I got this Camry last spring with 30,000 miles. I've put on 26,000 miles in the past year and few months, so I seem to drive it about 20,000 miles per year.
It's been great for that time; I just wanted to share a review with you all.
I found it at a Toyota dealer in central Minnesota about an hour from my home. It was priced at the high end of the other '12 Camrys (~$11,500), but was positively mint and, the kicker, had just 30,000 miles on it, about half of average. After looking at it, and driving it, it would've been hard to pass on it. For example, it still had the factory plastic covering all the carpet, and the factory window sticker was in the glovebox. And, after getting it home (this is perhaps the best part!) I checked the Toyota website and found that it had gotten 9 oil changes in its first 30,000 miles of life, including one at 2,000 miles. All maintenance was performed at the selling dealer (it returned to its original dealer to be sold the second time, where I bought it) with TGMO 0w20 to boot! This was better than I could have expected! The body was practically mint and so was the interior, save for a few scratches. It's been quite disappointing to see it get rock chips and scratches from careless parkers, but it's still in very good shape a year later.
The car is a LE trim in Toyota's "Magnetic Gray Metallic." I've always liked this generation since it came out, and this dark gray is probably my favorite color. The gray looks fantastic when clean and hides dirt better than expected. It's a near-base trim but is quite well-equipped - 10 airbags, Bluetooth/USB, 6.1" touchscreen, automatic lights, stitched dash, power drivers seat, tilt/telescoping wheel, split-folding rear seat, etc, outside thermometer, etc. in addition to the expected a/c, remote entry, power windows/locks/mirrors. It feels rather upmarket for a near-base model, though it does have steel wheels. (I also have added an auto-dimming mirror and compass, plus a factory backup camera.)
The Good-
-Fuel economy. The Camry constantly blows me away with its economy. (And mine isn't even the hybrid.) It's rated 25/35 and those numbers are completely achievable. I have had about 7 tanks in the 39-41 mpg range, all hand calculated (which agrees with the computer's calculations quite closely). Mixed driving typically returns low 30s. On the highway, if I set the cruise to 70 mph, I can net 40+ mpg, even with the a/c on, barring strong headwinds. My all-time best tank was hand-calculated at 40.8 mpg, on over 500 miles of highway driving with a bit of city thrown in! Of course, the Camry uses regular fuel. My trips to home from college, which are just shy of 300 miles, can be consistently completed on just under a half tank, which is less than 8 gallons. The 17 gallon tank gives it a long range (500+ miles). I generally get 37+ on highway runs. I particularly like the radio's fuel economy display, which gives you your instant economy plus a bar graph of the economy over the past 15 minutes. My hand-calculated lifetime average is 31.4 mpg.
-The power. My Camry is equipped with the base 2.5 liter rated at just shy of 180 hp. It is coupled to a 6-speed automatic. RPMs on the highway are quite low, taking over 70 mph to get to 2,000 rpms. Power is more than adequate in most any situation (think 0-60 in under 8 seconds). It honestly feels like a small V-6. I don't drive it hard, but the tires have no problem breaking loose in heavy acceleration, which I found somewhat surprising for a naturally aspirated 4-banger. I read that only about 10% of buyers in this generation opted for the V6 (2GR-FE), which makes sense. We have that in the Sienna, where it is fantastic, but the Camry is light enough that it doesn't need more power. The 4-cylinder rocks!
-The space. The trunk is quite large, but the really surprising thing is the size of the backseat. The car fits four adults quite comfortably. There is far more rear-seat legroom than I would've expected. In this generation, they made an emphasis on maximizing space by better-shaping trim pieces, thinning the front seat seatbacks, and such things. It worked well; the car feels considerably more spacious than the previous generation. Storage is quite plentiful.
-Standard equipment. As I mentioned above, for a near-base model, this is very well-equipped. It doesn't feel stripped down or decontented.
-Oil consumption. I've done several long (9k+) runs with 0w20, as called for in the manual, and the oil level has not dropped appreciably in that time. (Perhaps 4 ounces?)
-Ride comfort and quiet. The LE is not the "sporty" trim, so it has a softer ride. The car is quite quiet at highway speeds, and the suspension is comfortable over rougher road surfaces. I've driven it 500 miles + in one shot and been quite comfortable, with little fatigue. I really enjoy the sliding armrest on long trips.
-Maintenance costs. It takes less than 5 quarts of 0w20, and only every 10k miles. Air filters are cheap and easily replaced. It hasn't needed much, only rear pads due to a stuck slide pin, and is even on its original factory battery. Tires are pretty cheap and steel wheels are durable.
-Design. The car has some really nice touches, like the sliding armrest, all of the MPG gauges/info, an 8-speed fan, lots of storage compartments, and the stitched dash/dash design. I really like the instrument cluster. It's clean and simple, meaning that it's easy to read at a glance, and it dims nicely at night. The speedometer is placed front and center. Driving position feels good, and I immediately felt at home in the car. I'm a big fan of Toyota's cruise control switch, as well. Just like the rest of the car, it is intuitive and well-thought-out.
The Okay-
-Winter stability. The Camry is fairly light, and it feels it. It's not bad on snow by any means, but it's no tank.
-Paint quality. I have gotten several rock chips in the past year, though I do drive mostly highway. I can't say this is the car's fault, but it may just have to do with where I drive.

-Interior materials. These trim pieces had a few scratches when I got the car; again, I can't be sure how resistant they are as I wasn't the one who scratched them. Everything looks pretty upmarket though.
-Audio quality. This is pretty good, though not "premium." Bass can be a bit lacking but, altogether, it's a pretty good base system. It has 6 speakers, touchscreen, CD, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, etc. For what it is, not bad at all.
-Coolant temp gauge. It's a sliding bar graph, meaning that it lacks precision. (C _ _ _ I _ _ _ H). I still prefer this to the blue/red lights some cars use, or no gauge at all.
The Bad-
(I can't honestly come up with any real detriments for the Camry. The chime is really a "beep" and sounds cheap, but that's a very minor concern. And interior lighting leaves something to be desired, as the map lights are manually switched; only the dome light comes on when the doors are open.)
All in all, it's a hard car to beat on the aggregate. It may not be the sportiest or the fastest, nor is it too exciting, but a Camry is good at most things and bad at nothing. Mine has proven to be a capable and economical mostly-highway car. I don't think that they can be easily be beaten when all factors are considered (economy, quality, reliability, comfort, features, value). I'd definitely purchase mine again, but I hope to not need to anytime soon (I'm shooting for 250,000 miles).
It's been great for that time; I just wanted to share a review with you all.
I found it at a Toyota dealer in central Minnesota about an hour from my home. It was priced at the high end of the other '12 Camrys (~$11,500), but was positively mint and, the kicker, had just 30,000 miles on it, about half of average. After looking at it, and driving it, it would've been hard to pass on it. For example, it still had the factory plastic covering all the carpet, and the factory window sticker was in the glovebox. And, after getting it home (this is perhaps the best part!) I checked the Toyota website and found that it had gotten 9 oil changes in its first 30,000 miles of life, including one at 2,000 miles. All maintenance was performed at the selling dealer (it returned to its original dealer to be sold the second time, where I bought it) with TGMO 0w20 to boot! This was better than I could have expected! The body was practically mint and so was the interior, save for a few scratches. It's been quite disappointing to see it get rock chips and scratches from careless parkers, but it's still in very good shape a year later.
The car is a LE trim in Toyota's "Magnetic Gray Metallic." I've always liked this generation since it came out, and this dark gray is probably my favorite color. The gray looks fantastic when clean and hides dirt better than expected. It's a near-base trim but is quite well-equipped - 10 airbags, Bluetooth/USB, 6.1" touchscreen, automatic lights, stitched dash, power drivers seat, tilt/telescoping wheel, split-folding rear seat, etc, outside thermometer, etc. in addition to the expected a/c, remote entry, power windows/locks/mirrors. It feels rather upmarket for a near-base model, though it does have steel wheels. (I also have added an auto-dimming mirror and compass, plus a factory backup camera.)
The Good-
-Fuel economy. The Camry constantly blows me away with its economy. (And mine isn't even the hybrid.) It's rated 25/35 and those numbers are completely achievable. I have had about 7 tanks in the 39-41 mpg range, all hand calculated (which agrees with the computer's calculations quite closely). Mixed driving typically returns low 30s. On the highway, if I set the cruise to 70 mph, I can net 40+ mpg, even with the a/c on, barring strong headwinds. My all-time best tank was hand-calculated at 40.8 mpg, on over 500 miles of highway driving with a bit of city thrown in! Of course, the Camry uses regular fuel. My trips to home from college, which are just shy of 300 miles, can be consistently completed on just under a half tank, which is less than 8 gallons. The 17 gallon tank gives it a long range (500+ miles). I generally get 37+ on highway runs. I particularly like the radio's fuel economy display, which gives you your instant economy plus a bar graph of the economy over the past 15 minutes. My hand-calculated lifetime average is 31.4 mpg.
-The power. My Camry is equipped with the base 2.5 liter rated at just shy of 180 hp. It is coupled to a 6-speed automatic. RPMs on the highway are quite low, taking over 70 mph to get to 2,000 rpms. Power is more than adequate in most any situation (think 0-60 in under 8 seconds). It honestly feels like a small V-6. I don't drive it hard, but the tires have no problem breaking loose in heavy acceleration, which I found somewhat surprising for a naturally aspirated 4-banger. I read that only about 10% of buyers in this generation opted for the V6 (2GR-FE), which makes sense. We have that in the Sienna, where it is fantastic, but the Camry is light enough that it doesn't need more power. The 4-cylinder rocks!
-The space. The trunk is quite large, but the really surprising thing is the size of the backseat. The car fits four adults quite comfortably. There is far more rear-seat legroom than I would've expected. In this generation, they made an emphasis on maximizing space by better-shaping trim pieces, thinning the front seat seatbacks, and such things. It worked well; the car feels considerably more spacious than the previous generation. Storage is quite plentiful.
-Standard equipment. As I mentioned above, for a near-base model, this is very well-equipped. It doesn't feel stripped down or decontented.
-Oil consumption. I've done several long (9k+) runs with 0w20, as called for in the manual, and the oil level has not dropped appreciably in that time. (Perhaps 4 ounces?)
-Ride comfort and quiet. The LE is not the "sporty" trim, so it has a softer ride. The car is quite quiet at highway speeds, and the suspension is comfortable over rougher road surfaces. I've driven it 500 miles + in one shot and been quite comfortable, with little fatigue. I really enjoy the sliding armrest on long trips.
-Maintenance costs. It takes less than 5 quarts of 0w20, and only every 10k miles. Air filters are cheap and easily replaced. It hasn't needed much, only rear pads due to a stuck slide pin, and is even on its original factory battery. Tires are pretty cheap and steel wheels are durable.
-Design. The car has some really nice touches, like the sliding armrest, all of the MPG gauges/info, an 8-speed fan, lots of storage compartments, and the stitched dash/dash design. I really like the instrument cluster. It's clean and simple, meaning that it's easy to read at a glance, and it dims nicely at night. The speedometer is placed front and center. Driving position feels good, and I immediately felt at home in the car. I'm a big fan of Toyota's cruise control switch, as well. Just like the rest of the car, it is intuitive and well-thought-out.
The Okay-
-Winter stability. The Camry is fairly light, and it feels it. It's not bad on snow by any means, but it's no tank.
-Paint quality. I have gotten several rock chips in the past year, though I do drive mostly highway. I can't say this is the car's fault, but it may just have to do with where I drive.

-Interior materials. These trim pieces had a few scratches when I got the car; again, I can't be sure how resistant they are as I wasn't the one who scratched them. Everything looks pretty upmarket though.
-Audio quality. This is pretty good, though not "premium." Bass can be a bit lacking but, altogether, it's a pretty good base system. It has 6 speakers, touchscreen, CD, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, etc. For what it is, not bad at all.
-Coolant temp gauge. It's a sliding bar graph, meaning that it lacks precision. (C _ _ _ I _ _ _ H). I still prefer this to the blue/red lights some cars use, or no gauge at all.
The Bad-
(I can't honestly come up with any real detriments for the Camry. The chime is really a "beep" and sounds cheap, but that's a very minor concern. And interior lighting leaves something to be desired, as the map lights are manually switched; only the dome light comes on when the doors are open.)
All in all, it's a hard car to beat on the aggregate. It may not be the sportiest or the fastest, nor is it too exciting, but a Camry is good at most things and bad at nothing. Mine has proven to be a capable and economical mostly-highway car. I don't think that they can be easily be beaten when all factors are considered (economy, quality, reliability, comfort, features, value). I'd definitely purchase mine again, but I hope to not need to anytime soon (I'm shooting for 250,000 miles).
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