CAMRY SOLARA SLE CONVERTIBLE

2008 Bright red with tan canvas top. 

We are a family of four: two adults, teenager and 11 year old. Our Solara is used around town and on trips of up to three hours with all four of us. We like the fun factor and room.

Driving the car: This is a very, very quiet, sporty and surprisingly comfortable car. It is not a sports car, but it handles very well on smooth and bumpy roads and thru curves. Rough roads are smoothed out, but it doesn't "float". It has an powerful 3.3 liter engine that allows the car to get about 25 mpg in suburban driving and over 31 mpg on the highway.  There is very little wind noise when underway with the top up or down. The engine is so quiet that you will have to look at the tachometer to know when to shift if you are using the manual mode of the manual/automatic 5 speed transmission. In automatic mode shifting is very smooth and predictable. The manual mode is fun if you like to shift yourself, but isn't needed to keep the car from hunting for gear, because the automatic transmission is predictable, maybe flawless.

The Solara's fit and finish are fantastic. The leather seats, sewing, dashboard plastic, convertible top, body panels, even the engine compartment is put together so well that you'd think it was a luxury car.  The controls, stereo and navigation are easy to use, and sound great with the top up or down. I don't know if it has a sub-woofer hidden under the seat, but if it doesn't, there is no need.

The Convertible Top is Why This Car Exists. It works fantastically. The top goes up and down easily and quickly. You can also easily grab the top and put it up without using the electric motor. It will never get stuck in the down position, even if you drain the battery. There are two handle levers on opposite ends of the windshield that must be opened/closed when putting the top down and both are easy to reach. The protective convertible top boot is a bit bulky to store, but goes over the retracted top very easily. This is the only flaw we found with the car. I'd suggest that Toyota could improve the top boot by making it soft enough to fold and throw in the trunk or in the well where the top goes when it is in the down position.

Luggage Space: A REAL SURPRISE! This has plenty and it is well designed and doesn't get eaten up when the top goes down! There is enough space for four travelers for a looong weekend. The fact that the trunk has the same amount of space when the top is up or down is a major plus. You can stuff the trunk with stuff, then put the top down without losing ANY TRUNK SPACE! We looked at several other convertibles with tops that store inside the trunk, or more accurately descend into the trunk and leave little room for anything else. If you want to put stuff in the trunk and put the top down, the Solara is the way to go.

Style: Fun. Cute. Not a muscle car.  It's bright red, has curves front and rear. We call it "Barbie", also "Barbie's Car".

We looked at Mustang, Sebring, Volkswagon Eos and the Pontiac G6. We wanted a decent sized high quality car for less than $30,000. After looking at the competition in the same price range, the Solara came out on top for what we need.  The Sebring and Eos both had tops that stole the trunk when retracted, and both seem to be having some quality issues... especially the Sebring. The Pontiac does not come up to Toyota's fit and finish. The Mustang V6 was just too noisy for my wife, and does not get as good gas mileage.