Should I buy a Camry Hybrid?

Should I buy a Toyota Camry Hybrid?

Yes that was my first question when I was  pondering at the just released Toyota Camry Hybrid in Malaysia a few months ago. Hybrid vehicles are basically totally new in the country except for the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. But the Honda Insight is not a full hybrid compared to the Prius. So there were not many hybrids vehicles in the country and also not many people who could advise me on the purchase. My fear was valid and not unfounded.

But I did get more info from the Internet especially based on the reviews of hybrid cars in the United States and in other countries. So what did sway me to buy the car?

The Hybrid

First and foremost is the tax exemption that is given to hybrid vehicles assembled in Malaysia. The exemption I believe is extended until at the end of the 2015 year and I don't know whether it is going to be extended again in the future. But I believe it will because the market now is very soft , fluid and rather  unstable because of many reasons. One of them is the fluctuating Malaysian currency that has lost its strength or value  rather markedly.The car assemblers will definitely push the government to give them the extension beyond 2015. If there's no tax exemption I believe the price of the Camry could well go beyond RM 200,000. If you care to check the price of a locally assembled Camry in Thailand  hovers around RM 225,00-RM 250,000 depending on the options. So, basically the price of the Camry at RM 170,00 in Malaysia is actually a very good value. And that pricing actually twisted my arms to consider buying a Camry hybrid. So far , UMW has sold more than 3,00 Camry Hybrids. Their target for the year is around  8-9000 units.

The V8 Firebird

Another reason is the smooth power delivery of the Camry. Driving the Camry Hybrid is almost like driving a V 6. I had the experience of driving the V 8 Corvette and the Firebird in the United States and believe me driving the full electric vehicle is not a slouch either. It's not extremely fast but its not very slow either. It has enough power to motivate the rather heavy car to 110 km hour in around less than 9 seconds. The huge torque in the electric vehicle makes driving the Camry rather easy and undeniably fast, The power delivery is just so creamy and smooth .Now,  I would just dust of all the boy racers driving their Myvis. and the end end they would just toe the line behind my Camry Hybrid. They know who's the Boss now.

The Camry Hybrid would demand respect from Myvi owners 

The serenity and the quiet ambiance driving the car is also a main contributory factor in deciding to buy the Camry. When it is on the battery mode the car is dead silence. The only noise would be the rumbling noise made by the Bridgestone tires. The tires are not very quiet but excellent in terms of handling. The Bridgestone shoes make handling around B roads easy despite being a Hybrid. The serenity  driving a Camry is a blessing when driving slowly in your quiet neighborhood. Nobody will notice that you have arrived home silently in th emiddle of the night - not even your wife. That is the pleasure that you get when driving a Camry Hybrid.

Other than the NVH, another important aspect that made me decide to get the Hybrid is the reliability of the Toyota Cars. I had the experience of driving the Corolla for more than 13 years with all the abuse that the car endured and the only thing that I had to change was a rubber stopper that cost me RM 5. It was such a reliable car. I hope the Camry would be as reliable as my Corolla. So far I have had no problem with the car and my hope is that it will continue to be in good condition. I will keep on posting long term reviews of the  Camry Hybrid.

Toyota Camry Hybrid or Honda Accord

Honda Accord 2015 or Toyota Camry 2015: A review

This is a very difficult question for some people when it comes to buying a new car. After servicing your loan for 7 years you are now on the look out for another great car. Chances are you will be looking for something bigger or better. From a B class car like Myvi or Saga  I think you might want to change to a C class car like Honda Civic Toyota Altis, Mazda 323 and so forth. In my case it was from C a class car like Civic to a D segment cars  such as Honda Accord, Mazda 626, Nissan Teana, Ford Modeo or VW Passat.  I strike out Nissan Teana because I thought the car was too generic for me although the latest version looks more muscular. I decided not to take the Passat because I have reservation about the reliability of the car especially the DSG seven speed auto transmission. I like the Mondeo design but it's a bit too expensive for a D segment car at RM 200,000. So  finally I narrowed down to two  choices namely the Honda Accord and  Toyota Camry .

Design wise I like Honda Accord. I think it has a modern look and its quite contemporary. It exudes quality and you can see some sportiness in its looks. The  car looks so classy and would satisfy you = old and young buyers alike  with it beautiful looks. The rear end of the Honda Accord looks like a beautiful woman with a nicely carved buttock. Sexy but not too bottom heavy The New Camry looks dated and the rear end looks like a middle aged woman with a flat unattractive buttock. The front end of the Accord is a bit plain but still having some classy look. The new Camry looks a bit modern with its new nose and the gaping mouth. Overall,  I think in the design perspective  the Honda Accord  win the competition hands down. 

Engine wise the one  found in the Accord is 2,4 Earth Dream technology which is very efficient and quite modern and pretty economical. The 2.0 liter engine will also pull the car adequately which is a surprise. There's not so much difference between the two engines in terms of  puling power although the extra horses make the big car drives more smoothly and having better refinement. The Camry on the other hand comes with China made  new engine and a new 6 speed auto transmission. The new 2.0 engine brings in additional horse power and reasonably good torque and as such the acceleration is much better compared to the old car  it replaces. The new Toyota however also comes with a new Hybrid engine with a a very powerful mid range pulling power. The engine is strong and quiet and would motivate the car to 0-100 km in less than 8 seconds. Driving the Camry Hybrid is like driving a car with 6 cylinder engine. In this department I believe the Camry has to win with it new Hybrid engine and the new 2.0 combustion engine. 

In terms of the price, there is not so much difference between the two. But I believe the lower version of the Accord can be gotten at less than RM 140,000. The top of the range or the 2.4 version can be had under RM 165,000. You will get a number of good options such as Lane watch and and a reverse camera if you opt for the 2.4 version. The cheapest Camry is at RM 150,000 with just two airbags and no other modern features. The top of the range Camry is priced at 175,000 with a number of features like lane watch , reverse camera and all the amenities of a modern car. The top of the line Camry only comes with a Hybrid model.I believe the Accord wins here because the car comes with better value if you opt for the two litre version. Value for money the Camry wins by a wide margin

Both cars ride well but I believe if you want a comfortable ride you should get a Camry. The ride is so comfortable and refined but without the floating feeling that you get in some cars. The ride in the Accord is generally comfortable but on a less than smooth roads it can be a bit jiggly especially when you hit some uneven pavements. The handling in the Accord I think is a bit better compared to the Toyota but they have made some good improvements in the. face lifted version. I this department I think both are good cars and as such I think for this category it is a draw.


Resale value for both cars is also good for  Toyota and Honda. I believe after 7 years you can get slightly half of the value of the car if there are no drastic changes to the auto world by the government. Used car dealers are also very receptive to accepting  Honda or Toyota when it comes to trading in your car for a new one. They will find excuses to accept Korean or French cars and will only take  part trade of if  you are willing  to accept a very low trade in value of your car

I short, I think both are good cars. The Accord looks very classy inside out. The Toyota looks so dated even with the new face lift. But with its new engine, the car has been transformed. This is especially true with the Hybrid. I think it is the best value car on the market today. It is fast, quiet, refined and surprisingly economical. You get between 12-17 kilometers per litre and that is better than a Myvi. So guys,finally I decided on the Camry as my next car that would last for another years. Come 2022 I would again consider a new car but most probably it would be more of a A or B segment car.

What's bad about the Camry Hybrid 2015?

Salam to my Camry Hybrid friends

Yesterday I sent my Camry Hybrid to Toyota Kajang for the third service. Normally, for servicing I would personally send the car but yesterday was a hectic day for me and I instructed my eldest son to help me out. The odometer on my Camry was closed to 10,000 kilometers after a few months of use. For the third service, I did not make any appointment with the service center and it was more like a walk in kind of servicing. As usual, the servicing was quite fast at the center but one funny thing happened when my sloppy and unintelligent looking son (He is actually a doctor by profession) was told that the car needed more than four liter of engine oil -4 plus an additional liter of synthetic oil. He was shocked and asked the person on duty but  was told that its already bin the system. When he argued that the last service required on 4 liters of synthetic oil the personnel finally relented and backtrack on the order.

So guys please be warned that your car requires only 4 liters of oils and I've checked on the internet that even Toyota recommends that the car uses 3.76 liter of oil even though the engine block can take in more than 4 liters of oil. That extra liter can cost you RM 60 not inclusive of GST.


 So far the car so far has not given me any problem but there are a few things that I don't like about the car itself.

1. When the battery is low the recharging of the main battery is quite a noisy affair. It is not very noisy but because the car is too quiet the noise that it makes amplifies in the car quiet ambiance. This can be very unsettling in a very refined car.


2. The second hing that I dislike about the car is the so called green  JBL audio system. The system comes with  10 speakers but the sound it makes is like a whimper. I don't really enjoy the sound unless I sit at the back of the car as a passenger. Actually, the factory fitted sound system in the Camry caters more to the back passengers than the driver although the face lift makes it look like a driver's car. In India, the car is used as a chauffeur driven car  not like in Malaysia where we all drive on our own. I believe Toyota needs to amend this and cater more to  the needs of its customers in Malaysia.

The exposed wires next to the Inverter (Photo taken from Low Yat forum)

3. Another thing that I don't like about the car is the uncovered wires that are not properly bound together. The uncovered wires make the car looks as if it is made in China (I think it is but I'm not very sure) and the finishing is so terrible. I hope Toyota Malaysia can be more professional and do something about it.


Overall, I m still a very happy customer of Toyota and I hope that I will continue to be happy with my car. I will keep on posting more long term reports of the  car.

Toyota Camry Hybrid long term review Malaysia

Grey color Hybrid

Dear Camry Friends.

It has already been months I've owned the new Camry Hybrid. The mileage of my car as of 14/of August  2015 is 8950 kms. Last week , I took my Camry to Kuantan to see my son taking the  Socrates oath as a doctor. I don't normally drive very fast but driving the Camry Hybrid is totally a different experience. I was prone to drive quite fast in the range of 140-160 kilometers per hour without even realizing it. Partly, because of the ambiance is too quiet. Another reason could be the ride is so smooth. I don't know whether the AES system along the Kuantan has managed to catch me exceeding the speed limit.

The best color of all

Up to now, the car has not given me any problem, Servicing the car so far is quite an inexpensive affair at least for now. I believe its in the range of 200-300 ringgit for the first two services. I'm due another service at 10,000 kms very soon. I would normally service my car at Toyota Kajang which I think is quite new in servicing hybrid cars. The people there are quite efficient and friendly. I have no complaints so far about the servicing  at the Toyota Center but I hope they can maintain or improve their services for the better.

The Camry Hybrid is better than the Accord

The Camry comes with Bridgestone tyres with the size of 215/55/17  which are tuned more for comfort compared to the Honda Accord with a slightly wider tyres of 225. I believe  partly because of the size of the tires that the handling in the. Honda Accord is definitely better and sharper than the Camry despite  improvements made to the handling in the latest version of the Camry. Once the tire thread  of the Bridgestone is thinning, I'm thinking of getting a Michelin. I find the Bridgestone tires a tad on the noisy side although the rubber is reasonably good in terms of handling. I've had good experience using the Michelin tires although they are a little  too expensive to buy.

The color of my car is pearl white. I thought of getting the grey color but because of the ugly rims I decided on the white in which I had to pay an extra RM 800 . White is pretty but the problem is that when you travel a long a stretch that is being resurfaced your car will  be bound to get dirty or tarred. And it's not easy to remove the tar unless you get the right chemical .

Toyota Camry Owners' club

Welcome to the newly formed Camry Hybrid Owners Club Malaysia. I just bought a Camry Hybrid two weeks ago and I noticed that there wasn't a club that caters to owners and fans of Camry Hybrid and hence I decided to create a platform where Camry Hybrid owners and fans can come together and share their experiences driving/owning a hybrid car. I have decided to name this club as the CHOCoM or the Camry Hybrid Owners'Club of Malaysia. ( The club is also on the Facebook and owners are encouraged to join it. Please  share your experience of owning the Hybrid via the facebook  )

                                   Camry hybrid owners club Malaysia (CHOCoM)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CamryHybrid/

How to join the group:

Go to Facebook and search  Camry hybrid owners club Malaysia (CHOCoM)

I believe a club like this will be crucial because as we can share together our problems (I hope there will not be any major problem to the hybrid) and probably help each other in the best possible manner to solve the problems that may arise.


For a start, I will just blog AND  write on Facebook about my own experience owing to the car and I hope that more people will join in and share their experiences. I hope having this car will be a blissful one devoid of mechanical or any electrical problems. We are talking about a hybrid car that is totally new notwithstanding Honda's hybrid models because these are not full hybrid cars, unlike the Camry.

The car that I bought is Pearl white the same as the one illustrated here and I had to pay an extra RM 800 for the pearl white coating. I thought of getting the black color because it looked so handsome and exclusive but changed my mind because of the black coated rims. The black color with black rims is so unacceptable for a  veteran like me. I can be contacted at 019-280-4336 or via email drsallehhudin@gmail.com

Toyota Camry Hybrid