We’re not exactly sure how it happened. One minute we were at Willow Springs Raceway test-driving the latest Yugo when a blinding blue flash engulfed the paddock. Out of the ozone appeared a handsome beige sedan wearing Toyota badges, silver wheel covers, and a license plate that simply read: 2009.
Naturally, we assumed someone from Japan was playing a prank. But after five minutes behind the wheel, it became clear: this car is from the future.
Let’s start with the numbers. This Camry — if that’s still what they’re calling it — sports a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, pumping out a staggering 158 horsepower. To put that in perspective, that’s more power than a V6 Camaro Berlinetta and only 22 horsepower shy of a Corvette from 1975.
What’s more impressive is how it delivers. There’s no bucking, no surging, no grumbling. Just an unbroken surge of power from idle to redline, smoother than a brand-new cassette tape. Torque arrives early, like a loyal Labrador, and stays right there with you until you let off the gas.
We clocked 0 to 60 in just under 8 seconds — which would put this Camry squarely in hot hatch territory. And we did it with the air conditioning on, windows up, and three editors onboard arguing about whether “Miami Vice” was a good show.
The gearbox is a five-speed manual, and it’s the kind of shifter you could hand to your grandmother without fear. Throws are long but deliberate, and clutch engagement is smoother than most of the marriages we’ve seen in Detroit.
Fifth gear doesn’t feel like an afterthought. It pulls. At 60 mph, 5th still responds like 3rd in most cars of today. There’s no need to downshift to pass — you just lean into the throttle and the Camry obliges with a silent shove.
We took it over our usual pothole-riddled test route in Ann Arbor and it felt... unbothered. Floaty like a Mercedes, but composed like a BMW. Steering is light but accurate. Body roll is present, but always predictable.
Brakes? Four-wheel discs with ABS. Yes — anti-lock brakes on a commuter sedan. What next, air travel for dogs?
Inside, it’s a dream. The dash is clean, almost Scandinavian. The plastics feel expensive. The HVAC has electronic controls, and there’s a CD player — or what appears to be one. We’re not sure, but it may also be able to connect to space satellites.
There are eight airbags if you can believe that. Apparently, in the future, they really want you to survive a crash. What a concept.
If this is what the average Toyota will feel like in 25 years, we’d like to put in our order now. The Camry 2.4L is fast, quiet, efficient, and built with a kind of obsessive precision that makes everything from 1985 feel like a rough draft.
It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t whine. It doesn’t even look fast.
But pass someone in 5th gear without downshifting, and they’ll look at your Camry like it just warped in from another dimension.
They’d be right.
We’ve asked Toyota for another one. So far, they just laughed and handed us the brochure for the Corolla FX-16. We’ll keep waiting.