A redesigned Camry is a very big deal. This well-rounded sedan has long been one of the top-selling cars in America because it provides solid, sensible family transportation. It also is something of a lightning rod, a car enthusiasts love to hate. Fairly or not, the Camry has come to define “vanilla” in the automotive world. Hence, updating the Camry is a challenge, balancing the need to keep current owners happy, but also trying to win over non believers.

The thing is, it was a job that had to be done. The current Camry has been several places away from the top of our family sedan Ratings. In other words, there was room for improvement here.

We just bought a 2012 Camry, a Smurf blue LE four-cylinder model. (We’ll be buying a few more versions as soon as they’re available.) With the optional power driver’s seat and carpeted floor mats, the LE’s sticker came to $23,830.

Meanwhile, we spent some time a few weeks ago with early-production Camrys at our track. We sampled a XLE four-cylinder, XLE hybrid, and a SE V6 and recorded a video. Our initial impressions are that there are improvements in fuel economy, handling, and rear-seat space--even if Toyota didn’t exactly transform the car into a sleek sports sedan.

We’ll see if the redesigned model claws its way to the top of the competitive family sedan heap when we fully test it here at our track.