While Holden yesterday announced a fuel saving for its biggest-selling model
in the new Commodore range, the new Camry's consumption remains the same as
the model it replaced.

The new Camry's fuel rating label shows an average consumption of 9.9 litres
per 100km, even though it is now available with a five-speed automatic
transmission, which is designed to provide better economy at highway speeds.

``The car is a little heavier  about 30kg  than the old model, we've added a
lot of safety equipment, and the body is stronger for better occupant
protection,'' said Toyota's executive director of sales and marketing, David
Buttner.

The new Camry's main rivals are more fuel-efficient. The Honda Accord Euro
has a fuel rating label showing 9.4 litres per 100 kilometres and the Mazda6
and Subaru Liberty 2.5 have fuel rating labels displaying 8.9 litres per 100
kilometres.

It's an embarrassing move for the maker which prides itself on fuel economy.
The Camry is a globally-developed car, manufactured around the world, and
the product of a much bigger development budget than the Commodore.

A week ago, Toyota claimed that its V6 Commodore rival (called the Aurion
and due on sale in November) would be more fuel-efficient than the new
Holden Commodore. Toyota also is the world's biggest seller of
petrol-electric hybrid vehicles and is a pioneer in that technology.
However, the Camry hybrid, sold in North America, is not likely to be sold
in Australia until 2009 at the earliest.

The new Camry is available only with a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine; the
V6 will be exclusive to the Aurion.

There are six models in the new Camry range, which starts at about $30,000
for the base model with five-speed automatic transmission.