There’s no doubt the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is the car every wants. The demand has outstripped supply for several years thanks to the global pandemic. But is it a better fleet car than the Camry?
The Camry has been scrapping for a share of the fleet market for decades. In the 1990s it was fighting the large six cylinders from Holden and Ford. Even with a powerful and smooth V6 engine, it was still smaller, and a front wheel drive. Getting employees into a Camry was a battle.
Toyota even rebadged the Commodore as a Lexcen to get fleet buyers to look at the brand. Still nothing. Fleet Managers kept saying the Camry was too small and the Lexcen wasn’t a Holden.
So in 2006, Toyota launched the Aurion large six cylinder and the Hybrid Camry. It was launched at the same time as Holden’s ‘billion dollar baby’ – the VE Commodore. They never had a chance.
When pump prices reached new record highs in 2008, a Camry Hybrid would have been the perfect solution (it was only $1.60 a litre, not that bad compared to 2022). Fleet Managers leaned the other way. They went into smaller cars and the Corolla topped the sales charts for several months.
Why the history lesson? Because I drove a Camry Hybrid again for the first time in 10 years (only five years since driving a petrol Camry). And then I got into a RAV Hybrid straight after.
The Camry has been on the Toyota press fleet for a while and was about to retire. To my surprise, the odometer only showed 1,200 kilometres. Every other car on the press fleet had 10,000 or more. The poor Camry had been ignored by my motoring journalist brethren.
I bored everyone that week with my admiration for this forgotten fleet favourite. It was wonderful! Everything you need as a road warrior when you’re pounding out the miles on the open road, or city streets.
It’s excellent to drive. The whole drivetrain works together like an orchestra. There’s plenty of storage. It’s like a TARDIS, you can fit everything in it. Keyless entry allows for multiple seamless entries and exits during the day. And the ride height is perfect for egress.
However, when I got in the RAV4, I realised why it’s so popular. It took an SUV to make hybrids cool.
If I had a choice, I think I would take a Camry but my tastes have been called quirky by my colleagues. My defence is that I’m practically minded. And that’s the Camry’s reputation; just like a cardigan – it’s practical.
