Toyota tweaks Camry’s fuel efficiency

The battle to be Australia’s most fuel-efficient locally built car has stepped up a gear, with Toyota tweaking its four-cylinder Camry in response to similar moves by Ford and Holden. The local company has made revisions to the Camry’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder petrol engine and five-speed automatic transmission to reduce consumption from 9.9 liters per 100 km to 8.8 liters per 100 km. The 11% improvement re-establishes the car as Australia’s most efficient, ahead of the introduction of a hybrid Camry early next year. The efficiency improvement addresses criticisms that the sixth-generation Camry, launched in 2006, was no more fuel efficient than some six-cylinder cars, including its own sister car, the Aurion. It also responds to recent moves by Ford and Holden to cut fuel consumption in their large six-cylinder cars. (July 25, 2009)