Redesigned 2015 Toyota Camry Coming to New York Auto Show

Toyota has just announced that their best-selling Camry sedan will receive its first major design changes since 2011 for the 2015 model year. Furthermore, we will see those changes in-the-metal at the upcoming 2014 New York Auto Show, where the new sedan will make its official debut.

We first heard rumors about a Camry facelift towards the end of last year when the Corolla and Avalon were seeing their own major changes. Toyota had said that they would be paying “significant attention” to the Camry in 2014, so this isn’t a major surprise. However, while the surprise isn’t major, the redesign is alleged to be.

Apparently, another automotive blog, AutoGuide, has an informant inside Toyota’s Design Research team, and they’ve hinted at some of the specific changes we can expect from next year’s model. But let’s back up a bit first…

In January, Toyota’s US Head of Design, Kevin Hunter, readily admitted that the current Camry is, frankly, boring. As such, Toyota told us that the new Camry would be more “emotional” and “impactful” than its current iteration. If that sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’re remembering the Toyota Furia Concept (above), which eventually led to the new Toyota Corolla.

We now know exactly where the new Toyota Camry will take its “emotional” and “impactful” inspiration from – the highly acclaimed Scion FR-S / Toyota GT 86, pictured below:

Since 2011, the Camry’s year-to-year design updates have been limited to new headlights and taillights, or maybe a slightly altered grille on a good year. However, it looks as if the new Camry will be an all-around more aggressive-looking car. And a more competitive car too – AutoGuide’s source specifically claimed that the new Camry will have “much better styling and technology than the Accord.”

Specific aesthetic changes that the informant confirmed include a front-end design reminiscent of the Scion FR-S, featuring a large, low-hanging mesh grille with the iconic Toyota logo situated just above. He also hinted that the rear-end styling will evoke the Lexus ES sedan.

 In addition to the numerous exterior changes, the 2015 Toyota Camry will apparently receive extensive interior updates. This is to be expected, since Honda and Nissan have both been able to deliver high-quality, premium interiors in their current iterations of the Accord and Altima. The onus is on Toyota to surpass their competitors with a luxurious and high-tech interior of their own. Early rumors hint at a completely overhauled interior trim, along with new technologies like a customizable thin-film-transistor (TFT) display for the front dash.

Mechanically, the new Camry might not get any new powertrain configurations (we still don’t know one way or another), but it definitely will offer better driving dynamics through a retuned suspension.

The new Camry can’t come soon enough for Toyota, as their 12-year best-selling sedan is in danger of losing its title for the 2014MY. In the first two months of the year, the Camry has actually fallen behind the Nissan Altima in total sales. It seems that drivers are finally tired of the boring-but-reliable Camry, so we’re definitely looking forward to seeing what Toyota can bring to the table to spice up their currently bland sedan.