Camry SE shown
This is the mid-size sedan at the center of every big-volume automaker’s product bull’s-eye. For most consumers in this segment, the Camry sets the stage based on its reputation for unparalleled quality and high resale value.
Whether the name of Toyota’s mid-size sedan is an anagram for the words “My Car” or not is less important than the fact that each year it fills that void for more than 400,000 buyers. These are people looking for solid reliability, excellent build quality, trouble-free ownership, and a badge the neighbors won’t ridicule. For them driving dynamics are secondary to things like a roomy interior, a cavernous trunk, and doors that shut with the solidity of a bank vault. For them, “ride” and “handling” are two words that mean the same thing.
Prime Numbers:
- Price: MSRP: $21,650. As Tested: $26,057.
- Engine: 2.4-liter dual overhead cam inline four with variable valve timing and balance shafts.
- Horsepower: 158 hp @ 6,000
- Torque: 161 @ 4,000
- Drivetrain: Front-wheel-drive with five-speed automatic transmission
- Suspension F/R: MacPherson struts with anti-roll bar/Independent dual link with anti-roll bar
- Length: 189.2-in.
- Width: 71.7-in.
- Height: 57.9-in.
- Wheelbase: 109.3-in.
- Weight: 3,307 lbs.
Who’s The Buyer:
This is the car for you if:
- Safety means more than just how many airbags come standard. It also encompasses initial quality, long-term reliability, and reputation.
- You can’t afford the more expensive models in the Camry lineup, but still need a solid, reliable car.
- Driving fun is defined as getting from Point A to Point B in comfort and quiet.
This car is NOT for you if:
- Sometimes you want salsa — mild, if course — instead of mayonnaise.
- The thought of losing your car in a sea of Camrys at the local mall scares you.
- Looking beyond the obvious choice is something that comes to you naturally.
Alternatives:
- Honda Accord: A slightly larger car with a bit more personality and style, the Accord is the Camry’s natural sparring partner despite being “de-contented” to improve profit margins.
- Chevrolet Malibu: Working with the German side of the GM family — Opel — Chevrolet has created a credible family car with a clean, crisp style and — especially in four-cylinder form — a very good powertrain. Though a tad narrow, Malibu’s Teutonic ancestry comes out on curvy mountain roads.
- Ford Fusion: The workmanlike 2009 version has been supplanted by a 2010 model that rides, handles, and steers with the best, and pulls itself within sight of the summit in this class.
- Nissan Altima: Built on Nissan’s latest front-drive platform, the Altima nearly eliminates front-drive torque steer, delivers a vastly improved interior, cranks out a respectable 175 hp, but still must earn its place alongside Honda and Toyota in terms of quality and reliability.
For someone like me, there’s little to hate and equally little to love about the Toyota Camry. I’m not the type of person for whom the thought of precise panel fit, clean design, and a reputation for unmatched reliability causes rapture. Yet the Camry consistently draws more than 400,000 buyers into Toyota showrooms each and every year, which means it is doing the trick for an awful lot of people out there. Like Eisenhower Republicans of years past, a Camry buyer’s goal in life is to get from Point A to Point B with the least amount of fuss and bother. There’s a bonus if that ride has “street cred” in their social circle.
Engine, Transmission, Drivetrain
There was a time when any inline four-cylinder larger than 2.0 liters couldn’t avoid being a noisy beast with nasty vibrations. Automakers often specified a cast-iron block for its greater ability to dampen noise and, when that wouldn’t work, counter-rotating balance shafts were called in to calm things down. Toyota’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder proves how far things have come by packaging those balance shafts in a lighter aluminum engine block, and producing an engine that idles smoothly and revs freely. It sends power to the road through an electronically controlled five-speed automatic transmission that shifts smoothly yet crisply, and returns an EPA-estimated 21 mpg in the city, and 31 mpg on the highway. That’s pretty good, but it’s not good enough considering the white-hot competition in this class. So, for 2010, the Camry gets a 2.5-liter four with 11 more horsepower, 6 more lb-ft of torque, and a six-speed automatic transmission. EPA mileage ratings increase to 22 city/33 highway, and electronic stability control, a $650 option on the 2009 model, is standard on the 2010.
Suspension, Steering, Brakes
If you desire to know what the front wheels are doing when you steer, or have the least interest in taking a curve at speed and enjoying both the process and the result, order the SE model with its stiffer springs and upgraded shocks. If you must order the LE, think back to the days of riding in your uncle’s Buick as it soaked up the miles on the Interstate, and floated like a cloud. Driving the Camry LE will make you think those carefree days have returned. However, as life has its ups and downs, so do most roads. Carry a passenger or two in the back over roads with sine wave-like swales, and the soft springs and shocks will bring the tail crashing down in a surprisingly uncontrolled manner — usually just as the next rise in the road appears. Toyota engineers also specified soft bushings for the front subframe to isolate it from the rest of the vehicle and reduce road-generated noise and harshness. However, the front subframe’s slight movement is noticeable, and adds extra movement that makes the steering feels a touch rubbery. But for the vast majority of buyers, the trade-offs are acceptable for the increased comfort they bring.
Body, Design, Quality
This is one of the least bland Camrys ever, and its tight flanks, bulging front fenders, and slanted head and taillights, give it a personality its predecessors never had. This is accentuated in darker colors where the shape is highlighted as shadow and light play along the surface, and complemented by the tasteful chrome trim. Why buyers order lighter colors like the sand beige of the test car is beyond me, as these details are lost without the contrast created by the darker shades. Sure, it may get hot in the Southwest, but I’d rather have a hot interior as the air conditioning brings the interior temperature down to more acceptable levels just so I could appreciate the details that are lost in lighter colors.
One advantage of ordering a lighter color — other than heat rejection — is that it shows panel fit and finish in a way that a darker color can’t. And on the Camry, the seams proved to be straight, precise, and minimal. The doors, hood and trunk opened and closed with little effort, and the doors shut with a muted sound that conjured up images of a bank vault. It’s a good analogy as the under-damped suspension proves the Camry does not come up short in terms of structural rigidity. It’s bank-vault solid.
Ergonomics, Interior
Because the Camry LE’s broad, sweeping instrument panel lacks the extra adornment found on higher line models, its interior borders on blandness — especially in lighter colors as the contrast between the upper and lower panels is a bit too subtle. This two-tone effect flows into the door panels, and is complemented by a handsome seat design. Unfortunately, the knobs for the climate control system have a frosted plastic finish and a smooth circumference that looks a bit cheap. But that was nothing compared to the pieces that sit on either side of the center console and span the gap between it and the lower part of the instrument panel. On my test car (see detail photo below) these pieces were visibly misaligned due to a twist that ran along their length. Not only did this detract from the cabin’s quality feel, it was quite a surprise considering the care with which the rest of the car was assembled.
In ergonomic terms, the Camry rates highly. In keeping with the theme of this car — comfort and convenience — all the controls are within easy reach of the driver and front seat passenger, and the front cupholders conveniently sit alongside the shift lever for the automatic transmission. Head and leg room are generous, the seats have ample adjustments and are complemented by a steering column that adjusts for both reach and rake. Plus, rear seat room is generous enough to carry real-size adults — even with the optional sunroof.
Audio, Video, Navigation
The standard sound system for the Camry LE is an AM/FM/CD/MP3 player with six speakers, 160 Watts and an auxiliary audio jack. For $940 extra, the JBL Premium sound system adds a six-disc in-dash CD player, Bluetooth, increases the number of speakers to eight, adds satellite radio capability (though you still need a nearly $450 satellite radio kit), and pumps out 440 Watts. In order to get the voice-activated DVD-based navigation system, you have to move up to the SE. Eventually, we’ll probably see flash-based navigation systems on even the most inexpensive cars, but they are probably a few years away for the lower line models in the Camry lineup.
Toyota’s Camry is not the most exciting vehicle in the segment, especially in LE trim, but its positives — quality, reliability, durability, resale value, etc. –more than compensate for that buyer who is looking for a “sure thing” in terms of value and fuss-free ownership. However, the Camry now has a number of worthwhile competitors nipping at its heels, each with its own unique reason for buying. Two of them are even American — imagine that! However, Toyota has upgraded the car for the 2010 model year — most importantly in the drivetrain — and that should be enough to keep current owners in the fold while the competition prepares for the redesigned 2012 Camry.
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