, popular car, but is that premium worth it?

Sure, cars seen as luxury usually have very fine touches, soft leather, and enormous touch screens. But your everyday affordable cars are closing the gap, and there comes a point where the buyer would ask whether an extra ten or thirty grand really buys ten or thirty grand worth of luxury. Here is a car that costs ten grand less than its closest luxury rival, and if you can look beyond the badge, will give you a hybrid that matches or beats that car with much fancier badges propping up their price tags.

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The 2025 Camry Hybrid XLE Feels Premium For $35,000

When you compare the Toyota Camry XLE with the Lexus ES 300h in soft light, the main difference is the $10,000 higher price tag on the Lexus. Sure, if you poke around inside each car, the Lexus will have a couple of more upmarket features than the Camry, but $10,000 more?

The two cars have identical hybrid engines, with very similar power and efficiency. The big block is the badge, and if you can look past the Toyota badge on the Camry, you will be surprised at how much of a luxury car this daily drive champion actually is.

Toyota Camry XLE Vs Lexus 300h

The Camry XLE does look better than the Lexus 300h in this bare-bones comparison, but that is not the whole story, and not a fair comparison. If we were to take the Lexus out of the equation and simply look at the Camry, you, the buyer, will have to judge if the luxury it offers satisfies your desired level of luxury. Remember, the MSRP for each car is the basic car, and while both models offer a reasonably full-house in features, you can always add optional extras.

Starts At $33,700 With Ample Comfort And Convenience

The XLE FWD comes standard with heated leather and microfiber-trimmed front seats with seatback pockets. Other features include:

• Eight-way power-adjustable front driver’s seat with power lumbar support
• Eight-way power-adjustable passenger front seat
• Smart key
• Remote keyless entry
• Remote illuminated entry

$1,525 will get you AWD, and an additional $4,760 will get you the Premium Plus package, as well as a whole range of driver-assist safety features. At this point, you are probably on par or ahead of Lexus, but without touching the Lexus’s MSRP yet. The Premium Plus package includes:

• Panoramic glass roof with front power tilt/slide moonroof
• Nine-speaker JBL Audio system
• Ventilated front seats
• 10.0-inch Head-Up Display (HUD)
• Rain-sensing windshield wipers
• Driver’s seat and outer-mirror memory

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Packed With Modern Tech And Safety

So we have established that you can load your Camry with extra luxury and safety features, but what would you get if you bought a Camry XLE at the MSRP of $33,700 for FWD, or decided you would pay $1,525 more for AWD, but leave the car as per the minimum spec? The Camry XLE is not the highest spec, but it does come with some features you would not get in the lower LE and SE trim levels.

Comes Standard With Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 And A 12.3-Inch Touchscreen

The Camry XLE comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0. This is a comprehensive suite of driver-assist features, including:

• Pre-collision with pedestrian detection
• Full speed range dynamic radar cruise control
• Lane departure alert with steering assist
• Lane-keeping, road sign reading
• Automatic high beams
• Proactive driving assist.

A 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen with USB-A port, hands-free phone capability, and music streaming via Bluetooth is included in the standard package. Sirius XM Radio is available for free for three months, after which you will have to pay for a subscription. Also standard on the Toyota Camry XLE are Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Cloud Navigation.

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True Hybrid Efficiency Meets Everyday Practicality

The Toyota Camry used to be available as a straight ICE model, as well as the hybrid variant. The hybrid, with its fantastic fuel economy without any loss of performance or significant price increase, proved so popular that the Camry is now available as a hybrid only. This proved to be a winning recipe for Toyota, with the Camry the eighth best-selling vehicle in the US, with around 310,000 sold, and the best-selling sedan behind a string of SUVs and pickup trucks.

Delivers Up To 48 MPG City—No Plug Or Range Anxiety Required

With the Toyota Camry, you can get up to 48 MPG in city driving without having to plug in to charge the battery, remedying the range anxiety often associated with EVs. The battery that boosts fuel economy is charged through regenerative braking, such as the stop/start driving common to city driving, and when going down a hill. This is why hybrids normally have better city MPG figures than on the highway. Overall, the Toyota Camry FWD will cost you $1.72 to drive for 25 miles, and you will save $3,500 in fuel costs compared to the average new car.

Toyota Camry XLE Specifications

Seamless Gas-Electric Transition Makes For A Refined Drive

Toyota pioneered the hybrid drive in the late 1990s and has improved it over the decades to where it is today: a smooth, efficient system that delivers a refined drive and excellent fuel economy, without compromising on the quality of the driver’s experience.

The basic Toyota hybrid drive consists of a gas engine, electric motor or motors, an electric generator, a power control unit, and a power split device. This is a kind of gearbox that regulates the power between the engine, motor, and generator. This system not only recaptures power through braking, but seamlessly combines the power for the most efficient use of the power available.

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Why The Toyota Camry Hybrid Offers The Best Bang For Your Buck

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Understated Elegance With Long-Term Reliability

The Toyota Camry today looks a bit like something out of Star Wars. The front is chiseled and edgy, with an aggressive hood over a large honeycomb grille. The side view is low and sleek, while the back has a rally look. In short, the 2025 Toyota Camry is no shrinking violet. It has an elegant design that speaks of power and speed.

Sleek Design Cues Resemble Higher-End Sedans

The 2025 Camry does not try and emulate more expensive cars. It does not have the excessive grille of the Lexus, and stays away from the BMW beaver tooth front. But the design is assertive in its own right, and the angular lines are very different from the bland, rounded contours of earlier Toyotas. The Camry looks more expensive than it is, and that is not a bad thing.

Backed By Toyota’s Reputation For Hybrid Durability

The 2025 Toyota Camry gets the maximum five stars in the NHTSA crash test, while the IIHS gives it the best-of-class Top Safety Pick+ rating. J.D. Power rates the Camry 83/100 overall, and a chart-topping 86/100 for quality and reliability. Toyota has featured in the top three for reliability over the past decade and more, and its time-tested hybrid drive is acknowledged as probably the most reliable in the world today.