The next-gen Toyota Camry is the first in a line of new vehicles featuring the maker's more exciting exterior styling efforts.

Few cars in recent history have enjoyed the success of the Toyota Camry, which has been the best-selling car in the United States for the past 15 years and counting.

But Toyota hasn’t become the one of the world’s largest automakers by resting on its laurels and for 2018 the Japanese automotive giant has taken the difficult step of remaking the Camry for increasingly demanding world filled with increasingly finicky buyers unsure about whether they want to drive a car or have a car drive for them.

The 2018 version builds on the Camry’s strengths, starting with the dependability, which won over the hearts of Baby Boomers for decades. Toyota also has taken steps to make sure the styling, the interior layout and perhaps most importantly the ride and handling of the 2018 Camry are on par with that famous reliability. The result was quite impressive during a series of test runs on the narrow farm roads through the rolling countryside outside Portland, Oregon.

Toyota, of course, has been criticized for years for its “boring” styling. But the makeover of the 2018 Camry is one of the more successful undertaken by Toyota’s designers. From the curb, the proportions of the new design, which is one inch shorter and lower, are more balanced and cleaner and serve to underscore the knife-edge creases in the metal that flow through the exterior. The neater proportions also produce a stronger profile. The other elements of the exterior design, the nose, light corners in the front and rear and shape of the hood and trunk, have all been tailored with care.

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Toyota, in an effort to appeal to a broad customer base, plans to offer five different models, L, LE, XLE, SE and XSE and sportier SE and XSE grades will get distinctive styling elements such as a sculpted rocker panel and 19-inch black alloy wheel as well as a spoiler lip along the rear deck lid.

The lower roof line means the driver’s seat is about an inch lower than the previous version of the Camry, which is rather daring, considering that the typical buyer of the popular sedan is middle aged and a lower seating position could be a challenge. But I found I found getting in and out of the lowered seating position was quite easy. In addition, the overall visibility from behind the wheel was excellent thanks to the angle of the tall windshield, slim A-pillars and unobtrusive roof line over the front seat.

The interior of the 2018 Toyota Camry also was simple, tasteful and well-appointed with a nice mixture of materials that offered a variety of textures and soft touch points. The instrument panel presented all the information a driver might need and then some, while putting the all of necessary controls within easy reach while controls for the entertainment system and cruise controls are also embedded in the steering wheel.

The cabin was also quiet and the seats comfortable and didn’t seem to contribute to fatigue. The overall pleasure of driving the new Camry was enhanced by the much-improved ride and handling thanks to what has to be an updated suspension. The steering wasn’t stiff but it was accurate and the brakes were very solid. I suspect a lot of drivers who have owned or driven earlier versions of the Camry will be impressed by the improvements in the new model.

Camry is also equipped with bluetooth, a 10-inch color Head-Up Display, a seven-inch display within the instrument cluster, and an eight-inch touch screen and control panel in the center console that also can be connected to a smart phone for entertainment or for navigation guidance.

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But the functional connectivity system in the Camry is complemented by driver assistance features.

Toyota Safety Sense suite of safety systems, which is standard on 2018 Camry, includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert with steering assist and automatic high beams. Systems such as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and braking are available on high trim levels or as option.

The package for the Toyota New Global Architecture used to construct the Camry includes a new eight-speed transmission, an all-new 2.5-liter inline-four-cylinder gasoline engine and a new 3.5-liter V6 with fuel injection and a hybrid equipped with a continuously variable transmission with a planetary gear set.

We got to drive all three powertrains and both the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which produces 206 horsepower and 186 foot pounds of torque, which 29 miles per gallon in city driving /41 mpg highway and a combined rating of 34 mpg is quite good for a mid-sized sedan. The 3.5 cylinder V6 produces an impressive 301 horsepower and 267 ft.-lb. of torque gets 22 mpg city/33 mpg highway and combined rating of 34 mpg.

Both engines delivered their power quickly and efficiently and the eight-speed transmission never seemed to hesitate when it needed to shift from one gear to the next. But the most impressive performance, I thought, came from the hybrid.

Toyota’s hybrid system is now virtually invisible to the driver and gets quickly up to speed when the pedal goes down and shifts smoothly and easily traveling through the rolling countryside. The fuel efficiency of the new Camry also has been bumped up by as much as 30 percent to a best-in-class EPA-estimated mpg of 51 city/53 highway and 52 combined on the LE grade and 44 city/47 highway/46 combined on the SE and XLE.

Prices for the 2018 Toyota Camry start at $23,495 before the addition of $885 transportation for the L Grade and $34,950 plus $885 for the V6-equipped XSE grade. The hybrid version of the Camry starts at $27,800 plus shipping and the top of line hybrid will cost $32,250.

(Click Here to see what goodies the new Camry is getting as standard equipment.)

Toyota has succeeded in convincing millions of buyers to acquire a Camry largely because of the cars well-deserved reputation for the quality reliability and durability but with the introduction of the 2018, Toyota hopes stronger design and fresh technology will also attract new customers, while keep older buyers coming back for another even if they are tempted to buy an SUV or truck.