- Home
- Toyota
- 2021 Toyota Camry
- Overview
Buy From Home » Have your vehicle delivered to you and complete your paperwork at home.
Buy From Home
Handle all aspects of your vehicle purchase without ever needing to go into the dealership.
Buy from Home: Have your vehicle delivered to you and complete your paperwork at home. Learn More
The 2021 Toyota Camry sits near the top of our midsize car rankings. It boasts a generous list of standard safety tech, straightforward infotainment controls, a gentle ride, sharp steering, and a potent engine option.
The 2021 Toyota Camry's #1 ranking is based on its score within the Midsize Cars category. Currently the Toyota Camry has a score of 8.4 out of 10, which is based on our evaluation of 35 pieces of research and data elements using various sources.
The 2021 Toyota Camry is a great midsize car. Among its strengths are a simple infotainment system, a roomy cabin, a high safety score, great fuel economy, an engaging ride, and a punchy V6 engine option. Its downsides are fairly minor: Some road and wind noise permeate the cabin, and some interior materials in lower trims are not impressive.
Our goal is to make shopping for your next car as easy as possible. You'll find everything you need to know about this vehicle in our comprehensive review. It combines concrete data like horsepower ratings, fuel economy estimates, and cargo space dimensions with 35 professional Toyota Camry reviews. This review incorporates applicable research for all models in this generation, which launched for 2018.
At U.S. News & World Report, we rank the Best Jobs, Best Hospitals, and Best Colleges to guide readers through some of life’s most complicated decisions. We've been ranking and reviewing vehicles since 2007, and our staff has more than 75 years of combined experience in the auto industry. To ensure our objectivity, we never accept expensive gifts from carmakers, and an outside firm manages the ads on our site.
The Toyota Camry merits a spot on the shortlist of any midsize-sedan shopper. However, it’s not the only well-rounded vehicle in the class. The Honda Accord exhibits lithe handling and features a larger trunk than the Camry, while the Mazda6 has an upscale cabin and rivals the Toyota’s agility. If you like the Toyota but want something more fuel-efficient, consider the Camry Hybrid, which we review separately.
Find a 2021 Toyota Camry for sale near you »
Toyota made a few minor tweaks to the Camry for the 2021 model year. These include dropping the base L trim, refining the car’s standard safety features, and adding an available 9-inch touch screen. There were minor exterior styling tweaks as well.
Compare the 2020 and 2021 Camry »
Here are the key changes for the Toyota Camry over the past few years:
If you're considering an older model, be sure to read our 2018 Camry, 2019 Camry, and 2020 Camry reviews to help make your decision. Also, check out our Best New Car Deals and Best New Car Lease Deals pages to learn about savings and discounts you can find on new vehicles.
The Toyota Camry has a starting MSRP of $24,970, which is above average for the class. The top-of-the-line TRD trim starts at $32,185.
Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Toyota dealer. You can also find excellent manufacturer incentives on our Toyota deals page.
The Honda Accord is another great vehicle in the midsize car class that comes standard with a host of safety features. The Honda also impresses with its sharp steering, confident cornering, large trunk, and premium cabin. On the other hand, the Toyota is available with a V6 engine and all-wheel drive, whereas the Honda is front-wheel drive only and offers a choice of turbocharged four-cylinder engines. You can’t go wrong choosing between these two vehicles.
Compare the Camry and Accord »
The Nissan Altima is a good car, but the Camry is a better one. The Nissan has two capable engine options, a smooth ride, comfortable seats, and user-friendly tech controls. It also has a bit more trunk space than the Toyota. However, the Camry has nimbler handling and a V6 engine option that’s stronger than anything in the Altima.
Compare the Camry and Altima »
Compare the Camry, Accord, and Altima »
The Camry’s 15.1-cubic-foot trunk is slightly small for the class, though most critics note that it still provides plenty of room for cargo. The split-folding rear seats create more space for longer items, but loading them can be tricky because the trunk floor is lower than the folded seatbacks.
This Toyota can seat five people, and both rows offer plenty of head- and legroom for most passengers.
Cloth upholstery and a driver’s seat with eight-way power adjustments are standard. Synthetic and genuine leather upholstery, heated front seats, ventilated front seats, an eight-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, and a heated steering wheel are available.
This car has two complete sets of LATCH connectors for the rear outboard seats and a tether anchor for the rear middle seat. A lower anchor can be borrowed from each outboard seat. This LATCH system is among the easiest to use, earning the highest rating of Good+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Materials in the Camry are generally high-quality, although the lower trims appear a bit more low-rent. Higher trims add premium flairs, such as wood inlays or patterned metals. However, the cabin isn’t well-insulated from engine and road noise.
The standard Entune 3.0 infotainment system has well-placed buttons and knobs for audio and climate settings, and they're easy to use while driving. The tabletlike touch screen is responsive.
For more information, read What Is Apple CarPlay? and What Is Android Auto?
Toyota offers two engine options for the Camry. Most models have a four-cylinder that is plenty capable of propelling this vehicle around town and on the freeway. For something with swifter acceleration and more muscle, look to the V6.
Regardless of engine, you’ll get a smooth-shifting automatic transmission.
With the four-cylinder engine, the 2021 Toyota Camry gets an EPA-rated 28 mpg in the city and 39 mpg on the highway. These are great estimates for a midsize sedan. Models with the optional all-wheel-drive system see ratings dip to 25 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. Camry models with the V6 engine get an estimated 22/33 mpg city/highway.
For an even more efficient sedan, you might consider the Toyota Camry Hybrid.
This Toyota delivers a ride that’s both comfortable and composed. The suspension is soft enough to absorb most bumps and dips in the pavement, and it’s firm enough to tackle turns with confidence. SE and XSE trims are sportier than their LE and XLE counterparts, and the TRD is especially enjoyable to drive, with performance upgrades like stiffer shocks, larger brakes, and a unique suspension.
The range-topping TRD Camry accelerates from zero to 60 mph in about 5.7 seconds. V6-powered Camry models have a top speed of up to 136 mph.
Yes, all-wheel drive is available throughout this Toyota’s lineup.
The 2021 Toyota Camry has a slightly above-average predicted reliability rating of 3.5 out of five.
Toyota backs the Camry with a three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the 2021 Camry an overall safety rating of five out of five stars, with five stars in the frontal crash, side crash, and rollover tests.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the Camry a Top Safety Pick+, giving it the highest rating of Good in all six crash tests and the second-highest rating of Acceptable for how well its headlights illuminate the road ahead. Models with adaptive headlights earned the highest rating of Good.
The IIHS uses a different scale for grading collision avoidance features. It gave the 2021 Camry the highest rating of Superior for its standard front crash prevention systems.
Standard advanced safety features:
Available advanced safety features:
The Camry is about 16.1 feet long. Its curb weight ranges from 3,310 to 3,595 pounds.
Toyota builds the 2021 Camry in Kentucky, alongside the Camry Hybrid.
Toyota introduced the Camry for the 1983 model year, when it replaced the rear-wheel-drive Corona. The first Camry had front-wheel drive and a four-cylinder gas engine, although a diesel engine was added later. This car's comfort and reliability proved popular with American buyers.
Toyota redesigned the Camry for 1987 and added a wagon body style. Production moved to Kentucky in 1988, and a V6 engine became available for the first time. Toyota redesigned the Camry again in 1992, refining its engine options and giving it a longer wheelbase. This generation was the first to offer significant differences between Camry vehicles sold for the United States and those sold in other markets. A coupe body style launched for 1994.
The Camry has undergone several changes and redesigns since then. Its most recent generation launched for 2018.
Toyota makes the 2021 Camry in five trim levels: LE, SE, XLE, XSE, and TRD. There’s also a Toyota Camry Hybrid model, which we review separately.
The base LE trim is generously equipped and available with a good number of options, making it a solid choice for most shoppers. If you want the V6 engine or leather upholstery, however, you’ll have to move up to at least an XLE. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard throughout the lineup, and you can add all-wheel drive to any trim with a four-cylinder engine.
The Toyota Camry LE has an MSRP of $24,970. It comes with a 7-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, Android Auto, a Wi-Fi hot spot, satellite radio, a six-speaker stereo, two USB ports, Bluetooth, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, alloy wheels, LED headlights, and a rearview camera.
Also included is the Toyota Safety Sense 2.5 suite of driver assistance features, which has a pre-collision warning and braking system, pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, lane trace assist, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high-beam headlights.
The Convenience package outfits this vehicle with proximity keyless entry and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. The Audio Upgrade package ($4,105) adds that plus qi-compatible wireless device charging, a 9-inch touch screen, a moonroof, and dual-zone automatic climate control. Other options include blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert for $680.
The Toyota Camry SE starts at $26,485 and adds automatic climate control, SofTex synthetic leather upholstery, and a leather-trimmed steering wheel. It also has a unique front and rear fascia, which it shares with the XSE and TRD trims to differentiate them from the more comfort-oriented LE and XLE. Otherwise, it has many of the same options as the LE model, as well as a heated steering wheel and a Nightshade edition with some unique styling elements.
XLE models ($29,870) gain leather-trimmed seats, an eight-way power-adjustable front passenger seat, full-speed adaptive cruise control, an electronic parking brake, ambient interior lighting, wood interior inlays, and all of the LE’s optional features.
Navigation, a nine-speaker JBL stereo, and HD Radio are bundled into the $1,760 Navigation Upgrade package. A panoramic moonroof is available for $1,360. For $4,550, you can bundle both with the Driver Assist package, which adds ventilated front seats, a surround-view parking camera system, reverse automatic emergency braking, and a 10-inch head-up display.
The XLE is the first trim level available with the V6 engine. Getting it also adds the head-up display. Pricing starts at $34,995.
The XSE retails for $30,420. It has a sport-tuned suspension and shares its sportier front and rear fascia with the SE and TRD trims. Otherwise, the XSE has the same options as the XLE. With the V6 engine, the XSE has an MSRP of $35,545.
The TRD starts at $32,185. It comes standard with the V6 engine, and it gains a unique track-tuned suspension that lowers the car’s height for a lower center of gravity and greater agility. The TRD also picks up larger brakes, aluminum sport pedals, a fixed rear seat, a rear spoiler, and distinctive styling elements. Note that it reverts to features like synthetic leather upholstery, automatic climate control, and a 7-inch touch screen.
Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Toyota dealer. You can also find excellent manufacturer incentives on our Toyota deals page.
See 2021 Toyota Camry specs and trims »
The 2021 Toyota Camry rates well for performance and crash safety, and it comes standard with an easy-to-use infotainment system and plenty of advanced driver aids. Lower trims feature some unimpressive cabin materials, the interior can be a little noisy, and trunk space is just OK for the midsize car class, but those are fairly minor flaws that don't detract from the Camry's broad appeal.
Don’t just take our word for it. Check out comments from some of the reviews that drive our rankings and analysis.
Find the Best Price
Enter your zip code to get local pricing.
#1 in Midsize Cars
#3 in Midsize Cars
#4 in Midsize Cars
#4 in Midsize Cars
Best Price Program
Interested in a New?
Use the U.S. News Best Price Program to find great deals and get upfront pricing on the.