Toyota Camry Hybrid – Brian Chee’s Opinion of the Quality:
The Camry Hybrid’s quality is great, for some automakers, but perhaps a notch below common standards for Toyota, a brand that has rocketed up the sales charts because of its “quality” reputation. The materials were very nice, and durable, but cabin construction was slightly flawed with loose bits here and there, and slightly misaligned dash areas. On the outside, gaps were consistent and the little things – trim tacked on properly, edges of metal and plastic meeting flush around lights – looked pretty good. And though most people will scarcely notice some of the slight variations, and, yes – we might be a little more exacting in terms of reviewing Toyota’s quality – it’s worth it to take a look at the model you drive and test the knobs and doors inside the cabin, and make sure that you’re satisfied with the soft touch materials around occupants.

Toyota Camry Hybrid – Ron Perry’s Opinion of the Quality:
For whatever reason, the hybrid version of the Toyota Camry seemed to have much better exterior build quality than the standard model we tested recently. Outside panel fitment on this hybrid was tight and precise with none of the varying seams found on our previous Camry test car. Inside, however, fitment issues still existed. Loose A-pillar covers, gaps where the A-pillars met the headliner, misaligned panels where the dash wraps around the gauges, poor glove box fitment, and poor panel alignment where the vents and center console meet were all still evident.

Toyota Camry Hybrid – Thom Blackett’s Opinion of the Quality:
As was the case with the 2007 Toyota Camry we recently had in the shop, this Camry Hybrid packed quality issues. In particular, the padded dash cap didn’t sit flush with the side vents, the speaker atop the dash was out of line with the rest of the panels, the A-pillar covers were loose, casting flash from the manufacturing process were visible on many of the plastics, there was an annoying rattle coming from the dash, and there were uneven gaps around and below the instrument cluster. All told, the interior looked like a rush job, at least by what we’ve come to know as Toyota standards.

Materials were marginally better. Our test car included optional leather seats that felt durable but cheap, a soft padded dash cap, and hard plastic used liberally throughout the cabin. Curiously, the pillar covers featured a plastic grain meant to mimic mesh (such as a mesh headliner), yet a fuzzy headliner was tacked in overhead.