2007 Toyota Camry

giantkiller

Nobody's discounting a Hyundai or a Sonata. I myself have owned an Elantra before. Its good to have competition, better for us consumer. Its our safeguard so that other manufacturer will not take us for granted or be arrogant.

giantkiller

What I'm saying is if Sonata will ever make a dent to Camry as perennial favorite among US consumer, it is now. You said it yourself that Sonata won the comparo here in Edmunds. But, did it make any headway to camry's sales? No. In fact the Camry leads the sales for midsize car for October and throughout 2005. The Sonata 2006 5-6 months from its release is still trying to catch up. Hyundai didnt released this car so that it could win Edmunds comparo , I'm pretty sure.
So back to your question, will the Sonta beat the new Camry in sales volume? Definitely no.
Will the Sonata beat the new Camry in most of the media sponsored comparison? I dont think so. If you consider the price then maybe.

jrock65

The Camry placed last in both the recent MT and C&D comparos (12/05).

samnoe

"The Camry placed last in both the recent MT and C&D comparos (12/05). "

That's why we're here to discuss the new generation Camry... "HELP" Toyota get better ratings

nippononly

you're missing the bigger picture, which is car magazines don't like anything that can't slalom like a Lotus. Camry has never been a super-high scorer in those comparos because of that, although it will usually come second or third, ALWAYS behind Accord which is a bit more of a driver's car.

The other manufacturers have improved their game, so that Toyota is not such a stand-out in the comparo game, but it still has and will continue to have what people want. I predict it will remain the sales champ for the foreseeable future, even though it may not tickle the fancy of car mag editors used to driving 200 mph on race courses.

pzykofart: you're kidding, right? Braking g-force so high that it throws the gear shift out of drive? I love that one. The only one of Toyota's annoying zig-zag automatics I have driven is the 4Runner, and it was so easy to bump it out of gear with a hand motion or my Big Gulp, I did it several times while the truck was moving. If Toyota wants to solve this problem, they should move the shifter, better yet make it an electronic paddle on the steering column, but don't think that any problem has been solved by making it a silly-looking zig-zag design.

kdhspyder

yep we will agree to disagree..but i'm always cautious about someone who is adamant about things they make up.

We'll know in about 6 weeks.

pzykofart

pzykofart: you're kidding, right? Braking g-force so high that it throws the gear shift out of drive? I love that one. The only one of Toyota's annoying zig-zag automatics I have driven is the 4Runner, and it was so easy to bump it out of gear with a hand motion or my Big Gulp, I did it several times while the truck was moving. If Toyota wants to solve this problem, they should move the shifter, better yet make it an electronic paddle on the steering column, but don't think that any problem has been solved by making it a silly-looking zig-zag design.

You must be oblivious to other cars (namely Mercedes-Benz, Nissan/Infiniti, Honda/Acura, etc.) incorporating 'not-so-straight' shifters.

There goes your silly suggestion...

jchan2

Sure the Sonata won't put a dent in Toyota sales. But it will win over a small number of consumers.

nippononly

I KNOW lots of companies do it, but it's not because hard braking can throw the car out of gear, it is because it is easy to bump it out of gear with your hand. And remember, all the expensive cars are going to button (paddle) shifters, so the zig-zag thing is yesterday's news. Besides, as my experience in the 4Runner demonstrates, the zig zag thing is far from foolproof too.

As for silly looking, that was strictly my opinion, I wasn't implying it was inherently silly or something....

austinman7

I find your comment about the Sonata's seats to be spot on. I went in thinking test drive, but could not get comfortable in the seat, which is a deal-breaker with me. Had the feeling of sitting on the edge of it, or tipping forward, as you say.

Having said that, I'm hoping Toyota will add a little length to the seat bottoms of the new Camry's front seats. I owned a 2002 Camry, and always felt the seats were a little short, though I liked most everything else about the car. I'm in the market for another sedan and have hopes for the new Camry redesign. My '02 had only a four-speed transmission, which gave it high revs on the highway. I think they've already fixed that with a five-speed.

lmacmil

"although it will usually come second or third, ALWAYS behind Accord which is a bit more of a driver's car."

Actually, in 2002 the Camry came in first in an MT comparison. It was competing against the previous generation Accord. It's never beaten the current Accord AFAIK. And I doubt the 2007 Camry will propel it ahead unless they make some drastic changes like they did to the Avalon, which went from alsoran to class leader.

alpha01

At 80 MPH, our 4A 02 Camry is revving a hair over 3K. Thats hardly short gearing, or high revs on the highway, IMO.

~alpha

gardner5236

I think austinman7 was comparing the new 5 speed with the 4 speed. My 05 Camry revs at 2,500 at 80 MPH. I agree with you that a hair over 3,000 is not short gearing. The Nissan Sentra 5 speed manual I used to have turned at nearly 4,000 at 80 MPH.

alpha01

Im sorry, I completely lied. I was actually thinking of my 4A Sentra 2.5LE, which revs around 3200 RPM at 80MPH.

I cant remember offhand where the Camry revs cruising at that speed, but next time I'll take it out, I'll try to check.

~alpha

nippononly

coincidentally, C&D has a comparo of the current (fifth year) model with the new Fusion, new Sonata, and four year old Accord, all top-trim V-6 models (which in Camry's case means they got the XLE with the 3.0 V-6, possibly the oldest engine in use by Toyota at the present time??!!).

Not surprisingly, Camry came last, yet beat the others in some areas like fit and finish and materials, as well as quiet and smooth ride, while Accord came first despite its age.

As you say, I doubt the '07 will change this pecking order much. It is the very qualities disliked by the car mag editors that are so liked by the public, and which are the reason for Camry's sales success. But I do expect the optional V-6 to be a revelation, finally competing with the other players (especially Accord) in power and fuel economy.

alpha01

Worth noting that the Accord pretty much walked away with the comparison, winning by about 15 points. That said, for nearing its curtain call and having no sporting pretensions (where the mag's interest lie), the Camry only lagged in points by, I believe, 3 to the Sonata, and 5 to the Fusion. As noted, the Camry did win a few categories, including the overall category of "Vehicle". (Seating, ergonomics, ride, etc).

Toyota's 3.0L is old, but for an engine about to be put to pasture, its still very refined and smooth, and reasonably powerful. The 190 horses it generates moved the Camry to 60 only 2/10ths behind the Fusion, packing 31 more horses. The Camry also trumped the Fusion in both passing tests and and Hyundai in the 30-50. Where the engine takes the biggest hit, IMO, is in fuel economy.

Bring on the 268 horse 3.5L!!!

~alpha

dudleyr

I agree with the silliness of the zig zag shifters. Jaguar and a few others started it to give the shifter the look of the gated Ferrari manual shifters. Now everybody has to copy it at the cost of ease of use. I have a Sienna with the zig zag and find it mildly annoying - nothing to change my choice of vehicle though.

Won't bother me in the Camry though because I would only buy one with a manual. If they don't offer the manual there is always Accord.

austinman7

"High revs" is a relative and subjective term, I agree. Maybe "higher revs" would have been a better term. My former Camry (same as yours, 02 with 4 speed auto) turned about 2750 or so, I think, at 70 mph, which is my normal cruising speed. That compares with my former Regal (about 2100) and my current 04 Accord (about 2250).

I don't know if higher revs make much of a difference in fuel economy or engine life. Those would be more objective factors to consider. At any rate, I would guess the new 5-speed auto in the current (and future?) Camry would lower the revs at least a little, which would please me.

lmacmil

My 05 SE-V6 is about running about 2400 rpm at 70. My Olds Intrigue was only turning 2000 and got about 2-3 mpg better on the highway. The new Avalon turns about 150 rpm less which I suspect accounts for some of its improved mileage rating.

pzykofart

210delray

From that side view, you can see that not much has changed...gotta be the same platform underneath!

And oh the horror, it's got a Bangle butt also!

jchan2

I see a little Sonata, a little Avalon, tossed along with a Bangle Butt.

Not bad for a Camry. It could have been worse.

pzykofart

pzykofart

alpha01

Head and taillights look a little different than how the other pics presented them, Im seeing less Mazda 3. Also, the side profile does look different to me than the current car; the doors look less flat/slab sided, and the design is fairly squat, like the Lexus GS. In these pics, the rear does look VERY Bangle, I'm wondering how it will appear in person.

LOVE the look of the new instrumentation/IP, and it seems to be ergonomically correct. Not a fan of that color wood, though, YUCK.

Overall, I'm a fan, but whats up with the plain Jane alloys? Are those tires 17s? I sure hope so.

Any final news on powertrains/EPA?

~alpha

kdhspyder

It is the same platform.. 6th year of the 10-yr life cycle. The front and back have changed mainly

austinman7

Your Intrigue sounds a lot like my former Regal, RPM-wise. I traded it because I got tired of the soft Buick suspension and numb steering, but say what you will about GM cars, it was a great highway cruiser. Lower RPMs let it loaf along all day, very quietly. Very solid drivetrain, which is the problem with my Accord and the reason I may be in a 2007 Camry soon. I'm on a replacement transmission with the Accord at only 17,000 miles.

carzzz

There are 4WD model offering in current Gen 5 Camry
http://toyota.jp/camry/spec/spec/index.html
but they are sold in Japan!

We might get the Gen6 4WD model in NA due to the demand+competition!

dudleyr

Looks nice. I really Like the plain alloys - hope they keep them. Hope it still has a manual transmission.

-Dudley

tradscott

That would be great if Toyota decides to offer the AWD in North America. I believe they used to do so in the 80s, since I've seen very old Camry (I think) wagons driving around with an AWD badge on the back.

It might be a little hard on Subaru, though, if Toyota does this.

A wagon would be nice as well, but we'll never see that because it would cut into SUV sales. I wonder if Toyota doesn't offer the AWD Camry here for the same reason.

astor

austinman7

I've been following this thread closely for only a month or so. Is this the first time we've seen the photos at post #695, and do we know how authentic they are?

Looks like a pleasant design to me, which fits Camry's traditional role of pleasing as many as possible. I definitely see a touch of Mazda3 in front and a BMW 5 or 7 with the top of the trunk. But overall, it seems a little sleeker than the current car and appealing, at least to me.

Interestingly, the side-view schematic seems to show rear seat passengers seated slightly lower than the front, which I don't believe is the case with the current Camry.

giantkiller

Wrong. Its a new platform.

kdhspyder

Thank you for your opinion. I will give it the consideration it deserves.

mikecapone

Thanks for the extra photos. I had already seen some of them, but two are new to me and I'll get them added here:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/11/first_photos_of.php

willz2006

We have to replace our 2001 Honda Accord for another mid-size car. My mom is strongly considering the facelifted accord or the new camry. BTW, we have to buy it by May or June 2006.

kdhspyder

The '07 will start to be built late Dec thru Jan for arrival in late Feb. The hybrid Camry is due in July..

ctalk

Head and taillights look a little different than how the other pics presented them, Im seeing less Mazda 3.

I agree with you there, somehow it seems to look less like the Mazda 3.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the design inside and out.

carrelman2

Bye Bye camry. My wife is on her 4TH Camry. Great car.Not for me. Good for the BODY SHOP business.No BODY SIDE MOLDING means it will be dinged and donged.I don't drive a banged up car. Iwill look into the new Hyundai Azera when it gets here.I've been reading rave reviews about that car

virtking

Overall it looks good. I just hope that outside mirrors are not fixed. Hard to tell from the pictures.

virtking

Here is a close up picture from another (nation of toyota ) forum. If that's what we'll get, then it's identical to Sienna's.



On another topic, buttons behind the shifter. Are they for heated seats? If so, kind of small and far especially for the passenger.

petl

I also prefer body side moldings. However, the moldings on some of the new vehicles are useless. They are situated so low, they offer no protection at all (check the Accord sedan). They are designed for looks only (protection is secondary). One more thing. With the number of vans, trucks, and SUV's out there, even if the moldings were positioned in the midle of the door, they would still be useless (when parked beside these large vehickes). Just my opinion.

210delray

Agreed on the near-useless side moldings. You have to park your car away from everyone else's, or use the end spaces and hug the side opposite the adjacent car.

Or buy the new contraption you hang off the side of your car (advertised in the back of the car mags) for only $129.95! :P I don't know if that's for just one or a pair.

larryt22

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=1341671

The article says there are 5-6 possible models that might be built the Lafayette Indiana plant. Want to bet that the Camry will be one of them?

jaxs1

Japanese market trim in photos.
I expect different wood on the shifter and maybe no wood on the steering wheel on US models.
The car's trim will likely be tweaked for North American tastes.

callmedrfill

You must be a salesman's dream!

"So what may I show you today?"

"Well, I'm looking for a new car. I was looking at a Camry, but it doesn't have side moldings, so that's out..."

"Well, let me show you this 1994 Subaru SVX! Even the windows have.......need 4 doors? How about this 2003 Chevy Avalanche!! The whole thing is wrapped in this dashing grey rubber....."

"Actually I was looking at something much more expensive, but with even worse resale, and people will wonder why I got it instead of a good car......like a Camry...."

Boy, am I glad I'm out of that racket.

DrFill

psecay

It's looks perfect! Now that's what I call new Camry!
Pictures from bbs.pcauto.com.cn and bbs.tom.com
The model is Japanese version, but the US version will be the same one.







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yannick

It looks about 100X better than the new Accord

jaxs1

Those are the same photos already posted here a couple pages ago.

negative

The photos here and on other sites show the driver's door pull (in right-hand drive and left-hand drive models) attached to the armrest. I hope that's just the case with pre-production models. The Subaru Legacy has a door pull like that and it makes it difficult to reach for the window switches or to lay your arm flat on the armrest. My '97 Camry has a door pull like that on the front passenger's door only. I thought Toyota knew better.