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2018 Camry Hybrid LE vs. XLE--Bird's Eye View and MPG

Discussion in 'Toyota Hybrids and EVs' started by kgall, Oct 7, 2017.

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  1. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    Has anyone had much experience with the Bird's Eye View feature that seems to be available on the Camry Hybrid XLE but not the Hybrid LE? What does it add to the Safety Sense features (plus backup and rear cross-traffic warnings) available on the LE? Have you found it a useful real world addition?

    Plus, I may have asked this somewhere else, but are any of the engineering types on Priuschat closer to figuring out why two cars that are so similar have such different EPA mpg ratings? Particularly with the better performance in the lower trim.
    I've looked at Fuelly, and they didn't have any real world numbers on these cars, yet.

    Thanks!
     
    #1 kgall, Oct 7, 2017
  2. wenglish

    wenglish Junior Member

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    I'm not familiar enough with the available choices to tell you what Bird's Eye view adds to TSS-P, but I can say it is one of the things I like most on our '18 hybrid XLE. It enables me to see whether I am going to fit through that narrow gap shortly earlier than if I were driving "by braille".
     
    #2 wenglish, Oct 8, 2017
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  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I'm still getting use to the rear camera on our new car.

    Most of the difference in the MPG rating is because of the larger wheels and wider tires on the higher trims.
     
    #3 Trollbait, Oct 8, 2017
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  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Bird's Eye is also available on the RAV4 Limited.


    The difference is wheel size (15" vs. 18") and different batteries (LE = li-ion, SE/XLE = NiMH)
     
    #4 Tideland Prius, Oct 9, 2017
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  5. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    I've owned both chemistries in a hybrid and the difference is fairly large between the two. LiOn can handle greater charge and discharge rates and has more capacity per pound/size than the older NiMH chemistry. So in a nut shell, the Camry LE can operate more efficiently due to a more robust, higher voltage battery. Even the Prime carrying around a large, empty (LiOn) EV pack is still more efficient in HV mode than the Gen4.

    Then, add in the LE smaller wheels/tires which require less power to turn and 100 pounds lower weight.
     
    #5 fotomoto, Oct 9, 2017
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  6. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    Basically, the LE Hybrid was specifically built as a high efficiency model to squeak into lower test weight brackets, similar to how the Prius Two Eco did the same thing (removing features, using a Li-ion battery where the Two used NiMH).

    It'll be interesting to see when Toyota gets enough confidence in Li-ion to ditch the NiMH option, though.
     
    #6 bhtooefr, Oct 9, 2017
  7. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Were the batteries in the comparison the same capacity? Making the pack larger with any chemistry is going to improve its performance.
    The Li-ion pack in the new Camry is 259V, and the NiMH 244.8V. With near the same usable capacity. Until we have evidence of a marked increase in regen efficiency, which I haven't seen for the gen4 Prius, the major advantage of the Li-ion in this case is reduced weight.
     
    #7 Trollbait, Oct 9, 2017
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Having owned a Gen 2 and still own a Gen 3, the Gen 4 that we have with a Li-Ion battery definitely allows more charging/discharging than previous Prii. In fact, it was disconcerting at first since a Gen 2/3 owner will rarely seen 1 bar on the battery SOC since the car will fire up the engine at 2 bars to charge it back up to 3. I've seen the SOC in the Gen 4 fluctuate much more than in previous generations. The car is more willing to use battery power and is way quicker to regen battery power. Two bars doesn't kick the engine on and a couple of stops at traffic lights will top that back up to at least 4 if not 6 bars. It'll take longer on the Gen 2/3 to charge up via regen with the NiMH batteries.
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, Oct 10, 2017
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