IMO the Camry is up there with the 3IS... as weird as it may sound.
I had my 3IS since brand new and I recently swapped with my brother's 2018 Camry XSE for 4 days (he's a sales manager).

What the Camry did better :
More comfy (the 3IS is still very comfy but the Camry is better, as expected)
More options (fully equipped Camry was wayyyy better equipped than any 3IS)
Bigger size (more legroom in the back, but they're not in the same segment)
Interior finish (not necessarily better than 3IS, but you can tell they stepped up their game)

What it did worse :
Not as sporty driving as you would expect from the looks, which is kinda normal... it's still a Camry
FWD takes away some fun from driving (coming from a RWD I could immediately tell the difference)
Being 5'11" I sat too high and my shoulders would be higher than the drivers side door, even when I lowered the seat to the max. There was something weird in that seating position and definitely took away some of the sporty feeling. In the 3IS I'm able to sit lower.

To summarize if I was shopping for a new car right now, I would seriously consider the Camry. I don't care how bad Toyota did in the past and what stereotype it holds, I think they seriously stepped up their game this time around.

 

I would recommend the Camry Hybrid. It literally has no downsides vs. a regular gas powered camry and actually has a TON of upsides. For starters, no transmission to deal with, and it'll do 0-60 in 6.9s. Same rating as the IS200t. But get this... the IS200t for 2018 (IS300) is even heavier by 100 lbs than the IS Turbo rated @ 6.9s. So it's 0-60 is likely even slower--maybe 7.3s. So yep the Camry Hybrid is actually faster than the Turbo IS and gets 50 mpg combined. My IS Turbo is lucky to scratch 21.

 

They did.

The new camry does have a really nice polish to its interior. I also like the new Accord though. Waiting for a hybrid to come out.

I'm actually debating trading my IS200t this week for a Prius or Camry Hybrid. But my latest thinking is just wait for the Accord Hybrid. I really wish Lexus made a CT replacement.

 

I do agree with that the Accord looks like it comes with better options and the interior actually looks nice. But that exterior.. the back specifically, is something I cannot get used to. Just looks ugly, in my opinion.

 

Yep, this literally is my thoughts on the car. It definitely will suck having the 4 cylinder of a Camry but I guess the great gas mileage is a good payoff. Absolutely not willing to pay that $34-35k premium for a 6-cylinder Camry. Overall seemed like a great car to me. Just didn't want to leave the Lexus IS behind but might have to.. for now.

 

I need to check out the new Camry, but I'll give my two cents since I briefly had a 2015 Camry before jumping over to the IS (yay depreciation!) and have a friend who I was just chatting with about the new one.

The previous-gen Camry rode well considering it had a more cost-effective torsion beam setup, but the new one uses an independent rear suspension. This means it should ride better over broken pavement as well as handle better, depending on what sort of tuning Toyota did. Dynamically, the car was pretty uninteresting though - the stability and traction control were pretty strict, and of course the nearly 60/40 weight balance and relatively narrow tires means a kinda vague feeling at the limit. The car wasn't necessarily unwilling to play, it just wasn't that great at it. The engine, at least, was pretty free-revving for a four-cylinder - the VVT is very noticeable at about 4500 RPM. I suspect the new engine will be similar in that regard, yet more efficient.

I always thought the infotainment in the last Camry was very easy to use, and this new one seems similar. Of course, the roominess and comfortable seats were, to me, a strong suit of the Camry. I could fit a six pack of beer in the center console storage! Not to mention, back seat passengers always had enough space, even with the front-seat passenger and driver being comfortable ourselves. From what I can tell, these dimensional things should be true of the new Camry as well. Gas mileage was also pretty good in my 4-cylinder SE example. I usually got about 25 on average in commuting - this would be a bit more like 26 or 27 in the summer and 24 or so in the winter, with mostly city driving.

The good thing about the Camry was that it made me realize that I do in fact like cars and like driving. The SE had just enough personality to get me to look beyond using a car for A-to-B transportation. I couldn't see myself going back to the last gen Camry, but the new one seems really impressive, and if I wanted to scale back the running costs of my daily a bit, I'd give it a look.

 

So I'm looking at two options right now as a new graduate. A 2015 IS 250 F-Sport Ultra White for $28k OTD. Or a 2018 Camry XSE for $27K OTD. Both with taxes and all fees calculated.
I took a unofficial look at what the depreciation value might be when if I decide to get a new car in 2022, it seems both are just about the same with the Camry holding a very slight higher value.

Any advice or direction you would go? Keep in mind I'm currently leasing a 2015 IS 250 F-Sport which ends within 3 weeks and the buy price on it is too high (30K).

 

Hey I'd like to toss in my 2 cents. I'm a 2-3 years out since graduating and I drove a 2010 corolla until this past july when I got a 2015 is250 f sport

A few things to take into consideration camry v. are:

-Camry takes regular gas and is takes premium. Considering the camry mpg is much better than is, gas will add up over time of ownership. You gotta pay to play.
-gas costs aside, camry is roomier and a car I would want for a family car.
-I love my is250 but wish it had more power/better gas mileage
-I love driving because it means I get to sit in a luxurious car and lexus definitely has more wow factor than the camry
-keep in mind 2018 camry probably (correct me if I'm wrong) has all the bells and whistle in terms of the safety features (lane assist and all that jazz) while the is won't.

If I were in the same position I'd have a very tough time choosing as well... just whatever your end goal is. Camry will give you the better mpg, cost savings (regular v premium), new tech features. Lexus gives you the prestige and luxury at a cost.

I got married 3 months ago and wish I got a lexus that could carry a family later down the road (es/gs/rx). Plus RX and ES take regular gas.

 

Thank you, that was very helpful! I'm married myself as well and have been contemplating the savings factor. My current 2015 hasn't been good on the gas but man is it enjoyable when I drive it. People are actually surprised when I say I love driving to and from work.
I did test drive the 2018 Camry and it felt good but definitely wasn't a Lexus so guess I'm a bit spoiled right now.

 

Speaking of gas, screw the is250 awd gas mileage. Currently getting 270 miles per full tank.

 

Yep! Very true. I get 19-20 MPG average in 70/30 Highway/City. Drive with a light foot too. At least the RWD gets a bit better mileage. Really wish Lexus fixed their mileage issues.

 

I have as well. Honda has offered more appealing styling through the years, though maybe not in the new release of each now, and better features. My folks first Accord was a 1994 and the Camry wasn't a competitor in that choice for long. They later had a 2003 Accord and a 2014 Accord EX-L V6. They were all nice cars. The Accords offered better features as standard and were not so rigid in tying features to bigger packages. Before I got my 2014 IS250, I looked at the Accord V6 EX-L, but it didn't have any "wow" factor. The IS250 blew me away in styling and I love the interior. That was a short lease and it didn't take long to decide that it would be much more suited to my taste with the 306 hp V6.

I like the look of the new Camry. I thought the interior looked good. For me, my options have been limited by the fact that I have only owned and strongly prefer RWD cars.

For the OP, I would suggest making a list of the top ten things that you want in a car and then identify an amount that you can afford to spend on a car. Afford is a slippery slope, so think about how much you're willing to pay for the car, whether it be monthly or otherwise, and then research cars in that price range and take a look at the ones that meet most of your criteria. You will probably get several results other than Camry or IS and you should consider those.

 

Yikes. Here in the winter I am getting about 300 to a tank in my IS 300 AWD, or about 18.5 MPG, with mostly city driving (I don't use highways in my commutes due to the back roads being a bit shorter distance). Admittedly this time last year, when the car was still fresh, I was only seeing about 17. I think the car's a bit broken in now, but still I'd expect the 250 to do a bit better given its smaller displacement.

Hey OP, if you can find a lightly used 2016 IS 300, you will get a lot more power - though it's likely going to cost a few more thousand than the 250.

 

I actually found a 2016 IS 300 F-Sport close to me but its in Black unfortunately. That's the one thing I would like to change is the color. Currently have a Black one and it takes a ton of effort to maintain its looks.

 

Have you considered buying out your current lease? If you love it, it should be the cheapest option and a car you already know you love. The best of both worlds