21st May 2007, 23:26

I love camrys, and I am thinking of buying an older used one, but I have to agree that the interior, although not bad IMO, can use some improvement given all the hype and compliments by everyone. LOTS of noises and rattles seem to become apaprent when they get older.

31st May 2007, 10:33

I'm the original reviewer and I felt I needed to respond to some of the comments that have been posted (though I notice some have actually been removed since I last checked). First of all, YES, I did notice the poor performance when I test drove the car. I was assured by the salesman that the performance would improve greatly after a few miles. I was even introduced to the service manager who told me the same thing. It never did improve, and has never been as fast as my 4-cylinder Accord, my friend's 4-cylinder Grand Am or the Chevrolet Cobalt rental car I used in Colorado. It is just plain slow. That is not a terrible thing, as I am not a street racer, but it actually is a little scary merging into fast traffic. It just has no acceleration.

As for fit and finish, it is not as good as my son's Buick LaCrosse. The panels are not all perfectly aligned, and the interior can only be described as shoddy. Parts have actually fallen off. I have also noticed that the panel fit on the Ford Fusion also seems to be better. One of our friends traded his 2002 Camry for one and has been very pleased with it and says it is much faster than his old Camry, which was also a V-6. I have driven my son's LaCrosse and everything about it is superior to the Camry, especially the quick acceleration and well built interior.

I'm not into the domestic versus foreign car debate, and my 1989 Accord was a total gem. However my last two Japanese cars have been a great disappointment to me. My son kids me about my Camry being a "Grandpa's car", because it is so sedate and slow, but thanks to him and his wife I soon will be a grandpa, so I guess that is sort of appropriate. I plan to keep the car for a while, as I would lose too much on it in trading it now (incidentally, it is a 2006, not a 2005 as the heading says. It was bought in late 2005 but is a 2006 model).

In reading through these reviews I see I have lots of company in being disappointed with the Camry. It seems to have the worst ratings of any car on this site. I can only assume that the people who are so fanatical in their defense of it have never actually driven one. Most of those comments appear to be lifted directly out of a Toyota sales brochure, so it would not surprise me to find that they are contributed by Toyota employees or teenagers playing on their computers. It seems that people who have actually owned one of these cars are not exactly impressed with them. I know I'm not.

1st Jul 2007, 16:05

I didn't make the above statement about trading the Toyota for a Buick, but all I can say is why wouldn't you. To say he should trade a Mid-size Buick for a tiny Corolla is non-sense. Toyota is very overrated and none of it's products offer any pride of ownership at all and their reliability is falling drastically. I am only 22 and own a 1999 Buick Park Avenue and plan to trade it soon for another one. I have had absolutely no mechanical problems at all with the car and I get around 25 mpg, not to mention the superior comfort over any Toyota product. It is true that Buicks are not cool cars designed for young people, but to say Toyotas are is a joke. Have you checked the buyer demographics on the Camry recently? I may be young, but I am not to stupid to tell a superior car when I see one. I say he definitely made the right choice and at least his LaCrosse isn't styled with all the enthusiasm as his refrigerator like the Camry and Corolla.

2nd Jul 2007, 00:53

A Corolla will suit their age bracket?! The only people I know that have Corollas are 55 year olds that can't afford anything better! Not that a Buick is really a young persons car, I would say a Fusion Cobalt or maybe a Focus? Despite whatever you may think tho that Buick will outlast the Corolla by years.

2nd Jul 2007, 13:25

To 15:29, since when are Corolla's rated at 90 miles per gallon Highway? I think you have not only exaggerated your mileage figures significantly, but Toyota's reputation as well.

2nd Jul 2007, 15:40

I agree that to trade a Buick for a Corolla is a bad idea. I'm 19 and own a 1995 Buick Park Avenue. I get about 22mpg in car and got 30mpg on a recent trip with the a/c running going 70-75mph. The Corolla is a lot smaller than a Buick, and looks more of a feminine car. Also I wouldn't want to get hit in one of those, you might not survive.