This year, the two big brothers of the joint venture brands, Volkswagen and Toyota, have both upgraded their star products, the B-class sedans. The Magotan faced ridicule online about its new appearance when it first hit the market, which led to a lack of confidence from Volkswagen, resulting in the sale of both the new and old designs; the Camry had an even worse time, as it was only after its launch that it became clear that consumers were not buying into the new look, and it had to resort to continuous price reductions to maintain sales volume. So, which of these two B-class sedans offers better value for money now?

With a budget of under 150,000 yuan, the Magotan is still more worth considering.

Both the new and old Magotans are on sale, but the new model, with its fresh appearance, has no discounts, while the old model offers much better discounts than last year. Currently, the old Magotan available for sale includes the 1.4T 280 version and the 2.0T low-power 330 version. The 280 is now quoted by dealers at 130,000 to 140,000 yuan. In terms of chassis, space, and driving feel excluding power, there is not much difference from the higher versions. Although the appearance and interior are still the old design, the configuration, power, and fuel efficiency are still very competitive among peers in the joint venture brands.

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At this price point, the Camry is indeed the new model, but compared to the old 280 Magotan, it still falls a bit short in terms of cost-effectiveness. The starting price is basically 150,000 yuan, but the wheelbase is 50mm shorter than the Magotan; although it has a 2.0L naturally aspirated engine, its power is not as great as the Magotan's 1.4T. In terms of fuel efficiency, it is also not as good as Volkswagen, and even this low-end model lacks reverse imaging and radar, which is a bit hard to present compared to the Magotan at the same price.

With a budget of 150,000 to 180,000 yuan, the hybrid Camry becomes even more attractive.

Above 150,000 yuan, you can get a hybrid Camry, which has a configuration that is not much different from the Magotan at the same price, but the interior and exterior are all new designs. If you don't like the new appearance, the interior style is still quite appealing, and the car's system uses the 8155 chip, which is much smoother and more fun than the old model. It also offers fuel efficiency and L2-level assisted driving, making it quite cost-effective.

At the same price, you can get the new 1.5T 300 Magotan, which has a more attractive appearance than the Camry. However, its configuration is basically the same as the 1.4T old Magotan mentioned above, and you have to pay extra for smart driving, 360-degree view, and sunroof. At 180,000 yuan, the transmission is still a dry dual-clutch, which can be quite annoying when encountering urban traffic jams due to its jerkiness.Over 200,000 yuan, the Magotan still has higher configuration, but other luxury brands at the same price point offer more prestige.

The Camry above 200,000 yuan is the top configuration of the 2.5 hybrid, although the price is high, it still suffers from the common issue of Japanese cars—low configuration and poor cost-performance ratio. A car costing over 200,000 yuan still uses a CVT transmission, and the power and economy compared to the 2.0 version do not show a significant improvement. The chassis quality is also a notch lower than that of the Magotan.

The new Magotan, on the other hand, comes with advanced driver assistance systems and a co-pilot display, and even the rear seats have ventilation, heating, and massage functions, which can be considered the highest configuration in the joint venture B-class cars. But what can you buy at the same price? You could get a Volvo S60, Audi A4, or a top-spec CT4. If you are open to electric vehicles, the Model 3 could also be within reach. So, even the Magotan does not offer a high cost-performance ratio.

Currently, there are no significant discounts on the new Magotan, and the cost-performance ratio of the old 1.4T Magotan is still there. If the budget is fixed around 160,000 yuan, the Camry is more suitable. However, if you are not in a hurry to buy a car in the near future, it is recommended to wait for discounts on the new Magotan, after all, it's Volkswagen, we all understand its marketing strategy.