I'm currently sitting in the waiting area of a locally owned garage here in OKC, so what better time to tell you all about the recent opportunity I had to drive a new Toyota Camry?

The process of actually participating in this opportunity was a bit of a comedy of errors. I was invited to attend an OSU football game, complete with a pre-game tailgate and two tickets to the game, and I was super excited! (OK, I would've been more excited if it had been OU, but it was a big game.) But the day of the game was also the day my dogs escaped and I totally ate concrete while chasing them. So I missed out on that chance (though I hear it was a lot of fun!).

And then the day finally arrived when that gorgeous new Toyota was delivered. I couldn't be home when they dropped it off, and I got a call from my husband around 3 that day asking if there was supposed to be a car in our driveway...because there wasn't! Apparently they delivered the car to my neighbor's house. So James decided to move it for me. But he called me after about 5 minute because he couldn't figure out how to start the car.

It turns out that he had been starting the car each time he tried, but because the Camry was a hybrid he couldn't hear it start! He moved the car to our driveway, and I hurried home to see what I had to drive. And y'all, it was definitely pretty! Both inside and out.

This was a super nice model, complete with heated seats. As someone who is constantly cold (and currently dealing with pregnancy related back pain) I absolutely adored those! That night James and I took the car on a little drive to dinner and to do some last minute Christmas shopping. I loved the safety features, like the alerts if I drifted too close to the center lane (something that happens often when driving rural Oklahoma roads - sometimes you have to cross the center line to avoid the massive potholes!).

The gas mileage on this car was nuts. While I actually didn't get a chance to drive it too much, thanks to the ice storm that hit our area just after Christmas, I was amazed at how little gas I used. Of course, this model was a hybrid so it naturally has much better gas mileage than a non-hybrid model. The estimated mpg is 43 city/39 highway/41 combined, which is incredible as someone who used to drive a vehicle with 17 mpg combined! Honestly, I've always assumed hybrids were a bit of a pain. It totally wasn't!

The other thing I really enjoyed was the media system. That's definitely the biggest struggle I've had with my personal vehicle, but setting up my iPhone with the Camry's Bluetooth system was very easy. Plus my husband loved the satellite radio - and the super soft leather interior ;)

The only bad thing about my time with the Camry? The fact that I had it during the ice storm and couldn't really drive it much! I'm not sure how it would've handled on the icy roads, but I didn't want to risk it. Though I didn't want to risk driving in general! I didn't take my own vehicle out at all during that time either.

I think this might have been the first time I ever drove a Toyota. I grew up in a GM loyal family, and my first two vehicles were a Chevy Camaro and a Chevy Silverado. I didn't look at Toyota when I was shopping for my current vehicle (a Mazda CX-5, which I do like) but next time I'm in the market for a new car, I'll definitely stop at a Toyota dealership too!

Big thanks to Toyota for this opportunity! It was a pleasure to drive your vehicle :)