The 2021 Toyota Camry is an eighth-generation XV70 sedan in its facelifted form. Toyota had launched the XV70 for 2018, refreshed it for 2021 and kept it in production until October 2024, so the 2021 car is a mature, well-established model rather than a new design. It offered a choice of three powertrains — a four-cylinder, a V6 and a hybrid — across a wide spread of trims, with optional all-wheel drive on the four-cylinder versions. This review covers the engine specifications, equipment and pricing that applied to the 2021 model year.
Model-Year Recap
For 2021 Toyota dropped the base L grade, made the LE the entry point, restyled the front of the car, moved to a floating multimedia screen and made Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+ standard. A new XSE Hybrid joined the lineup, and the hybrid range received a price reduction. All-wheel drive, added for 2020, remained available on the four-cylinder LE, SE, XLE and XSE, and the V6 TRD performance grade introduced in 2020 continued. Car and Driver rated the 2021 Camry 8.5 out of 10 and called the V6 the standout of the range.
Exterior
The 2021 restyle was modest but gave the Camry two distinct faces. The LE and XLE used a comfort-oriented front fascia, while the SE and XSE adopted a bolder lower bumper with a honeycomb-style grille, side vent inserts and revised accents intended to give the sportier grades a lower, wider look. New paint colors and wheel designs appeared across the range, and the sporty trims wore larger wheels, up to 19 inches on the XSE Hybrid. The body itself, on a 111.2-inch wheelbase, was unchanged from the previous year.
Dimensions and Body
The XV70 Camry rode on a 111.2-inch wheelbase and measured 192.1 to 193.3 inches long, 72.4 inches wide and 56.9 inches tall, with a curb weight between roughly 3,262 and 3,659 pounds. Toyota sold the car in the United States, Japan, Australia and other markets, and the Australian range used its own grade names — Ascent, Ascent Sport, SX and SL, plus Ascent, Ascent Sport and SL versions of the hybrid. The Camry was the first Toyota to introduce the Entune 3.0 infotainment system.
Interior and Equipment
The cabin update centered on a new layout with a freestanding, tablet-style touchscreen in 7-inch or 9-inch sizes. The 9-inch display was standard on upper grades and included Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa compatibility. Toyota also gave the XLE a new herringbone seat pattern and leather upholstery, and the hybrid continued to package its battery under the rear seats, preserving the same 15 cubic feet of trunk space as the gas cars.
Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+ came standard on every 2021 Camry. The suite bundled a pre-collision system with pedestrian and daytime bicyclist detection, full-speed adaptive cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist and automatic high beams, and it added intersection support. A rearview camera and a suite of airbags rounded out the standard safety equipment. The Camry seated five people.
Engines, Specs and Performance
Toyota offered three powertrains. The four-cylinder was the volume choice, the V6 was the performance option and the hybrid was the most efficient:
- 2.5-liter four-cylinder (A25A-FKS): 203 hp at 6,600 rpm and 184 lb-ft at 5,000 rpm on the LE and SE; 206 hp at 6,800 rpm and 186 lb-ft on the XLE and XSE
- 3.5-liter V6 (2GR-FKS): 301 hp at 6,600 rpm and 267 lb-ft at 4,700 rpm
- Hybrid: 2.5-liter four-cylinder (A25A-FXS) plus two electric motors and a battery, 208 hp combined, with an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission
- Gas models: eight-speed automatic transmission; front-wheel drive standard, with all-wheel drive optional on the four-cylinder LE, SE, XLE and XSE
The V6 was reserved for the XLE, XSE and TRD and came only with front-wheel drive. The hybrid paired its engine with electric motors through a power-split system, allowing low-speed electric running and regenerative braking.
Pricing
Prices before destination charges for the 2021 Camry started at $24,970 for the LE. Moving up the range, the SE was $26,485, the SE Nightshade Edition $27,185, the XLE $29,870 and the XSE $30,420. The hybrid started at $27,270 for the LE, with the SE at $28,785, the XLE at $32,170 and the new XSE at $32,720. All-wheel drive added a premium to the four-cylinder cars, and the V6 TRD sat at the top of the non-hybrid range.
Fuel Economy
Efficiency depended heavily on the engine. Car and Driver reported EPA ratings of 28 mpg city and 39 mpg highway for the front-drive four-cylinder LE and SE, up to 22 mpg city and 33 mpg highway for the V6, and 51 mpg city and 53 mpg highway for the base LE hybrid. That spread is why the hybrid made up a meaningful share of Camry sales even though it was not the quickest version.
Related Toyota reviews on this site: 2020 Toyota Avensis Interior Review and Release Date, 2020 Toyota Mirai Review, and Toyota Review.
For buyers, the 2021 Camry offered a simple decision tree: the four-cylinder for value and optional all-wheel drive, the V6 for power, and the hybrid for the best fuel economy. Its strengths were standard driver assistance, a spacious interior and a long track record, while its main drawback was that the sportier turbocharged rivals of the day offered quicker acceleration from the base four-cylinder. The model remained on sale for several more years in this form, which keeps parts, service and resale support strong for 2021 examples.
