One of the guys in another forum I frequent was giving me some degree of grief over my purchase of the TCH.
Here is my response to some of his comments that you may appreciate;

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It's hard to compare a Hybrid Camry (which has a 4 cylinder ICE & a powerful electric motor) to a 4 cylinder Camry LE. It would be better to compare the Hybrid Camry with the 6 cylinder Camry as it has roughly the same amount of power. The appointments of the hybrid are not quite on par with those of the XLE Camry but almost.
Price wise the Hybrid was stickered at roughly 30k loaded with NAV, Moonroof, full-power, leather, etc. This was actually comparable to the Camry Sport model which has similar appointments.
There was a $1,800 Federal Tax rebate which sweetened the deal for me.

So - without the rebate I look at it this way;

Performance - As GOOD as the V6 (in my opinion)
Maintenance - Actually cheaper to maintain than a std ICE driven car since this car will go almost twice as far on it's oil (since the ICE runs a lot less) - It's brakes rarely get used around town since most of the braking energy is via the Motor Generators in Regenerative braking. It's eCVT transmission has fewer moving parts than your typical automatic overdrive transmission and without the jarring shifts, it is quite easy on itself.
Economy - Better than any other 5 full sized passenger gasoline powered car.
Price - On par with the comparable cars from both Toyota and Nissan et al.
Styling - While beauty is in the eye of the beholder - this car looks nice to me. Certainly not a Knock-em-dead beauty, but not a Chrysler K-Car either.. It's pleasing..

All in all - I'm happy and from the sales figures from Toyota - I'm not alone...
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Odd - He has yet to respond...

 

This has got to be my biggest beef with almost anyone I hear from. The LE is a stripper (no, not that kind! )

LE:

Steel wheels.
No automatic dual-zone climate control.
Stability control optional.
Crappy stereo.

Yes, it doesn't have the gaudy wooden trim, or a sunshade, or a little plastic cover on the center console, but other than those the Hybrid IS an XLE.

 

Or the reclining rear seats. But the hybrid also has streamlined underpinnings and stability/traction control (which probably come "free" with the electronic steering, brakes, and transmission).

The trouble is (as far as evaluation is concerned) Toyota has positioned the Hybrid as a separate model with separate configuration rather than as an engine/transmission option as they do for AT and the V6.