The Kingpin in the Mid Sized Family Segment.

When my family considered a replacement for their 1992 Honda Accord Sedan, they had 2 choices. Either go back to a new Honda Accord or turn to the Toyota Camry. But because Honda had another year until the new Accord enters the showrooms, my family decided to go with the Toyota Camry. They also went with the Camry, because they had many friends that are also driving the Toyota Camry, and they're showing my family how reliable and build quality stand out over the competition. Although the Honda Accord also has a superior reliability record, they tend not to be as reliable as the Toyota Camry. Plus the build quality in the Honda Accord is much weaker and their materials are not as smooth or as high quality.

The Car

When my family entered the Toyota dealership, they immediately went to the dealer for a short consultation. As soon as we finished the consultation, I took a Toyota Camry for a test drive. What I've felt is that the engines are very responsive for their class, although it doesn't have the punch of some 6-cylinders right now for the V6, since the Accord's V6 produces more punch due to the variable valve timing and that the Altima's V6 or Maxima's V6 considerably packs much more punch than the Camry and again they have a variable valve timing, which the Camry's V6 misses. The handling and ride are sound, but not as decent as the Accord's though, as the body leans a bit more than the Accord during tight cornering. What I've even discovered with the V6 is that it requires at least 91-octane fuel for the best performance, whereas for the 4 cylinder, it only requires 87-octane fuel. But for the 4 cylinder, it has the same kind of response as I have with the V6, but it isn't a much of a gas-guzzler, since it can travel another 2-3 miles for every gallon. The 4 cylinder also has more punch than it's replacement and it really makes it a much better value with the variable valve timing. As a result, the 4-cyclinder should do just as fine as the Accord's 4 cylinder. With their automatic transmission, it offers a very slick up and down shifts.

For the handling, it is rather average within its class and it's not cutting edge like the Nissan Maxima. The suspension at least managed to provide a soft, but supple ride in any road condition, regardless of how disrepaired the road is. But the body does lean slightly during tight cornering, as I've said earlier, but it doesn't lean all the way down to the state of danger, like in roll over situations.

The 4-cylinder engine also managed to do what it missed in its replacement, which is to improve its refinement, serenity and punch. While freeway cruising, the 4 cyclinder has enough power to really accelerate up to speed as quickly as possible, and all of course you don't really have to spend the extra money on a V6. But for the V6, it still has the same kind of power from the preceeding generation V6 Camrys, but it's slightly more repsonsive. But to really justify the difference, there isn't a whole lot of difference in the V6 compared to the 4 cylinder, as the V6 lacks variable valve timing, which is present in the Avalon or the Lexus ES 300.

The brakes are also responsive, but not cutting edge here as it tends to deliver rather a longer stopping distance, even though if the vehicle is equipped with an Anti Lock Braking system. But many people would miss ABS as a result of cutting down on price, but buyers should at least invest on ABS in any car that they buy, no matter how hard it is to find one that has it or even take the hassle of special order. What ABS does is that it prevents the wheels from locking during heavy braking and it allows you to gain control while you're still braking.

The interior is very quiet as even as we speak and you don't have to turn the audio up just to compensate the noise or even think twice of closing the windows tightly. But for absolute serenity, a V6 is recommended, but a 4 cylinder will do just fine for quietness. This is all thanks to its slippery rating in the drag coefficent of 0.28.

The interior though is roomy, in general the rear seat is not too low like the Honda Accord and it has a perfect amount of recline and padding, to make long trips a pleasure, not a pain. The rear seat's adjustable headrests are high enough to really protect against whiplash, again an advantage to the Accord's fixed rear headrests that are too low and too soft to really do any good.

The driver's seat is also very supportive and with the few adjustments such as height and lumbar support, you can easily find a comfortable driving position. Although I wished that Toyota would fit a telescopic steering column for the Camry, since there are people that don't really want to sit too close to the steering wheel. But the tilt steering column has a rather limited range, which for some people if they want their steering wheel to be lower, such as shorter people for example.

But for the driver, both the audio and climate controls are within easy reach, but a slight stretch maybe required for reaching the audio controls. With the automatic climate control, the controls are really just too flat and that they're too similar, so this means that the climate control can be mistakened for adjusting the audio.

With the accessory power, it provides 3 power outlets, so you won't be out of charging outlets for your cell phones, charging your handheld, using a laptop or even charging a Prestone Jump Starter. With the large storage spaces in the glove box and center console, you can easily hold a lot of small items without sacrificing the floor.

The trunk space is very generous at 16.7 cubic feet, which can easily hold bags for all passengers. With the 60/40 split folding rear seat, it allows you to expand the cargo room for loading long objects. But I wished that they also offered a center pass through for long and narrow objects. But the passage between the trunk and passenger compartment is small, but it is required to maintain the integrity of the structure.

With the interior materials, they're top quality for the money and all panels are nicely fitted into the vehicle. The paint job is also very smooth, without any lumps or bumps. The Camry is also very solid for the body structure, where it means that the Camry can easily stand in longer than their closest competitors.

With Toyota's superior reliability records, including the Toyota Camry; we can all rest assured that we have a peace of mind that the Toyota has an extremely slight chance of hardware breakdowns.

Cons

But if you want to ante up to a V6, it can be costly and it requires premium fuel, in-order to maintain its maximum performance. But as for many buyers, the 4 cylinder should do fine and it delivers adequate power for all their needs.

Conclusion

Although it has less features for the money compared to its competitors, but the lack of features really justify for the superior reliability, which is increasingly showing greater importance nowadays in new car buyers.

But if you're looking for a replacement for your aging, but a reliable vehicle, the Camry is an excellent choice. The same goes for the users of unreliable vehicles.