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Sedans Toyota Camry 2009 Toyota Camry
914 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 3:45 PM
You are in the Toyota Camry Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Glad to see you're still around (I haven't been on the forums in awhile). Maybe you can comment on the following: I can say I am happy with my 2007 Camry XLE 4-cyl. It gets good mileage, and has been dependable so far. It is an adequate car. What would make it better in my opinion is as follows: 1. switchgear on the dash is flimsy in some cases, e.g. the dual temp control 2. dash assembly, and other parts of car, is imprecise; plastic parts don't fit together well, adjacent pieces don't line up in some cases 3. visibility out the back is bad, especially when backing up; a lip on the trunk lid would help see where the rear of the car is, or at least some marker in the design 4. no quiet glass available on the XLE (at least, not even on the V6) 5. Engine HP for 4-cyl is adequate, but should be higher; Honda Accord now has a 190HP Accord 4-cyl 6. No full size spare, or at least accomodation for a full size spare (let the customer decide whether or not they want to buy a 5-wheel and make the well big enough to hold) 7. VSC and TC not standard on all models (should be at least standard on the XLE models) 8. Pearl White Paint not offered on the Camry, but on Rav 4 all models (makes no sense to just offer flat white) 9. Seats are OK for most short trip use, but terrible for long trips. The best seats in the industry (in my opinion) are Volvo seats. Volkswagon, and even some Lexus seats are comfortable, and now, many Ford and GM cars have seats comfortable for long hauls. What would it take to make a comfortable seat? 10. No memory seats offered (at least on the XLE models). This might help with #9 above. 11. More adjustment positions for the power seats (Lexus has more positions/adjustments for the seat back and pan) 12. braking is adequate, but not great. This is also true of the Honda Accord. Specifically, stops from 60mph should be at least below 130 feet, and with the best, close to 120 feet or less; this should be true for both wet and dry braking. I know some of the reason has to do with tires and suspension. However, Mazda seems to do it, some Fords, and even the new Chevy Malibu stops in 124 feet. I think this is related to brake size. 13. Adjustable Pedals (brake and gas).... I can't believe it's as simple as it costs too much; there has to be some marketing impression that these features and improvements are not needed. Are any of these planned improvements for future models? I believe these simple improvements would raise the Camry from Appliance status to a Great Car status (yeah, I know, they sell a ton of them anyway, regardless of how they build them). Honda may not always hit the mark, but at least they (seem to) strive for greatness, whereas Toyota, at least with the Camry, seems to strive for average, middle of the road, no surprises (some might say boring).
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Replying to: joel16 (Jan 03, 2008 6:41 am) I agree the quality of the plastic pieces is not up to par. Mis aligned and ill fitting. I believe this is mainly due to the hard plastics being used. The panel display seems to me that is very ergonomic and user friendly. This is the first I've heard a complain about it. It's interesting you find the seats uncomfortable. We've owned three Camrys and to me this one has the best seat ever. Maybe because I'm short and I feel like I'm in a bucket seat from the 70's or 80's.  I have a herniated disc and when I drive my wife's 97 it acts up terribly. My 93 is just right but I do like the new seats. Memory seats would take it up to Avalon/Lexus ES territory. I think they want to keep a slight distance from those two. VSC/TRAC should be standard however, some customers don't take kindly to electronic nannies. Pearl white on Camry only is offered in special editions. Why? I have no idea. It would be nice if they offered it on all trim levels or maybe just the XLE. Brakes have always been "mushy" in all Camrys. It's just inherent and it works well so they leave it alone. We tried the adjustable pedals on the previous gen Camry but not many cars were built with that option and very few customers requested it. Oh the last thing about the spare tire. I was disappointed they went with the donut spare. That was always an advantage over the Accord, Camry having a full spare. They must have a new team of bean counters at Toyota. You must admit though, that the car has been substantially improved thru generations and the price has remained steady. Mack
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Replying to: mackabee (Jan 03, 2008 9:19 am) So, you may ask, why don't I buy a Honda or Chevy, or Volvo? I have owned 6 Accords in the past; as I got older, I didn't like the harsher ride. The Chevy hasn't proven itself yet, and GM dealers are a bit smarmy IMHO. Volvo is expensive to maintain, and requires premium fuel. I do think Toyota makes a good car that will last longer, and be more reliable, in the long run. I had 85K trouble free miles in the Avalon. Oh well, maybe some of these improvements/features will appear in future models.
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Replying to: joel16 (Jan 03, 2008 11:41 am) 
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Replying to: mackabee (Jan 03, 2008 8:37 pm) First through fourth place results for #2 above are in the order specified above, although Malibu and Accord were within inches of each other. As for the Toyota, it's transmission and overall performance are above the pack in SE guise. Consumer Reports tested the new Accord, Ford Taurus, Kia Amanti, Subaru Legacy and Dodge Avenger this month. The Avenger was completely trashed by CR (based on the tests, looks like a real stinker). However, the order of best sedans now for CR is Nissan Altima, Honda Accord, Kia Optima, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan. For LARGE Sedans, Toyota Avalon is on top. Accord fell from top for transmission and mpg. This says to me the next gen for the Camry will need to be something special.
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Replying to: joel16 (Jan 04, 2008 4:13 am)  Mackabee |
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Mack - Does your '09 Camry product book show any exterior, or interior color changes? Talked to my dealer today and they have very little in the way of information. Their first allocation comes through 1/14, with production starting in early February. I'm on the list, but I'm trying to decide on the color. Hope all is well. Thanks.
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Replying to: rmanke (Jan 04, 2008 3:00 pm) Mack |
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Toyota should get a marketing award for this ploy! It's quite obvious Toyota wants to get the quality blunders of 2007 Camry behind them, but doubtful that renumbering the year will make it any better other than to fool a few unsuspecting buyers into believing this 2 year old model is all new.
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You mention you get good mileage with your Camry. I have a 4 cyl 2007 Camry LE. The best I can get in town driving is 19.5 On a trip about 25 mpg. Could you let me know what you are getting. My dealership "promised" me I would get 24 - 28 around town and 35 on a trip. Totally not true!!
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