Shunned in Europe, but the best-selling sedan in the US for nearly a decade, the Toyota Camry has been a fixture on Hong Kong roads for years. Although the Camry was dropped from European markets five years ago in favour of the Avensis, its domestic market and Asian sales remain strong.
For the 2009 Hong Kong model, Toyota has stuck to its tried-and-tested formula for the mid-range executive sedan, offering Camry buyers three key features: comfort, reliability and decent resale value - qualities the four-door sedan has never failed to deliver in the past.
The design of the new Camry emphasises rejuvenation rather than reinvention, which translates into a mild facelift, with only a few radical exterior treatments front and rear.
Toyota has reworked the front grille, bumper and radiator, and the front and rear light clusters, with a more linear side-skirt being the only noticeable addition to the flanks of the sedan, although new alloys and mirror-mounted indicators provide some extra garnish.
New headlights, a lowered, inverted trapezoid grille and a strong fog lamp profile help lend the Camry a more dynamic 'face'.
The test car is the Camry V6 'director' edition - a HK$328,000, top-of-the line model that comes with 10-spoke alloys, automatic climate control, a power sunroof, HID headlamps with auto-levelling, rain-sensing windscreen wipers and twin sports exhausts.
