Car reviews: Toyota Camry

Toyota Camry

Honda Accord or Toyota Camry

When it comes to buying a midsize family sedan, people are faced with an equally interesting choice: Accord or Camry?

The Honda cars Accord and Toyota cars Camry (look at picture) more then other cars are aimed directly at the modern American suburban family. They paint broadly with attributes of comfort and reliability, hoping to appeal to as many people as possible. They are the "smart" and "sensible" choices. They are also, as an nfortunate side effect, rather bland. It's hard to feel spiffy in your 150,000-mile '91 Camry when your neighbors rumble by in rugged and stylish midsize SUVs.

It is this blandness that Toyota is hoping to avoid with its all-new 2002 Camry. The company wants the Camry to be "a mass-market car with a niche-market feel." Uh, no offense, Toyota, but the chances of the Camry's feeling like a niche market car are similar to a frozen Lean Cuisine meal tasting like dinner at Le Cirque. But the engineers' development targets - bolder styling, larger interior packaging, better performance, more accessories, reduced noise, more safety features and increased value - are all core improvements that make sense for a family sedan that had little wrong with it to begin with.

There are three trim levels available for 2002: the entry-level (but not stripped down) LE, the sporty SE and the luxurious XLE. We will tell about 2002 Toyota Camry SE V6. on? The fifth-generation Camry is better than before and maintains its status as one of the best family sedans sold. And yes, it is - dramatic pause here - less boring. Huzzahs all around!

The Camry strikes a new pose this year, one that is firmer and less timid. It is still inoffensive and non-distinctive, sort of an automotive version of a Family Circle comic. But the shape will likely look nice in a driveway for years to come. The SE's blackout grille, masked headlights, foglights and rear spoiler are subtle changes that help identify the trim level, as well as give the car a bit more personality. The SE V6 also gets 16-inch aluminum wheels with 215/60VR16 tires as standard equipment.

In profile, the Camry looks a little heavy due to its tall beltline and roof. It has grown upwards, not outwards. Compared to the previous car, the '02 Camry has a similar overall length and width but is 2.5 inches taller and has a significantly longer wheelbase. In many ways, the new car has grown enough to be compared to the Toyota Avalon, a car meant to compete with domestic full-size sedans. Though it is slightly shorter and narrower than the Avalon, the new Camry has a similar wheelbase, just 3 less cubic feet of EPA interior volume and a bigger trunk.

Interior room and design is critical for a family sedan, and the new Camry excels in this area. One of the few things we disliked about our long-term '97 Toyota Camry was the uncomfortable nature of the thinly padded front seats. The '02's seats are certainly improved. Our test car came with the optional power driver seat that adjusts for height, tilt and lumbar support. Some of our drivers thought the seat cushion should tilt upwards more, and others noted that the headrest doesn't articulate forward, but overall we proclaimed the seat rather comfortable. If you want a power-operated passenger seat, the only way you'll get it is by ordering a Camry XLE.

The cabin has an open and airy feel to it and the instrument panel is clean and functional. Toyota has cleverly placed the smaller coolant temperature gauge and fuel gauge in the rarely utilized display areas of the tachometer and speedometer, thereby freeing up space and allowing the tach and speedo to be bigger. To the right of the gauges is the audio and climate control grouping. The three climate control knobs, in particular, have a pleasant tactile feel and are so simple to operate that even Inspector Clouseau couldn't muck it up.

Toyota uses soft-touch plastic in the places where occupants are likely to place their hands and arms, such as the tops of the doors and the dash. Above-average hard plastics are used elsewhere, and the switchgear has a typically solid feel. Camry SE models come with a unique sport cloth fabric, a leather-wrapped shift lever, a thick-rimmed three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel and metallic finishes on the instrument panel and the door trim.

And since this is a family conveyance, it's nice to have places to put your cell phone, Starbucks coffee mug and your 3-year-old son's collection of Hot Wheels. The Camry answers with ample storage, including a big center bin and glove box, decent-sized pockets on each door, a pullout drawer to the driver's left, an overhead sunglasses holder and a useful cubby ahead of the transmission shifter. Front passengers are given two fixed cupholders. The holders have rubber tabs to help secure smaller cups, but they are unlined (making spill cleanup harder) and don't expand to hold 1-liter bottles.

The '02 Camry's longer wheelbase pays the most dividends to rear-seat passengers. Rear legroom is up by 1.5 inches for a total of 37.8 inches, bringing the Camry in line with the Accord and bettering the '02 Altima and the VW Passat. Toe room underneath the front seats is a little tight, but otherwise the back seat is quite comfortable thanks to a fold-down armrest, three headrests and good thigh support. The trunk is impressive, as well. It can hold 16.7 cubic feet of stuff and a full-size spare is located underneath. Although the loading of luggage can be a bit hampered by a high liftover, the trunk's gooseneck hinges are enclosed so that fragile items won't get squashed when the trunk lid is closed. If you need more space, the rear has 60/40 fold-down seats.

In terms of features, the Camry comes with the necessities of family sedan life along with some surprisingly gilded options. All models come standard with air conditioning with air filtration, power windows with driver-side auto down, power mirrors and locks, and cruise control. If you order an XLE, you are anointed with power front seats, heated outside mirrors, a driver-side auto up and down window, automatic climate control with rear seat vents, an engine immobilizer and alarm system, a HomeLink programmable transmitter, an auto-dimming mirror with compass and illuminated vanity mirrors. The XLE also comes with keyless entry and a rear sunshade, two items that can be ordered on the LE and SE.

Other highlights from the options list (depending on trim) include an in-dash six-disc CD changer, a power moonroof, leather-trimmed seats, front seat heaters and a GPS navigation system. We haven't sampled the touch-screen DVD-based nav system yet, but Toyota says the system's scrolling and route-picking speeds are faster than all of its competitors' in the U.S. market.

Safety equipment is comprehensive. Antilock brakes are standard on V6-powered cars, and available on all Camry models for 2002 are front and rear passenger side-curtain airbags. Coupled with the front seat-mounted side airbags, the side-curtain airbags are designed to help protect the head of front- and rear-seat occupants and the torso of front-seat occupants in side impacts. The driver's front airbag can inflate at three different speeds depending on impact severity and occupant size, and the front passenger's front airbag has two stages.

Additional safety comes from ALR/ELR passenger seatbelts, a deformable footrest and an anti-intrusion brake pedal that help minimize lower limb injury for the driver, power-adjustable pedals (late availability) and upper and lower child seat anchors. Finally, Toyota's stability control system (Vehicle Skid Control) along with traction control and brake assist, is available on V6-powered models. All of this, along with a body structure that Toyota says has been enhanced to absorb impacts better, should allow the Camry to earn excellent scores in government crash testing.

The Camry, while not quite like a spunky Celica, is pleasant enough to drive. There are two engines offered: a new 157-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder or a 192-hp V6. The V6 is a carryover from the previous car, but it has been tweaked to reduce emissions and earn ULEV status. Unlike the previous car, a manual transmission is no longer available with the V6; an all-new four-speed automatic is standard.

Around town and on the freeway, the V6 is smooth and quiet. So is the transmission, which provides prompt shifts. Wind noise and road noise barely register. For basic usage, the Camry acts so proper in what it does that it seems like a butler working unobtrusively in the background, making sure your life is as easy as possible.

Toyota Camry V6 manages to brew up adequate acceleration for this class of car. Zero-to-60 mph takes 7.9 seconds and the quarter mile passes by at 16.1 seconds at 85.9 mph. From an enthusiast standpoint, these numbers are disappointing. A 2002 Nissan Altima 3.5SE comes with 240 hp and can be had with a five-speed manual. So armed, the Altima blazes a 6.3-second 0-to-60-mph time and a quarter-mile performance of 14.9 seconds at 96.5 mph.

The Altima is also sportier when it comes to handling, but the Camry SE isn't left too far behind. This is certainly the best-handling Camry to date. The suspension is a simple setup of MacPherson struts up front and Chapman struts in the rear, but the SE gets sport-tuned springs, shocks and a strut tower brace to improve handling. So equipped, the car has a taut feel to it when asked to corner aggressively. Once the driver becomes acclimated to the car's limits, it's even tossable. Weight transitions from side to side progressively and predictably, and with a little trail-braking upon corner entry, it's possible to rotate the tail a bit just before the car digs in and takes a set. Body roll is evident, but not excessive. Squat and dive are also nicely controlled.

As does price. Since the strippo CE is gone, the lowest price point for a Camry is about $20,000. It's roomy, it's comfortable, it's safe and it's the most, umm, less-bland Camry to come down the chute in a long time.