2021 Toyota Camry vs 2020 Volkswagen Passat

The Toyota Camry has long been many new-car buyers’ default choice—but not because it’s interesting. Reliability and practicality have traditionally been the Camry’s strengths, not sportiness or style.

Toyota tried to change that for the 2018 model year, when the Camry was last redesigned. The current-generation Camry adopted more extroverted styling, and engineers tried to make the driving experience more exciting, too. While Toyota’s approach has changed, the Camry still competes against the same array of midsize sedans, including the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy, and Volkswagen Passat.

Changes for the 2021 model year include subtle styling tweaks, new infotainment displays, an upgrade to the Toyota Safety Sense 2.5+ (TSS 2.5+) package of driver aids, and some changes to the dashboard trim.

The Camry offers buyers more choices than many rivals, encompassing three powertrains (inline-four, V6, and hybrid), four trim levels (LE, SE, XSE, XLE), three packages available on select models (Upgrade, Nightshade Edition, and TRD) and the choice of front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). Our test car was an AWD Camry SE Nightshade Edition, positioned close to the middle of the lineup.