The 2024 Camry XSE Is Actually Competent Now
The 2024 Camry XSE with the 2.5L turbocharged four-cylinder is the first one I've been genuinely un-embarrassed to recommend. Eight years ago this trim would have gotten yawns at car meets. Now it holds its own against the Accord Sport and the Sonata N Line without making you feel like you're settling. Here's what actually happens when you treat it like the sporty sedan Toyota quietly built. The numbers on paper are decent but don't tell the whole story. The turbo makes 265 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. That's only about 30 more horses than the base four-cylinder, but the torque curve is completely different. Peak torque hits at 1,700 RPM instead of building slowly all the way up. Overtaking on highways stops being a prayer and starts being a normal driving maneuver. The transmission mumbles through first and second gear when you're crawling in traffic. Shift into Sport mode and it clears up immediately. The XSE sits on 19-inch wheels wrapped in 235/40R19 tires. That's a pretty aggressive sidewall for a daily driver. Ride quality takes a hit compared to the LE or SE trims with smaller wheels. City streets with potholes get across the dashboard with opinionatedness. Highway cruising is fine though, and the adaptive dampers on the XSE Grade 2 package actually make a noticeable difference over bumpy roads. Not dramatically, but enough that you'll notice them when you turn them off.
What You Actually Get Over Other Trims
The XSE trim adds aesthetic pieces that matter and a few mechanical upgrades people overlook. There's the sport-tuned suspension with stiffer front and rear stabilizer bars. It reduces body roll in corners without turning the ride into a skateboard. The brake tuning is recalibrated too. Earlier models had this problem where the ABS would trip nervously on wet surfaces during hard stops. Toyota revised the calibration for 2024 and it's much more confidence-inspiring now. The interior gets sport seats with extra bolstering. They're actually supportive for real driving, not just fake leather inserts that look aggressive and collapse after twenty minutes. The flat-bottom steering wheel has paddle shifters that work properly. I used to avoid discussing the Camry's manual shift mode because it felt like a gimmick. The new one has reasonable shift speed and won't blow up the engine if you miss a shift. It's not a BMW gearbox by any stretch, but it's honest effort.
The Edge Case That Almost Made Me Return Mine
About eight months into ownership I noticed a hesitation on light throttle application from a stop. Not a studder, more like the turbo Lag was exaggerated beyond normal levels. At first I blamed the fuel. Premium required but I live in an area where 87 octane is what fills every pump. Topped off with 91 for a tank. Problem persisted. The fix ended up being software. The ECU had an outdated calibration for the turbo management system. Took me to a dealership that confirmed there was a TSB update available. They flashed it in about twenty minutes. Zero charge. The hesitation went away completely after that. If you buy one used and notice similar symptoms, don't assume the turbo is shot. Ask about software updates first. It happens more often than you'd think with these engines.
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What The Specs Don't Tell You
The steering ratio feels artificially slow in Standard mode. It corrects itself in Sport mode but the transition between modes while driving isn't seamless. You'll notice the lag before it catches up. I spend most of my time in Sport mode now because the steering and throttle response are worth the slightly firmer ride. The engine noise is also better in that mode. Or at least what passes for acceptable engine noise from a four-cylinder that sounds like a lawnmower at idle. Fuel economy is another thing worth addressing honestly. Toyota rates the XSE at 28 city and 39 highway. Real world I get about 26 in mixed driving. Highway runs at steady 75mph pull it down closer to 35. The turbocharged engine drinks more in city stop-and-go traffic than the naturally aspirated option. If you're doing mostly commuting in congested areas, the SE with the 2.5 naturally aspirated engine might actually give you better numbers and a softer ride for less money.
The Things Nobody Warns You About
The tire wear on those 19s is real. I'm at about twelve thousand miles and the front tires already show uneven wear patterns. The XSE's camber settings eat through inner shoulder tread faster than you'd expect on a car this price point. Rotation every five thousand miles is mandatory, not optional. Skipping it will leave you replacing all four tires at the same time because the rears will be fine and the fronts will be bald. The infotainment system hasn't changed much and that's a negative. It's responsive enough but the menu structure is still confusing. Getting to the driver assist settings requires navigating through three submenus that shouldn't exist. Phone projection works but wireless Android Auto has dropped my connection twice in the last month. A restart fixed it both times. It's the same software every Toyota uses now so this isn't unique to the Camry but it's still annoying in 2024. Resale value on these has been surprisingly strong. The Camry name carries weight and the XSE is the trim people actually want when they buy used. Depreciation has been gentle enough that a three-year-old XSE with under forty thousand miles still commands a premium over what you'd pay for a comparable Accord Sport. That's worth keeping in mind if you're weighing this against other sporty sedans in the segment.
Should You Actually Buy This Thing
The Camry XSE isn't going to embarrass you at a car meet anymore. It won't win any comparison tests against proper sport sedans either. What it does is deliver a competent daily driver that happens to look sharp and drive adequately sporty without compromising everything else that makes a Camry worth owning. Reliability should be solid. Comfort is acceptable. The turbo engine has more character than the base four-cylinder without crossing into genuinely problematic territory. Just make sure you get the one with the adaptive dampers if you plan on keeping it beyond two years. The non-adaptive suspension on the base XSE is fine but these dampers extend the usable life of the suspension components and make the car more tolerable on bad roads. It's the upgrade that separates the people who kept theirs from the people who traded them in after a year of frustration.
