The ultimate in luxury and utility, the 2005 Camry easily beats the competition

[Note: In response to suggestions, and more time with the car, I have updated the review accordingly]

We recently purchased a new 2005 Toyota Camry LE Automatic (4 cyl.) to replace our aging Buick LeSabre. The following is my impression of the car.

Appearance:

The car probably will not win any awards for looks, though I'm sure that is not what Toyota was after. In terms of elegance, there are few cars that can match Toyota's keen sense of designing cars that just look "good". The lines are substantial without making the car look overly bulky, and though the auto industry is currently awash with both retro and futuristic looking cars, from the Chrysler 300 to the concepts being showcased at auto shows, there is something comforting about knowing that your car possesses lines that although conservative, are so generic that they will never go completely out of style. One area that the Camry has been criticized in recent years has been the tail lights, but these were redesigned for 2005, and although the lights are the same size and shape, by reversing the red and white glass, and by including more trendy, round light elements, Toyota may be able to please some who found the older style unelegant.

Inside the car is equally pleasing, if equally conservative and generic. The material quality is excellent, with only minor quibbles to be had. One minor problem I do have with the car is the plastic on the shifter grip and the steering wheel. It is rather slick and feels cheap compared to the rubber texture found in the new Honda Accord. The plastic, however, does not seem to interfere with operation of the car, and can easily be remedied with an after market cover. An added plus, the driver's seat is not only power adjustable, but has power adjustable lumbar support, which is probably very handy for longer drives.

Toyota boasts of the Optitron gauge cluster on the dashboard that is new for this year (borrowed from the Lexus division, it's supposed to make your tach, speedometer, etc. look nicer). In all honesty, I can't tell it from any other gauge cluster I've ever seen. It's white on black, not terribly attractive but not ugly. It's just there. Similarly, I find the bright green rings that Toyota has placed around certain buttons/dials for climate control, radio, and ignition to be a tad out of place. Bright green neon and Toyota don't go together in my book, and Toyota would have been better off in my opinion with a more muted color. On the plus side, though, they do keep your controls visibly illuminated at night. Overall, I'd give the edge to the Accord for the design of the gague cluster, dashboard, etc., but the Camry is not bad either.

Driving Dynamics:

The Toyota Camry has very good road manners. If you are in the intended demographic group (my guess would be middle aged parent/professional), you probably don't push hard, and the Camry will reward you for your patience and your light foot on the gas pedal. This is absolutely the quietest car for under $30,000 that I have ever been in, and it also has one of the plushest suspensions I've ever seen. Driving the Camry makes you feel like you're gliding over a stick of butter, it's that smooth. Also, the seating position is rather high, giving you an excellent view of the road and everything around you. As for the seats themselves, they are quite comfortable, and the seemingly higher position of the rear bench compared to the Honda Accord makes the rear seat more comfortable. Note that the seats are very flat and don't have much in the way of side bolstering, so this is not the car to take fast around a curve if you don't like sliding in your seat. On the plus side, the material used to upholster the seat is quite nice, though I'm not sure it's any better than the 2004 material, as both are soft and seem rugged.

On the other hand, if you're like me (younger and interested to see how reactive the car is), you want to know how fast and responsive the car is. Well, in all honesty, this is no race car, but it does have power when needed. When we first bought the car, I noted that the adaptive transmission seemed to want to shift at higher RPM, resulting in a bit more engine growl during shifts. I honestly prefer the sound, as it lets me know roughly how fast I am going, but for those who might be worried, the engine noise never becomes very intrusive, even with the windows down. However, the engine has "learned" to shift lower, and now operates more or less where you'd expect (shifts between 2k and 3k rpm). Over all, the car is very responsive, and can easily beat many cars off the starting block, though the Camry probably is not the right car for street racing or even for passing Infiniti G35's going 70 mph on the freeway.

I have read a number of reviews that talk about body roll being present in the Camry when you push it. Granted, I haven't pushed the car very hard yet, but I find that compared to our 1994 LeSabre, the Camry exhibits extremely little rolling. The car seems to hold its lane well also, addressing another complaint I've seen, but which I think is based more on the quality of the street being driven on, not the car.

Oh, and steering is effortless in the Camry. As I think I said earlier, this car communicates very little to you by way of the steering wheel. What this also means is that the power steering works so effortlessly that you will think the car turns by watching your hands move the wheel rather than by you doing anything physical to change the course of your two and a half ton car.

Perhaps my biggest complaint with the Camry (and it is still a small one) is that it comes with rather puny 15" wheels. Not only do the wheels looks small on such a substantial car, but bigger wheels would make the car handle, in my opinion, slightly better. Granted, Toyota can make more money if they sell bigger wheels as an option, but Toyota, and all auto-makers, should consider bigger wheels in the future as a standard piece of equipment (actually, many manufacturers are starting to do this, so Toyota probably just has to play some catch-up).

Mechanical quality:

Obviously with so few miles on the car, it's hard to say how reliable the car is. What I can say is that popping the hood reveals one of the best laid out engines I have ever seen. Everything is easy to find, and easy to reach, and at least when new and clean, the notches on the various tanks are easy to spot and read. The Camry has long held the title of one of the most reliable cars in America, and we expect ours to give us at least 10-15 years of worry-free service.

Value:

Although I would rank the new Honda Accord slightly higher in terms of overall value (now especially because side air-bags are included standard in all Accords), the Toyota Camry ranks very favorably. The car has a plethora of storage, and the trunk is absolutely enormous. Standard safety features are about on par with the competition, though I was disappointed that Toyota did not add side air-bags to the 2005 model, as this would give the Camry some real bragging rights. Convenience items such as a CD-player, tachometer, lit controls, and the like are all present, though nothing really stands out.

Conclusion:

We bought the Toyota Camry as a car meant to last us well into the next decade, and I think we will be able to live that dream. While there are more exciting cars, and cars that cost less, and even (gasp) cars with as good build quality (Accord), our Camry gives you enough of everything that you don't feel like you're missing out. In fact, the luxuriously soft suspension and quiet engine, along with the impeccable build quality, make you think you're in a car costing easily twice as much.