2002 Toyota Camry LE - Great Car At A Great Price

My father was long overdue for a new car and yesterday we went shopping. Toyota had a sales event for Memorial Day and they were supposed to have good deals on Camry. And they did – upon our arrival they offered us a Camry LE (2.4L inline-4) with automatic transmission and Package #1 (power driver seat and remote keyless entry) for $17,495 (about $1,000 less than the invoice price).

Camry Trim Levels

There are three trim levels for Camry: LE (standard level), SE (sport) and XLE (more luxurious than LE). Previously, the Camry was available in more stripped CE version, which is no longer offered.

I must admit that I disliked the previous generation of Camry for being boring inside and out, having smallish 2.2L 4-cylinder engine and costing too much.

New 2002 Camry uses new platform, which means new brakes, suspension, etc. It is bigger in length than the old one and also taller. The seating position is quite high for a sedan and there is still plenty of the headroom (I am 5’11”). The legroom is also aplenty in both front and back.

The price was so attractive that we bought the car on the spot. I have test driven a lot of cars lately, including Camry’s competitors: new Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, VW Passat. I myself drive Mitsubishi Galant; and because of that I can make some direct comparisons.

Exterior

It is, of course, a matter of taste and personal preferences, but I personally like the new Camry much more than the bland looking old one. The car my father got is black and it looks very good in this color.

The doors feel solid and heavy and have handles that I like more than the ones on my Galant. The hood is operated/held in place by a gas-filled strut, which is convenient. The wheels are 205R15 with wheel covers that do not impress me (Galant wheel covers look much better). But 205mm tires are wider than the ones on Passat GLS, Galant ES or Accord LX.

Interior

I am very impressed by the interior. Even the LE model looks rich inside in terms of the materials, fit and finish (unlike Nissan Altima that looks cheap). The gaps between panels are small and uniform (unlike my Galant), the seat fabric looks and feels nice and controls operate with the right amount of effort.

Even the base LE model has A/C, both CD and cassette (with radio), outside temperature indicator and clock in the upper center part of the dash. The A/C controls are located under the radio/CD/Cassete unit and its knobs do not require much effort to operate.

I don’t really like the gauges – both the shape and markings. The instrument cluster has dual trip odometers and the gear indicator.

The steering wheel tilts and houses the cruise control. The light switch has positions for non-DLR (daytime running lights) operation, DLR and headlight on. The windshield wipers have intermittent operation. There are two cup holders in front covered by a lid.

The center armrest has two separate compartments (one under another) with upper one being shallow and the lower one being huge. The lower one contains a power port with another power port located in the lower part of the dash.

The glove compartment is quite large and the front doors have map pockets. The front seats are fully upholstered with backs having pockets. Rear seats fold in 60/40 fashion and have an arm rest with two cup holders.

Trunk

The trunk is very large with large trunk lid opening. When the rear seats are folded, however, the opening between the trunk and passenger compartment is not rectangular and somewhat small.

There are separate trunk release and the fuel door release on the floor by the driver’s seat. The keyless entry system comes with the trunk release button (which has to be held for one second for the trunk to open) as well as the “panic” feature that flashes the lights and honks for one minute.

My Galant has no fuel door locking and no remote trunk release :-(. The Camry’s trunk also has a trunk mat and a plastic tray with two “bottle holders”.

Engine

The engine compartment looks neat and the engine has a black cover. I tried to locate the horsepower and torque ratings for it in the manual under the Specifications/Engine section, but the only useful parameter listed there was the displacement (2.4L). The online sources say that this engine has 157 hp at 5,600 rpm and 162 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm.

My Galant has 2.4L engine that produces 140hp and 155 lb-ft of torque (but at 2,700 rpm). No wonder – the Toyota’s engine has VVTi system and is overall more sophisticated than that of the Galant. The Camry’s engine uses iridium-tipped spark plugs that don’t need replacement for more than 100,000 miles.

The Camry’s optional 3-liter V6 produces 192 hp and 209 lb-ft. Altima’s 2.5L inline-4 produces 175hp, Passat’s 1.8L turbo-4 has 170hp.

The fuel economy is 23/32 MPG (city/highway) with automatic transmission, which is also better than my Galant’s 21/28. And the Camry’s engine is so quiet that in the passenger seat I couldn’t hear it run when the car was in idle mode.

However, when I moved to the passenger seat, I could hear it and could feel the vibration on the steering wheel, but it still was less noticeable than with my Galant. The 4-cylinder engine requires regular unleaded (87 octane) gas. The fuel tank is substantial 18.5 gallons.

Transmission

The transmission shifts smoothly and allows for good acceleration, yet keeps the engine at low RPMs during smooth driving. The selector lever has an overdrive switch and the dash has gear indicator.

Driving Impressions

As much as I like the build quality, outward visibility and materials, solid feel and refined controls, I dislike some things about driving the LE. First of all, the steering is light (overboosted) and the brake pedal is too soft for me. The body roll is excessive and suspension is too soft.

In other words, the LE trim is tuned for comfort and relaxed driving and I would like more sport (I guess I would like the SE model better). This said, I know that for majority of people, the steering effort and suspension softness would not be a problem.

Once again, the car feels solid and refined while driving with good damping of road irregularities and good braking.

Safety

The car feels solid and features multi-stage front airbags with occupant sensors. You can also get side airbags and ABS. The doors feel heavy and solid and have side impact door beams.

Bottom Line

The 2002 Camry really impressed me with its combination of quality, solid feel, design, technology and value. You may be able to get another car for less money, but it will be inferior to Camry in some respect.

As much as I like my Galant (for better steering feel and other things), I clearly see why Camry costs more. Even for $1,000 more than we paid, it would still be a great value and a good choice for somebody who wants safety, reliability, quality and enough space for the family.