AUSTRALIA now has its very own hybrid. The Victorian-built Camry uses a four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor in order to cut its fuel consumption.

The official fuel economy number is six litres per 100km, which makes it by far the most efficient vehicle produced in Australia. It is also almost one second faster to 100km than its petrol sibling - although it is no hot-rod, taking 8.9 seconds to do so.

A stepless continuously variable automatic transmission is standard and all Camry Hybrids come with an impressive amount of standard gear, including six airbags and electronic stability control, keyless entry and start and a rear-view camera.