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Spent a few days sitting in other cars as they seemed 'tight' for my 6'1" frame. They must all be built from the same computer program. Told my friend that she should pick out what she wants and I will 'suffer' the close quarters. No one told me to raise the seat! Bought a 2012 Camry LE hybrid the other day. Raised the seat and much less confinement on the right elbow. I also like the better visibility with the seat all the way up. Front tires still had 45 lbs in them and the car 'danced' all the way home in cross winds. Lowered it to 35 and the hunting/dancing was gone. Very positive steering. The 2012 was much better on the braking whine at low speeds (also drove a 2011 hybrid Camry). Interaction between the engine and electric motor was improved in the 2012. When 'punched' on a 70 MPH merge/onramp you'll hear that motor and it sounds good when surging to 80 MPH. The rest of the time very quiet. Some windnoise which I attribute to suction on the drivers side door and it would be worthwhile to figure out why and eliminate it. All electric drive is fun. ECO drive and cruse control eliminates all the thinking for economy if you aren't a hypermiler. Headlights are brilliant and the inside beam control is a nice feature when vehicle loading changes. Finest vehicle I've ever driven. Get yours while you can!

I'm thinking I could get seriously good results in my "normal" driving with this car.

Drive it "normally" for a while and see if you like the results. But if you incorporate a few simple techniques you can learn on this site, your fuel efficiency can soar. Welcome to CleanMPG and good luck with your new Camry.

The LE does not have the inside headlight adjuster. Tried normal this evening, strange....like they simulated the earlier Camry's pedal response. Quite peppy on take off and instantly responsive....I can see how it would use more gas. My partner will probably enjoy that mode. I'll stick with the eco and ev modes and cruise along a lower speeds whenever no one is on my tail (which drives her nuts!).

Spent a few days sitting in other cars as they seemed 'tight' for my 6'1" frame. They must all be built from the same computer program.

German cars are designed to fit the tall Germans and other northern Europeans.. American cars for the obese among us and the oriental cars are designed for those that are 5' 6" at most :)

It all depends on the database they use.

Wondering if anyone else has noted that the 35 lbs front and back for the 2012 Camry is not the best setting. I'm leaning toward 40 front and the max in back. Tires seem to be the controlling factor. After the front end "dancing" home that first evening with 40+ lbs (my buddy tells me they put the pressure WAY UP during car carrier transportation), 35 is now too low for the steering. 45 appears too low for the rear tires. Up until now with my 50 years of driving experience and 20 plus vehicles the subject never meant much to me. Is it the overall sophistication of these new automobiles that make tire pressure/tires so important? An aside for this so far is try as I might, I never hear the rear tires on a road crack and with the front I hear every road crack. Is the answer different tires and pressures front and rear? I'm having to "hide" my experiments form my partner who thinks what the door wall pressure limits are my limits... :-(

Most of us here have never seen 35 psi in our tires. Until you get used to it, start at 35 psi and incrementally move the pressure up 2 or 3 lbs. every few days. The difference won't be as severe in the ride.

BTW: Welcome to CleanMPG! The link in my signature has a lot of the great info here. The Beating the EPA is the a great place to start the reading.

Thanks for the tire pressure feedback. I'll be going 44 psi in the rear Firestone Affinity P205/65R16's and probably near 40 psi in the front. Researching those tires suggest there are much better tires available. What criteria for hypermiling does one look for?

LRR - low rolling resistance

Tirerack has a filter for LRR tires. It looks like your Affinity's are in that category, at least according to Firestone.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?customSizeSearch=&width=205%2F&ratio=65&diameter=16

Thanks for the tire pressure feedback. I'll be going 44 psi in the rear Firestone Affinity P205/65R16's and probably near 40 psi in the front. Researching those tires suggest there are much better tires available. What criteria for hypermiling does one look for?

It's more typical to use higher pressures in the front, is it not? Say 42 front, 40 rear. Due to the heavier loading in the front because of engine and so forth.

I do hear lateral highway cracks on both front and rear now (was going too fast to hear them separately). Will leave rear and front tires the same 40 psi. I'm beginning to notice steering wandering/correction forcing so I suspect pointing the tires in a bit is necessary to stop this when I raise tire pressures in the future. Steering is a bit stiff still and a disappointment relative to the 1998 Camry. Beginning to hear a bit more regenerative braking whine. With rear windows open a resonant buffeting of the wind at 50 MPH will drive me and my partner 'up the wall'. Opening a front window an inch relieves it. Learning to drive EV and ECO modes in town without aggravating other drivers. :)

Ran 150 miles today starting at 4200', over and back 5280' pass at 60 deg f, mostly at 3000' with slower speeds than speed limit when not in traffic. Got 44 MPG. The motor-battery-wheels picture was very interesting and EV mode works at higher speeds than I expected. Watching the power flow arrows can be mesmerizing so don't get "pilot fever" and watch the instruments too much :-)