August 25, 2005 - For years, the Camry has been known to be one of the all-around best passenger cars. Period. At IGN, not only do we know it to be a great car in general, but it's actually totally extreme. Totally extremely average, that is. It's a big car, but not not an outright hulk of a machine as is, say, the Avalon. The V6 models have decent power, but not devastating power. Our own SE model is cool, but we don't see Henry Winkler driving one. The cabin is relatively luxurious, but it's not overflowing with fabulously gratuitious amenities. It is, however, reasonably priced. So do you want one? Well, if you want a roomy sedan, you'd better consider it.
As stated, the "SE" incarnation of the Camry isn't quite at the bottom of the grand totem pole of coolness. Blacked-out bezels all around, a hefty rear spoiler, and 17-inch aluminum 5-spokes help the car whittle its way up to being, well, youngish-er... and just because we know we'll forget to bring it up later, we'll take a moment to add that those spiffy rims are wrapped in 215/55 Summer tires. We feel comfortable including this fact in the aesthetics section, rather than in our later jargon pertaining to the SE's performance. This is because, though the contact patch of around 215 millimeters felt fine on the road, it does look a bit rinky-dink for a car this size. But who cares about looking cool? Oh yeah, you do!
The headlight bezels, by the way, encase some good ol' halogens with an auto on/off feature. While the blacked-out bezels are only quazi-cool, the integrated fog lamps bring things even closer to being Fonz-worthy. We're not quite there, though, without the heated outside mirrors only available on the XLE model Camry. Oh gosh, what else? Oh yeah, how many times have we typed "power tilt/slide moon roof with sliding sunshade"? Okay, that was the last time. We'll never do it again. Honest.
One thing we can't figure out is why contemporary cars are still outfitted with chrome. The other Camrys should take notes from our SE model, which utilized a blacked-out grill, with just an itsy-bitsy teeny-weenie bit of chrome trim left. Way to go, Toyota. Now we feel our own age, rather than twice that amount. Following suit, the badges all around have been given the blackout treatment. Good idea. However, subtle is cool (in case you didn't know, it is...), and we feel the blacking out of the badges on our silver test car only increased their prominence in the overall design. On a black car, though, it would be sweet-looking.
Let's stop being so superficial and search our innermost feelings, as well as soul of the Camry. Nah, let's just open the door and see how cool or uncool the inside is.
Soft leather. Everywhere. It's pretty nice. Actually, everything was pretty nice inside the SE. Toyota knows craftsmanship, so it was no big surprise. But as pleasing as the interior was, there just wasn't much to it. In terms of luxury items, that is. No heated seats, no navigation system, etc. It did have a tilt-wheel, an extra lever for the cruise-conrol bits, and keyless entry plus illuminated entry. Gotta hand it to the stereo, also. It combined a six-disc changer and a cassette deck. Our Whitesnake tapes aren't useless after all!
We could just relish in the JBL-powered stereo blasting Still of the Night via audio cassette technology through the 8 speakers found throughout the cabin. Okay, we didn't really break out the Coverdale & Crew, but we should have. We stuck with a few CDs. The system is also XM Satellite capable, but you still have to buy all the related goodies. Overall, the interior was pretty plush, but as stated, a bit shy on extras. The aforementioned Camry, XLE, however, should be plenty for the pickiest consumers who want luxury. Well, okay, maybe the pickiest of those who would go Toyota-shopping.
The headlight bezels, by the way, encase some good ol' halogens with an auto on/off feature. While the blacked-out bezels are only quazi-cool, the integrated fog lamps bring things even closer to being Fonz-worthy. We're not quite there, though, without the heated outside mirrors only available on the XLE model Camry. Oh gosh, what else? Oh yeah, how many times have we typed "power tilt/slide moon roof with sliding sunshade"? Okay, that was the last time. We'll never do it again. Honest.
One thing we can't figure out is why contemporary cars are still outfitted with chrome. The other Camrys should take notes from our SE model, which utilized a blacked-out grill, with just an itsy-bitsy teeny-weenie bit of chrome trim left. Way to go, Toyota. Now we feel our own age, rather than twice that amount. Following suit, the badges all around have been given the blackout treatment. Good idea. However, subtle is cool (in case you didn't know, it is...), and we feel the blacking out of the badges on our silver test car only increased their prominence in the overall design. On a black car, though, it would be sweet-looking.
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Let's stop being so superficial and search our innermost feelings, as well as soul of the Camry. Nah, let's just open the door and see how cool or uncool the inside is.
Soft leather. Everywhere. It's pretty nice. Actually, everything was pretty nice inside the SE. Toyota knows craftsmanship, so it was no big surprise. But as pleasing as the interior was, there just wasn't much to it. In terms of luxury items, that is. No heated seats, no navigation system, etc. It did have a tilt-wheel, an extra lever for the cruise-conrol bits, and keyless entry plus illuminated entry. Gotta hand it to the stereo, also. It combined a six-disc changer and a cassette deck. Our Whitesnake tapes aren't useless after all!
We could just relish in the JBL-powered stereo blasting Still of the Night via audio cassette technology through the 8 speakers found throughout the cabin. Okay, we didn't really break out the Coverdale & Crew, but we should have. We stuck with a few CDs. The system is also XM Satellite capable, but you still have to buy all the related goodies. Overall, the interior was pretty plush, but as stated, a bit shy on extras. The aforementioned Camry, XLE, however, should be plenty for the pickiest consumers who want luxury. Well, okay, maybe the pickiest of those who would go Toyota-shopping.
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