For the all new 2018 Toyota Camry that goes on sale officially in July, the palette of trim grades offer more differentiation than ever not only in features but in styling, equipment and color choices.

Starting at $23,495 the 2018 Toyota Camry L starts the lineup virtually identical visually to the next step up and more popular LE that begins at $24,000. The difference on the exterior is the 16-inch steel wheels and covers for the Camry L and 17-inch alloy wheels on the LE.

Both come with an all-new 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine and eight-speed automatic transmission that’s good for up to 206 horsepower and up to 39 mpg highway. The Camry LE is the starting point for the Hybrid model and starts at $27,800.

The Hybrid comes with a second generation hybrid drive system far more refined than before with a 2.5 liter Atkinson Cycle engine and two-motor continuously variable transmission good for a total output of 208 system horsepower and up to 53 mpg highway.

The only styling differences between the Hybrid and traditional gas Camry are the blue highlighted emblems and that the 16-inch steel wheels are standard on the LE Hybrid instead of 17-inch alloys.

Standard on Camry L and the LE models are a metallic black front grille treatment, Bi-LED combination headlights with auto on/off and LED daytime running lights. Their power mirrors are body color as are the door handles and taillights are a combination unit of both halogen and LED elements.

The interior features standard air-conditioning with filtration, handsome cloth seating surfaces with patterned materials and faux woodgrain trim throughout. The rear seat folds down with a 60/40 split on the LE and even the LE Hybrid but not on the Camry L. Stepping up to the LE also gets you an 8-way power driver seat.

Technology features for both L and LE include an instrument cluster well outfitted with a 4.2-inch multi-information display, high-speed radar cruise control and Toyota Safety Sense P which has lane departure alert with steering assist, and pre-collision with pedestrian detection just to name a few.

2018-Toyota-Camry-SE-(06)If you want a sportier theme you can step up to the SE which is available with both the 2.5 liter four-cylinder or the Hybrid. It gets its own unique front fascia and black mesh grille along with larger black painted and machined 18-inch alloy wheels.

Additional body trim along the lower rockers, a color keyed rear spoiler, and an aggressively styled rear bumper fascia with a single dual tip exhaust outlet round out the exterior visual changes. Interior design is stepped up with unique combination of SofTex vinyl and cloth seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, patterned metal look trims, and automatic climate control.

While engines are the same as found in the LE and LE Hybrid, handling is improved with stiffer springs, dampers and anti-roll bars and you get standard paddle shifters in the non Hybrid. The Camry SE starts at $25,200 and the Hybrid SE at $29,500.

For those who really want some sport and luxury there is the XSE which is available both with the 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine and the new 301 horsepower 3.5 liter V6. The latter engine now sports both port and direct-fuel injection and a new 8-speed automatic transmission.

2018-Toyota-Camry-LE-5The XSE is buffed up from the SE with larger 19-inch wheels and wider 235 section rubber, a gloss black mesh grille and full LED headlights with smoked lenses. At the rear you’ll find full LED tail lights also with smoked lenses and the rear fascia features dual exhaust with twin outlets.

With the XSE you can also option a hot two-tone paint scheme with a black roof and rear spoiler, available with three colors white, blue and silver. And that gets us to the interior which comes with heated power leather-trimmed front seats available in a variety of colors including bright red.

The instrument cluster with the XSE is a top-line unit with an expanded 7-inch display screen customizable with lots of different information sets. With the XSE V6 you get a panoramic glass roof, color head up display (HUD) and Qi wireless charger too. The Camry XSE starts at $29,000 and the XSE V6 at $34,950 respectively. Hybrid is not available in the XSE.

The top trim for luxury minded buyers is the Camry XLE which comes with all three powertrains however. It has its own unique facial features with a silver painted grille and LED headlamps with auto on/off headlights and 18-inch chrome and machined alloy wheels with the same 235 section width tires as on the XSE but with taller side walls for a softer ride. At the rear are full LED tail lights and dual exhaust pipes with single shaped tips.

2018-Toyota-Camry-XLE-(04)Inside the XSE offers much the same level of convenience and comfort features as the sporty XSE but has a luxurious stitched leather with diamond pattern available in a variety of colors. Trim work is also elevated with a unique Tiger Eye woodgrain pattern on four-cylinder models and a textured metal trim for V6.

The 2018 Toyota Camry XLE starts at $28,450, the XLE Hybrid at $32,250 and the top-end XLE V6 at $34,400.

As to infotainment systems, all four-cylinder Camry’s come standard with a 7-inch touchscreen display audio system with AM/FM, MP3/WMA playback capability. The Entune 3.0 suite of applications requires your smartphone for most feature content including navigation.

Stepping up to the V6 Camry adds satellite radio and some additional features but on all Camry models you can option up the infotainment systems up to and including an 8-inch touchscreen system with JBL audio and full native navigation functionality.

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