Two questions:

1. Are the rear headrests adjustable and removable? Some pictures show them (at least the 2 outboard headrests) as height-adjustable while others show them down and not obviously adjustable. I am really hoping that the Camry has returned to height-adjustable and removable rear head restraints.
2. How large is the rear trunk opening? It looks quite small, in the fore-aft dimension. A too-small opening may make a larger trunk almost useless.

 

#2 thus far is my biggest gripe with the new Camry. As with most new sedans, the trunks are shrinking more and more. Tiny opening, large cavity. Plus it makes the car look cheap, like a hatchback, and somewhat feminine. New Accord will likely have the same problem, like it's Civic brother.

 

It's still good for delivering pizza

 

Im not sure why they went the "sporty" route with Camry.
This looks like they are losing what they do best and why loyal customers buy a Camry in first place.
They made same mistake with Lexus and the whole Fsport/Lfinesse nonsense.

I would of went more luxury, more comfort, best quality, and best tech - that is what buyers of missize cars want.
If Toyota wants Sport - bring back Supra and Celica.

 

I don't think the LE and XLE trims are overly sporty. I think they look like smaller Avalons. They're marketing the XSE trim, I see no problem with them having two personas for the car in two different trim lines, Sport and not.

Look around the segment. If buyers what what you say they want, why does everything in the segment now have a similar sporty look?

 

The trunk lid has been redesigned. The opening is larger now.

 

Sales numbers don't lie. Lexus is doing very well with their new direction.

 

Really - Lexus USED to be #1 in sales for ~10years.
Now they are #3 for past 5yrs i think. This means they lost marketshare to MB/BMW/Audi etc.

Traditional Lex buyers were no longer catered to.

 

Its more than styling - they made the car physically smaller inside and also lower. Families with kids buy Camrys and taxi/Uber fleets. Space is critical especially headroom and legroom.
The car also lacks luxury features that Hyundai/Kia have and the lack of Apple carplay/Android etc.
The Nav screen is only 7inches - that is tiny.

I think the Accord will blow it away based how great the new CRV and Civic have been.

At the end of the day, Camry was #1 selling car because it had lots of space, comfortable ride and reliability.
Toyota should stick to what it know best and not cater to 5% of sporty drivers by compromising on what makes Camry great for the other 95% of buyers.

 

If you look at their sales though, they're up. It's just Mercedes and BMW have grown much more, they have many more models, etc.

2015 was Lexus biggest sales year ever, 2016 second biggest sales year ever. Market share is down somewhat, but not that much, couple tenths of a % from the highest ever, which makes sense when you look at their placement with their competitors.

Like Jill said, Lexus is doing very well.

As for the Camry, the Accord doesn't blow the old Camry away and it's terrible, it's not going to blow this Camry away either. This will leave the Accord in the dust.

 

Your reasoning is not logical.

MB and BMW have always had way more models like coupes, convertibles etc. with tons of more engine options going back to the 90s.
Yet Lexus always sold more. Luxury sales overall have increased but Lexus sales have not gone up at the same rate as MB/BMW/Audi therefore their marketshare is down. Worldwide the difference is even more pronounced than in the US.

The new Camry is definitely a step up and is probably better than the current Accord but the new one is coming in the Fall with a turbo 4 from the Civic SI.
That already is more "sporty" lol.

 

Slightly OT perhaps, but, in my area, I've noticed that a large percentage of pizza-deliverers drive used Civics....perhaps (?) because they are cheap and reliable.

 

A valid point. This is something I often mention in reviews of today's sedans. This current obsession in the industry with using steeply-raked rear rooflines to try and make sedans look like coupes not only screws up rear headroom, entry/exit, and outward visibility, but also vastly reduces the size and lid of the trunk-opening itself. That means, of course, that, if you regularly load large, bulky items, even with an otherwise large trunk space, you may(?) be forced to look at another type of vehicle....probably one reason for the exploding sales numbers of SUVs.

 

Your reasoning is what's not logical lol. Expend a little effort and look up the sales numbers and market share. Simple google search. Lexus IS selling more cars right now than they ever have before. That's a fact. BMW and MB have more models now. Also a fact, we have GranCoupes and SUV coupes and GranTourismos, the 1 Series, CLK. Also a fact.

 

Not really sure about the over analysis of the rear trunk in the new Camry. The car has 15.1 cubit feet of trunk storage. An ES300h has 12.1 cubic feet. And the ES350 has 15.2. So what honestly is the big deal?