Why Toyota Didn’t Add a Turbo Four and Still Offers a V-6 in the two thousand eighteen Camry
Albeit the styling of the two thousand eighteen Toyota Camry exposed earlier this month at the Detroit auto showcase takes a daring turn for this long-bland nameplate, at very first glance the powertrain lineup looks to have been left behind in the radical remake. As before, there’s a base Two.5-liter inline four-cylinder, a V-6 for upper trim levels, and a hybrid.
However, the basic descriptors are about where the similarities end. The displacements are the same, yet almost nothing carries over. The Two.5-liter used via much of the lineup (and in hybrid models) is an entirely fresh engine, while the hybrid system has been reworked, and a fresh eight-speed automatic transmission has been introduced for all non-hybrid models.
With the plasticity of a clean-slate engine redo, we wondered: Why hasn’t Toyota moved to the fresh industry norm of turbocharged smaller-displacement, generally Two.0-liter, engines as embraced by the Chevrolet Malibu, the Kia Optima, and the Hyundai Sonata? Why is a V-6 still in the Camry lineup?
“The American customer loves a V-6, right? That is my understanding of why we have to keep the V-6,” said Masato Katsumata, chief engineer for the two thousand eighteen Camry, in a roundtable at the Detroit showcase.
Bill Fay, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager, said that he expects V-6 models to make up less than ten percent of Camrys sold, yet Toyota sees continued request from “a certain kind of customer who’s looking for that level of spectacle.” Toyota executives have in the past also called the V-6 Camry a dealer beloved, as it brings a higher-income customer into showrooms and instructions a higher sticker price. Besides, Honda still offers a V-6 in the Accord, and if there’s one competitor Toyota wants to match its lineup against, it’s the Accord.
Toyota makes a strong argument that its fresh four-cylinder engine, with its high-efficiency intake port and high-airflow design, doesn’t need coerced induction, and the automaker hints that its spectacle will be edging closer to that of the V-6. Deputy chief engineer Keita Moritsu pointed out, as we followed up with more questions after the display, that the engine produces low-rev torque that’s comparable to supercharged engines, and combined with its high-rev output, he said, that gives it an advantage among naturally aspirated engines.
40 Percent Thermal Efficiency, twenty Percent Better Fuel Economy
The fresh Dynamic Force four, which is physically the same in the Camry and Camry hybrid but tuned differently, promises some astounding efficiency improvements, too, which Toyota attributes to its long-stroke design, variable cooling system, multi-hole direct injection, and high compression. The company claims forty one percent thermal efficiency in the Camry hybrid and forty percent in the standard Camry. That’s in the range that was the special domain of diesel engines only a few years ago.
Toyota has not yet confirmed U.S. specifications for the Camry powertrains, which can differ significantly from specs on those sold in Japan. That said, Toyota claims about a ten percent improvement in power and approximately twenty percent better fuel economy for the Dynamic Force over today’s inline-four, which makes one hundred seventy eight horsepower and one hundred seventy lb-ft of torque and comebacks twenty four mpg city/33 mpg highway (27 mpg combined). That suggests fresh power ratings above one hundred ninety five horsepower and an EPA combined rating of thirty two mpg or better.
Today’s Camry hybrid is rated at forty two mpg city/38 mpg highway (40 mpg combined), and Toyota also points to a twenty percent improvement there—for forty four mpg combined, perhaps.
Albeit some Americans will avert their eyes from the look of a hybrid badge, especially while gasoline prices remain low, chief engineer Katsumata is wooed that it’s the hybrid model—not the V-6—that’s the best-driving Camry. That’s because the weight distribution is more balanced in hybrid models, thanks to the battery pack located under the back seat.
“I believe you can love the driving spectacle in a twisty road better than the V-6,” Katsumata said. “Of course in a long straight or up and down, on a racetrack, the V-6 is better.”
Why Toyota Hasn t Dropped the V-6 in the two thousand eighteen Camry – News – Car and Driver, Car and Driver Blog
Why Toyota Didn’t Add a Turbo Four and Still Offers a V-6 in the two thousand eighteen Camry
Albeit the styling of the two thousand eighteen Toyota Camry exposed earlier this month at the Detroit auto display takes a daring turn for this long-bland nameplate, at very first glance the powertrain lineup looks to have been left behind in the radical remake. As before, there’s a base Two.5-liter inline four-cylinder, a V-6 for upper trim levels, and a hybrid.
However, the basic descriptors are about where the similarities end. The displacements are the same, yet almost nothing carries over. The Two.5-liter used across much of the lineup (and in hybrid models) is an entirely fresh engine, while the hybrid system has been reworked, and a fresh eight-speed automatic transmission has been introduced for all non-hybrid models.
With the plasticity of a clean-slate engine redo, we wondered: Why hasn’t Toyota moved to the fresh industry norm of turbocharged smaller-displacement, generally Two.0-liter, engines as embraced by the Chevrolet Malibu, the Kia Optima, and the Hyundai Sonata? Why is a V-6 still in the Camry lineup?
“The American customer loves a V-6, right? That is my understanding of why we have to keep the V-6,” said Masato Katsumata, chief engineer for the two thousand eighteen Camry, in a roundtable at the Detroit demonstrate.
Bill Fay, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager, said that he expects V-6 models to make up less than ten percent of Camrys sold, yet Toyota sees continued request from “a certain kind of customer who’s looking for that level of spectacle.” Toyota executives have in the past also called the V-6 Camry a dealer beloved, as it brings a higher-income customer into showrooms and directives a higher sticker price. Besides, Honda still offers a V-6 in the Accord, and if there’s one competitor Toyota wants to match its lineup against, it’s the Accord.
Toyota makes a strong argument that its fresh four-cylinder engine, with its high-efficiency intake port and high-airflow design, doesn’t need coerced induction, and the automaker hints that its spectacle will be edging closer to that of the V-6. Deputy chief engineer Keita Moritsu pointed out, as we followed up with more questions after the display, that the engine produces low-rev torque that’s comparable to supercharged engines, and combined with its high-rev output, he said, that gives it an advantage among naturally aspirated engines.
40 Percent Thermal Efficiency, twenty Percent Better Fuel Economy
The fresh Dynamic Force four, which is physically the same in the Camry and Camry hybrid but tuned differently, promises some astounding efficiency improvements, too, which Toyota attributes to its long-stroke design, variable cooling system, multi-hole direct injection, and high compression. The company claims forty one percent thermal efficiency in the Camry hybrid and forty percent in the standard Camry. That’s in the range that was the sensational domain of diesel engines only a few years ago.
Toyota has not yet confirmed U.S. specifications for the Camry powertrains, which can differ significantly from specs on those sold in Japan. That said, Toyota claims about a ten percent improvement in power and approximately twenty percent better fuel economy for the Dynamic Force over today’s inline-four, which makes one hundred seventy eight horsepower and one hundred seventy lb-ft of torque and comes back twenty four mpg city/33 mpg highway (27 mpg combined). That suggests fresh power ratings above one hundred ninety five horsepower and an EPA combined rating of thirty two mpg or better.
Today’s Camry hybrid is rated at forty two mpg city/38 mpg highway (40 mpg combined), and Toyota also points to a twenty percent improvement there—for forty four mpg combined, perhaps.
Albeit some Americans will avert their eyes from the look of a hybrid badge, especially while gasoline prices remain low, chief engineer Katsumata is coaxed that it’s the hybrid model—not the V-6—that’s the best-driving Camry. That’s because the weight distribution is more balanced in hybrid models, thanks to the battery pack located under the back seat.
“I believe you can love the driving spectacle in a twisty road better than the V-6,” Katsumata said. “Of course in a long straight or up and down, on a racetrack, the V-6 is better.”