2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid

Virtually unchanged for '09 is the Camry Hybrid. The Toyota Camry has become one of the best selling vehicles of all time, and rightfully so. Any Camry is a well-built, comfortable, and reliable car. The Hybrid adds extra economy.

Toyota tailors their hybrids for vastly improved around-town economy. A 4-cylinder Camry with an automatic transmission is rated at 21-city and 31-highway. The Camry Hybrid is rated at 33-city and 34-highway. That is over a 50% increase for the city mileage. You cannot beat that.

The Camry Hybrid is not directly comparable to any other Camry so it is difficult to give an exact price comparison. I would say the Hybrid is close to a SE, so that would mean at $26,150 there is about a $5,000 premium for the Hybrid.

The Hybrid is a very well equipped car. I prefer the 

'09 Camry Hybrid

midsize Camry over the smaller Prius. It is nice to have a car five adults can fit in comfortably. You do lose some trunk space with the Hybrid (that is where the battery is) so luggage for five may not fit.

Think about it — if someone had told you twenty years ago that you could buy a five-passenger midsize car that would get this kind of economy, you would have called him or her crazy.