Faults:

The first night we had it, a mud flap came loose on the interstate and one of the screws from it caused a minor leak in one of the rear tires. Both of these issues were resolved the next day by the dealer.

There is a slight hesitation that comes and goes when accelerating. This will be addressed at the first oil change.

Absolutely nothing else so far.

General Comments:

This car will spoil you rotten!! I recently drove it for about five hours WITHOUT stopping and did not get tired at all. This car rides about as heavenly as the previous-generation Avalon.

The performance is very respectable, the four cylinder moves about as eagerly as our Buick Regal that had a 3.8 V6. Fuel economy is about the same as that car so far at an average of 26 MPG. This VVT-i engine makes a very racy sound when you stomp the gas pedal to pass someone and it moves on around them with authority, not leaving you out in oncoming traffic.

This car has everything that our Regal had except for leather seats, which we do not really care about one way or the other. The only things that the Regal had that I sort of wish this car has are fog lights, sport body moldings, and sport suspension. That said, this stuff is available, we just did not want to pay the large premium for the Camry SE V6 on the lot that had all of that.

One gripe I have is the dash lighting. The center stack lights up in teal at night, the gauges are a whitish-blue, and the other controls are green. These are all pleasant colors, but the fact that they do not match is kind of weird, and the center teal stack is a little intense at night.

It's hard to imagine much more car for the money, especially given the trusty Toyota pedigree. If this car is as perfectly reliable as our Regal was, which it should be since it is a Toyota, then we are in for a real treat!

Faults:

- Transmission "problem"

General Comments:

My 3 gripes with the car:

- Transmission "problem"

Some of you may not call it a problem, but it is definitely an inconvenience. Basically, there is a lag when trying to accelerate the car. From the moment you push the pedal to when the motor actually responds takes around 1 second or slightly more. It may not be a serious issue, but the other day I had to keep up with another car and it was frustrating experience; the car felt unresponsive. But hey, who knows, as another reviewer said, maybe it was done on purpose.

- Interior of the car

My previous car was a *Japanese* Camry (I emphasize the word Japanese because the American and Japanese made Toyotas are different). The inside of the Japanese Camry, although austere, was finely and precisely put together. On the other hand, in the American model, the inside components do not fit that well and actually leave gaps in some places. Some components just look plain cheap (take the spring mechanism in the middle of the cup holder). I maybe nitpicking, but I have come to expect something close to perfection seeing that I am accustomed to the Japanese model.

- Finally, the rear seats are not that big. I'm 6 ft, but when sitting upright my knees touch the front seat.

Aside from these 3 things (being the 1st one by far the most important) I believe the Camry is an excellent buy. You get a roomy car that takes any type of gasoline (screw you Passat) for $19k (base model), and it's a Toyota. Also, I like the new styling.