Here’s Why You Should Consider a Toyota Camry Over a RAV4

What Car Shoppers Need to Know

• Once the mainstream choice for family car buyers, the Toyota Camry has been replaced by the RAV4 in that role.
• The Camry, meanwhile, has become the sportier, more stylish and more desirable choice.
• The Camry beats the RAV4 on fuel efficiency, driving fun, value, interior quality and more, only falling short on cargo versatility.
• The Camry used to signal that you had made the choice of not making a choice when buying a new car; now it signals that you’ve rejected the mainstream choice and are opting for something different.

It used to be that reading a story about the Toyota Camry was something you did because you had to, like you were searching for a specific tidbit about its specs or wanted to compare its price to competitors like the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Malibu, Subaru Legacy or Mazda6. But wait a minute … all of those sedans are now gone, thrown in the dustbin of history as automakers claim Americans just don’t want sedans anymore, they want SUVs. That’s what automakers now make for the most part, with a few exceptions like the Camry, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata and a handful of others.

But Toyota has not only soldiered on with the Camry, it’s taken the latest model and elevated it. The car is no longer the choice you make when you don’t want to choose a new car; instead, it’s become a desirable vehicle, a choice that says, “I’m not going to buy the thing that everyone else is buying [the RAV4], I’m going to be a rebel and pick something different.”

But the Camry? Really? Yes, really.

Related: What’s the 2026 Toyota Camry’s MPG?

Everything the RAV4 Has, Plus Style and Entertainment

It’s easiest to start by comparing the things that are largely common between the RAV4 and the Camry these days. The RAV4 is built off the same platform that underpins the Camry, so it’s not surprising they share a lot of the parts you can’t see. They both have a highly efficient standard hybrid powertrain and come with standard front-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive. They both feature a common touchscreen multimedia system (with the RAV4 getting an upgraded version for 2026). They both have plenty of space for five people, both can fit car seats for kids, and they even have similar trim levels.

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But that’s kind of where the similarities end. For 2026, Toyota updated the RAV4 with a new design that’s comfortable but stylistically dull. The exterior styling is blocky, the interior styling is drab and uninspired, and interior materials quality is underwhelming, with thin plastics and hollow-feeling panels. The Camry, on the other hand, was last redesigned for the 2025 model year, and it went in a different direction: style anew. With a fresh look that’s sleeker and cleans up the awful, gaping fishmaw grille of the last generation, it’s genuinely stylish and good-looking, especially the new Nightshade Edition I tested that has blacked-out trim and wheels. Park it next to a RAV4, and it’s clear which vehicle had a focus on style in its creation brief — the Camry is sleek and attractive while the RAV4 just kinda looks like a nondescript box.

The interior is also a step above any in the RAV4, with interesting designs, optional red leather upholstery, and genuine artistry in the layout and materials. It also feels higher-quality than the RAV4, which has a thin, hollow feel to much of its interior panels besides a lack of any interesting things to look at — it’s just rectangles and screens in the RAV4, whereas the Camry actually has style.

Either One Is Efficient, But Only One Is Fun to Drive

The Camry is fun to drive? Seriously? Yes, it is, especially in comparison to the RAV4. Its lower center of gravity and lower weight help it in spirited driving, which you can actually do in the Camry and not feel like you’re doing something the car isn’t designed for. The standard hybrid powertrain in the Camry combines a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with Toyota’s ubiquitous hybrid system that features a continuously variable automatic transmission. It’s good for 225 horsepower in FWD models and 232 hp in AWD versions, which is comparable to what the RAV4’s standard hybrid system produces (226 and 236 hp, respectively).

Both vehicles have reasonably peppy acceleration thanks to the torque delivered from their electric motors, but the Camry’s lower center of gravity makes it handle much more responsively than the RAV4. You can toss it into corners, and while it does understeer, it’s predictable, stable and satisfying. The Camry also rides well despite the big 19-inch wheels and tires on the Nightshade Edition. The RAV4 does, too, but it doesn’t handle nearly as well. You just can’t disguise the extra mass and height an SUV brings to the party when you want to change directions in an entertaining way.

Even when driving the Camry spiritedly, you get decent fuel economy — I achieved an average of 38 mpg over the course of a week. That’s less than its EPA estimates, (see the table below for all of the Camry’s variants and their fuel-economy ratings) but still extraordinary considering how it was being driven. The AWD Nightshade Edition I tested is EPA-rated 46/46/46 mpg city/highway/combined, so while I came in less than the ratings, I was still better than most vehicles out there. The RAV4 is efficient, but it’s not as efficient as the Camry due to its extra mass and shape. According to Toyota, the RAV4 weighs anywhere from 190 to 238 pounds more than the Camry, depending on trim level. That’s like carrying an extra passenger around all the time.

Are Sedans Set to Make a Comeback?

So, the Camry is more stylish, better built, has a nicer interior that feels more upscale and substantial, can seat five as well as the RAV4, and it really only falls behind in terms of cargo versatility. It’s also substantially cheaper than a RAV4: The base price of a FWD Camry LE is $30,595 (all prices include a destination fee of $1,295 for Camry, $1,595 for RAV4), and the starting price of a range-topping XSE AWD is $38,520. A 2026 RAV4 LE FWD starts at $33,495, nearly $3,000 more than a comparable Camry, and goes up to $44,895 for a Limited AWD model. Across the board, the RAV4 is more expensive.

Buyers are starting to take note of this, that the trend of prices creeping up has followed the trend of shoppers replacing traditional mid-size sedans with SUVs. With the average price of a new car now topping $50,000, both car buyers and automakers are starting to look to sedans as a more affordable alternative, with several automakers rumored to be working on new models.

But you don’t need to wait for any new models for a rebellious alternative to stultifying SUVs — the Camry is here now, available for a highly reasonable price, well equipped, stylish, fuel-efficient, fun to drive and good to look at. It’s the choice that says you chose to be different.

More Toyota Camry News From Cars.com:

• How Much Is the 2026 Toyota Camry?
• 2026 Toyota Camry Doesn’t Fix What Isn’t Broken, Adds Nightshade Edition
• How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2025 Toyota Camry?
• Research the Toyota Camry
• Add Cars.com as a Preferred Source on Google

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