I own the 2018 Camry LE. It's an improvement, but the lag going up hills is pretty obvious, and you really notice the jerkiness of the 8-speed transmission too because the car changes gears four times just going up to 30mph from a stoplight.

All of my criticisms were based on my observations driving the 2018 model. I think the Camry is the reigning champion of "best bang for your buck," but it leaves plenty of room for improvement if you have a bigger budget.