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Comments
The style of lighting on the previous editions of the Camrys
seemed much better.
Of the four different 2007 Camrys I drove, one had a rattling rear window. Even the sales rep noticed it. This was a couple of months ago when the car first came out, so it may have been an early production teething pain.
Irritating wind noise from the windshield wipers. They are not below hood level when at rest.
The sun visors don't work when you swing them to the side window. The visors should slide on the rods like they do on the Lexus version.
Got a used Lexus 330 instead.
As is blind bias against a product (e.g., many domestic brands) that so many buyers of "foreign" cars exhibit.
If you think that's strange, here's something even weirder. I've noticed just the opposite - that the instrument lighting brightness maximizes when I turn the odometer knob fully clockwise. :confuse:
Not like in the old days when you could "remove" miles by driving in reverse!
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=621
Thanks!
To return the favor, here are my thoughts on my new Camry.
2007 V6 LE w/ VSC:
Drive: Excellent drive, comfortable, but not too soft like the older model Camrys. Nice feel, good stability. Perfect family car. It doesn't have the feel of my father's Acurta TL, or my older Mazda MX-6 which are more sporty... but it's not supposed to. It's a family car, and as far as that goes, VERY NICE!
THe engine just wants to take off. It's hard to keep the car at low speeds. It just seems the engine wants to go. I love that.
Hesitation: This is a problem with all CAmrys. My in-laws had two older Camrys and they do the same thing. Just a SLIGHT bit of hesitation before it takes off. However, I have not experienced the horrible hestation type issues posted in the Woes forum. This is more of a very slight unresponsiveness before the car decides that you really do want it to take off. I find it mildy annoying, but again, having driven other Camrys, what i"m experiencing is exactly what I've found in other models.
Looks: Loved it from the beginning.. but found the little protruding nose a little annoying.. HOwever, after a couple of weeks of looking at it, even that is starting to look good now. Maybe it's my psyche trying to convince me that it looks good since I spent all that money. Either way, I like it before I bought it and I like it more now.. It just has a sophisticated and sporty combination that you don't see in too many cars. Makes the older Camrys and the Accord look a bit outdated in style. This is subjective, yes, but my opinion, none the less.
Interior Quality: Decent. Nice lighting and buttons and so forth. Easy to turn on and off AC/radio, etc... THe build quality on the interior is a little bit on the cheap side. I have to admit, things don't fit together quite like they could. Some of the plastic pieces have larger gaps between them on the dash then they should have... However, it's not really that bad. I'm just being nit picky. But having owned other Toyotas, this one seems just a hair cheaper in parts/materials on the interior. Though I love the seats. So, it's not everywhere on the interior.
Interior Comfort: I'm 5'8". My wife is 5'2". For our size frames, the interior is fantastic. Love it. comfortable, roomy, and cozy all at once. I can easily see myself on long trips really enjoying this car. The lumbar support on the driver's side is wonderful. The steering wheel tilt etc.. is great. Very nice!
Also, the glove box is HUGE! I love that. My wife ends up stuffing it with all sorts of stuff, but the fact is, it's big enough that you can really get rid of a lot of clutter that would ordinarily be all over the car. I like that.
Interior Practicality: one negative. I don't like the fact that the rear cupholders are only attached to the armrest. I think this is common in a lot of cars, but really not a great idea. Especially for a family car where kids are a part of the equation. The car seat (which by law ends up being there until the kids are like 4) prevents you from pulling the armrest down. So, for 4 years, I have no cupholder for any adults in the back. This is kinda dumb for a family car. Just the other day, my wife was holding the baby bottle and wanted to put it down and had no where to put it. She had to hand it to me and I had to keep it in the front cup holders. Maybe this is a small thing and common on many cars.. but I think it's a poor design.
Under the hood: Unlike the interior which I feel is just a bit on the cheap side, the under the hood parts look to be well made, and everything is snugly fit and well built (to my amateur eye). I spent a few hours poking around the other day, and found everything well made (again to my amateur eye).
Trunk: I LOVE the way the trunk pops up about 1/3 of the way when you open it. This is so useful. MOst cars, the trunk kinda unlocks and sits there and you have to free a hand to get the trunk open. With this car, when the trunk opens, it opens high enough that you can use an elbow or side of an arm or whatever to get the trunk open. I found this useful the other day when I was holding my 7 month old who decided to start squirming and i needed both arms to secure her. I was still able to get the trunk open with my elbow. yes, this is a small thing, but it's the little things that let you fall in love with a car..
Mileage: 1st tank of gas averaged 20.2 MPG. Not too happy about that. I drove very lightly. HOwever, this was the first tank of gas, and my previous Toyotas took quite a few tanks for the mileage to finally settle in at numbers that were more respectable. My Toyota Matrix started out at 29MPG, and it took almost 5000 miles to settle out at about 33 MPG. Has been steady at that number since then. So, the jury is out on this one, but I expect better numbers going forward. Also,the dealer left the tires a wee bit underinflated, which I corrected.. so maybe it'll improve there as well.
Overall impression: LOVE the car!!!! Perfect family car. Lots of power. fun to drive. feels sturdy and safe. Hesitation is a mild annoyance and only shows itself to be so when I'm trying to revert back to my bachelor days and drive a little crazy. NOrmal driving with family, you can't ask for a better vehicle.
Anyway, I'm not going to be a routine poster, but after all the info I've taken from you guys over the last few weeks/months... I owed you all my take on the Camry. HOpe this helps someone new who is lurking.
Thank you all for your wonderful and useful posts.
Very safe car with standard ABS 7 airbags and all the others. Would love to see stability control but it sure beats the 01 which didnt even have ABS back then!
Not my idea of a quality car by any stretch of the imagination.
Having the need to make another person feel bad or to minimize their enjoyment is normally the sign of an insecure personality - or just a negative one.
What if your response was: 'It's great that you enjoy your new Camry, congratulations.!!' Wouldn't that add more and not make you look so negative yourself. Try it.
I agree wholeheartedly on the looks and performance. Did you opt for the JBL upgrade w/ BT? I found the sound through an MP3 player to be exceptional.
Blind faith in a product brand is a poor buying decision.
With all due respect, it would seem that anyone who joins an online forum to discuss their cars did NOT buy their cars on blind faith.
as for the article from Cars.com... though I don't know if they have an inherent bias or not, reading consumer reports, consumer guide, motor trend, road and track, automobile magazine, AAA, CAA, and other sources... QC does not seem to be the issue that some are making it out to be. I understand some people are getting stuck with lemons, but I would put forth an argument that they are unfortunately in the extreme minority. That said, if you do the research on other cars, be it from honda, chevy, ford.... they all have their issues as well.
Now, for what I wish I could have got in my 07 SE was a creamy white leather interior and a pearl white paint... love that combination! Otherwise, as a everyday car to the office and home everyday... love this car!
"Last year, Toyota recalled 2.38 million vehicles in the U.S., or about 120,000 more than it sold in the year."
If a car company has to recall more cars than they sell during the entire year, most objective observers would say they have a problem, denials of the aficionados notwithstanding."
Perhaps it's only fair to tell everyone how many cars GM or Ford recalled that same year... Just in case you didn't know... guess who had the most recalls in 2005?
Guess.. it isn't Toyota. Give up? Ford led the way with 6 MILLION cars recalled, and GM with 5 MILLION cars recalled. At least it wasn't the 11 MILLION cars GM recalled in 2004 eh? Do you think Ford sold over 6 million cars in the US last year? Try 3.17 million vehicles. Or do you think GM sold more than 5 million cars in the US last year? Try 4.52 Million vehicles.
For the whole article about number of recalls... http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/AUTO01/601050428/1148- - - - -
for the whole article about number of sales... http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2006-01/artikel-2001647.asp
Does anyone know how many 2007 camrys have been sold thus far? I'm wondering if Camry will be the best selling car for a 9 out of 10 years...
With all due respect, it would be equally appropriate if you'd do likewise with your unnecessary and unsolicited armchair criticisms. Enjoy/fault your new car as your relationship with it matures and leave Camry owners to do likewise. (Or, [gasp!], are you already having second thoughts about your choice and need us as an outlet to relieve your angst? Well, don't worry - Toyota dealers will be glad to allow your car's reduced market trade-in value on a new Camry. Better late than never, eh? :P)
I guess you could only be speaking of the Impala SS 5.3L, consider
Per Edmunds two tests:
0-60 ........... 6.4 sec .. 6.5 sec
1.4 mi ........14.4 sec .. 14.5 sec
1/4 mi @ .... 97.5 mph .. 97.3 mph
Observed fuel economy ( mpg ):
Impala w/ cyl deactivation 14.7 C / 18.6 H
Camry V6 .... 20.5
Stability control ?
.. Impala - Can't get it on any model
.. Camry - on most V6's
Side airbags ?
.. Impala - Can't get it on any model
.. Camry - standard on all models
Crash tests ( IIHS Frontal/Side )?
.. Impala - Acceptable / Not tested - 2nd rate
.. Camry - Good / Good - Top rating
So lets see, the new Impala has an impressive V8 which sounds nice ( admittedly ) but.... it's just a little quicker than the Camry V6; gets about 40% poorer fuel economy even with cylinder deactivation; and lacks some basic modern safety features which give it a 2nd-rate performance in crash tests.
Now which was mediocre?
The Subaru plant ( adding about 100K units ) from reports on the net, should come on stream early next year.
The Subaru plant ( adding about 100K units ) from reports on the net, should come on stream early next year."
lol, thanks for doing the hard work kdhspyder! It certainly looks like it'll regain the 'best -selling' car title.
Actually, I more than agree with you. I wanted a pearl white with cream/off-white leather interior, but not a chance. I ended up with the 'look at my titanium silver car that everyone else has' colour. lol.
That said, the Toronto Fire Services just swapped all their Ford crow vics for new Toyota Hybrid Hylanders, and since Toyota doesn't offer the Hylander in fire engine red, guess what... Toyota stopped the assembly line to costum paint the fleet fire engine red. I guess I should have been a fireman! :mad: lol
Actually, I didn't draw the comparisson, rather Detroit News chose to draw the comparisson. That said, in the article that I included, here it is again, just in case you couldn't open it last time, you'll see that Ford and GM both recalled more cars last year than they sold. So, you suspect Wrong.
Yes, "Toyota's recall number soared because of a lower ball joint problem that affected 768,379 Tundra, Sequoia and Tacoma trucks from the 2001 to 2004 model years." - Detroit News.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/AUTO01/601050428/1148- -
The top end is 154 mph. The Camry can't even try to compare with this.
The SS gives 28-29 mph on the highway at a steady 65 mph, excellent numbers considering the prodigious power of the 5.3 liter small block V-8.
Stability control? Who exactly even needs it unless you drive like a madman without sufficient basic skills to take into consideration speed for condition factors and thereby avoid the conditions in which the stability control might possibly be an advantage. Or unless you are not confident of your driving skills and feel the need to rely upon an electronic nanny.
Side airbags/crash tests? Your facts are incorrect. The SS has excellent side curtain airbags front and rear which drop down far enough to also protect the torso. In this respect, check out the numbers on informedforlife.org, the most comprehensive website available for safety related automotive parameters. Side impact fatality risk points for the 2006 Impala with SAB are +11.9 while for the 2007 Camry are +10.2, virtually identical (lower number is better).
Now on the issues of engine, driveline, fit and finish, overall quality: the SS engine with Displacement-on-Demand gives substantially better acceleration at the cost of marginally lower mileage, it's sound is a feast for the ears, the transmission is glass smooth and does not hesitate or flare at any speed, the interior pieces fit together without any unsightly gaps, there are no rattles of any kind, wind and road noise are virtually non-existent, the materials are of high quality including the very high quality leather seats, the BOSE system is superb, and the trunk and hood both use struts to keep them elevated unlike the cheap goosenecks in the Camry and Lexus ES 350 for that matter which look unwieldly and intrude upon useful interior trunk space. Did I mention the interior space of the Impala trunk at 18.5 cubic feet, positively cavernous, while the Camry trunk is 15, 20% less?
But it's entirely up to you if you want to pay more to get less car for your money.
GM recalled more than 5 million vehicles in 2005, but that was a drop from 2004 when it recalled more than 11 million.
What you continue to miss is the trend. While GM had a large gross number of recalls, their number was down, unlike Toyota in which case the number was substantially up. GM is trending to lower number of recalls while Toyota is trending to higher numbers. Stated differently, GM is getting better, Toyota worse.
Toyota's number went drastically up because of the combined recall of certain 2001 to 2004 models which accounted for nearly a third. Imagine if GM had recalled some of the 2004 model year or earlier cars in 2005...
That said, "Because of the changing nature of the industry, it doesn't take much to send the numbers upward," said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson. "We really don't read a whole lot into these fluctuations that occur from one year to the next." So, what's the TREND? not just a given year.
Well, considering Toyota is producing more cars than ever before and is just behind GM, I'd expect the total number of recalls to increase. The question of value is what percentage of total cars produced are recalled? Go ahead and the math.
That said, as for trends... I guess we'll have to wait and see at what year end totals for 2006.
As you said below 'Who exactly even needs it unless you drive like a madman'.
The SS gives 28-29 mph on the highway at a steady 65 mph, excellent numbers considering the prodigious power of the 5.3 liter small block V-8.
Edmunds reports differently
Stability control? Who exactly even needs it unless you drive like a madman without sufficient basic skills to take into consideration speed for condition factors and thereby avoid the conditions in which the stability control might possibly be an advantage. Or unless you are not confident of your driving skills and feel the need to rely upon an electronic nanny
Your statement demonstrates a lack of understanding of the purpose of Stability Control. Well this is just short-sightedness. Hey why wear seatbelts either. The Insurance Institutes both here and in Europe feel differently - and the NHTSA is coming around.
Side airbags/crash tests? Your facts are incorrect. The SS has excellent side curtain airbags front and rear which drop down far enough to also protect the torso. In this respect, check out the numbers on informedforlife.org, the most comprehensive website available for safety related automotive parameters. Side impact fatality risk points for the 2006 Impala with SAB are +11.9 while for the 2007 Camry are +10.2, virtually identical (lower number is better).
From the following link to the IIHS which vehicle stands alone not getting a GOOD rating in frontal crash testing?
IIHS Large Family Cars
Why would you buy a $31,000 vehicle without these basic safety benefits? I will admit though that enjoying the sound of the engine does make up for the Impala's other deficiencies. BTW the Impala is in the same size category as the Avalon where it doesn't hold a candle to the Avalon's features or benefits. It's just faster - a little.
Everyone is allowed an opinion, and to post it here, if they are so inclined, but what is the point of repeatedly trying to change someone elses opinion about what car is best for them? I JUST DON"T GET IT, and it is getting real OLD!
To those who have problems with their Camry, I'm quite OK with reading about them. That's what these forums are for--I think--the good and the bad. To those of you who have opinions about Camrys, good or bad, that's OK too--I think
However, I think perhaps its going too far when posts take issue with others who own Camrys and browbeat them about it. It's about saying they made a big mistake to own one, or trying to convince others they're not too smart even to consider one. That seems to be what a few here are doing and it seems intentional. I don't think it serves the purpose of these forums very well. I also don't think it does much good to marginalize other's decisions by constantly reminding them about another's choice--example the Chev Impala SS owner--is way better, yada, yada, yada.
I am a Camry owner, and quite content with my car. It works well, and I have no complaints. I realize others may not feel the same as I, but I get very uncomfortable when I read posts which imply that people like me have no business being content with our Camrys. I know I should just ignore them, but it isn't that easy when they appear so often.
Anyone who wants to continue, please feel free to start a separate discussion. (Click here and use the Add a Discussion link.) Let's just stick to the Camry here - thanks.
can anyone clarify if the taillights on the LE and XLE are LED?
the hybrid version has LED's:
and heres the XLE: