A mid-life update for Australia’s best-selling sedan has been revealed and is confirmed to hit Aussie showrooms in the first half of 2021.
Headlined by more safety equipment than before, the 2021 Toyota Camry will bring the Japanese car-maker’s latest Safety Sense 2.5+, in addition to a standard safety suite that already includes autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.
The new safety suite comprises higher quality camera and radar systems that are said to respond better in low-light conditions, and should also detect (and prevent) more crashes by adding pre-collision support, emergency steering assist, lane change assist and other new functions.
According to Toyota USA, the new Camry will also overtake slower cars more smoothly when using adaptive cruise control, thanks to what it calls Full-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC).
“If travelling behind a vehicle travelling slower than the preset speed, once the driver engages the turn signal with steering input, the system will provide an initial increase in acceleration in preparation for changing lanes; after changing lanes, the vehicle will continue acceleration until it reaches the preset driving speed”, said Toyota USA.
When DRCC is in use, the vehicle will also be able to adjust the vehicle’s speed using speed sign recognition, slowing down or speeding up to the posted speed limit, depending on conditions.
Inside the cabin, Toyota says it has improved the Camry’s ergonomics by redesigning the interior and moving the 7.0-inch infotainment unit higher in the dash in a “floating” fashion.
On the outside, the front-end has received a mild nip-and-tuck via a “bolder, stronger-looking” grille and a bumper that gives the Camry a “more imposing road presence”, says Toyota.
Meanwhile, Toyota Australia says Camry Hybrid models will be improved as of next month, when their 245V nickel metal hydride battery will finally be replaced by a newer and more efficient 259V lithium-ion battery.
Stay tuned for local pricing and specifications closer to the 2021 Toyota Camry’s arrival.