Rented A Camry !

C & A s Dad · May 3, 2009

I had a project in KY this weekend that required me to fly into Lexington. I had a car reserved with a rental co. and when I got there all they had was a Camry. I did my best to find something else with the company where I had my reservation but due to the KY Derby, there were no choices. Most everyone on this forum knows how I just love import cars. I did my best not to let anyone see me driving it. Since one of our choices of a company car is a Camry, I was terrifed someone would see me in it and think it was mine.

I put about 300 Miles on it and just dropped it off at the airport. A quick review.

Pros: Steering very crisp and tight

Power not bad for a 4 banger

Ride was good as well for a smaller car

Temp control panel easy to reach and use

Cons: Road Noise

Engine noise under acceleration

Seats comfortable for the first 30 miles or so and after that .... not so good

Interior plastic was not what I would consider quality

Although most of the interior fit was good, there were pieces in the dash that did not align well

Did I mention road noise?

I did not use it, but the rear seat room was terrible

I realize this is a much smaller car than my Taurus I use for work, but it was not nearly as comfortable or as quiet as the Taurus. Did I happen to mention the road noise? I was very surprised with this.

Overall not a bad car for it's size, but certainly nothing to write home about.

Schmids5.3l · May 3, 2009

The old lady has a Camry XLE, road noise is ridiculous.

TheTrueMoron · May 3, 2009

Seats comfortable for the first 30 miles or so and after that .... not so good

My parents both have Toyotas for reasons that are beyond me. On a road trip to AZ with my truck and my dad's Sequoia, my dad let me rest and he drove my truck for a while. He was pretty reluctant to give it up and after getting to the hotel, he admitted that he like the seats in my truck because they were more comfortable and didn't hurt his back. He kind of wishes that he had taken my advice and bought the Tahoe instead of that piece of crap he has now. He's bought countless different back posture things that he has attached to his seat because it sucks so much and he still can't find something that works. I guess Toyotas aren't designed for the typical American build and posture.

bigredmariner · May 3, 2009

Trey, you didn't get stopped for wearing the ski mask? Sorry to hear about your weekend.

mr_bots · May 3, 2009

The love of the current Camry is beyond me. I haven't spent a lot of time in one, but the quick impression I got wasn't good. Sounds like they have the seats designed to give the impression of comfort for a short test drive, foam is probably too soft.

C & A s Dad · May 4, 2009

Trey, you didn't get stopped for wearing the ski mask? Sorry to hear about your weekend.

Actually I just ducked when I met someone. I also parked it at the hotel when I got there and road with someone else back and forth to the project each day. The fewer the people who saw me in it the better I could keep my reputation in tact.

I got back to the airport last night about 9:00 and got back in my comfy and quiet Taurus. It felt sooooo good.

NFSGamerUSA · May 4, 2009

Well, I will say they make well-built, reliable appliances.

Zembonez · May 4, 2009

Road noise is the biggest complaint I have with Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Last time we bought as new car, we drove them all and actually liked the Nissan Altima 3.5 SE (great power and very responsive steering) but the road noise was horrible. Accord was a BIT better but not much and we never got out of the parking lot in a Camry because I just don't like the styling (way too vanilla).

The Scion actually has noticeably less road noise than any of the three most popular Japanese "family" cars... plus we like odd cars.

VMax2007 · May 4, 2009

Road noise is the biggest complaint I have with Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Last time we bought as new car, we drove them all and actually liked the Nissan Altima 3.5 SE (great power and very responsive steering) but the road noise was horrible. Accord was a BIT better but not much and we never got out of the parking lot in a Camry because I just don't like the styling (way too vanilla).

The Scion actually has noticeably less road noise than any of the three most popular Japanese "family" cars... plus we like odd cars.

Sure it does, you just can't hear it over all of the laughter.

svensk · May 4, 2009

Road noise is the biggest complaint I have with Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Last time we bought as new car, we drove them all and actually liked the Nissan Altima 3.5 SE (great power and very responsive steering) but the road noise was horrible. Accord was a BIT better but not much and we never got out of the parking lot in a Camry because I just don't like the styling (way too vanilla).

The Scion actually has noticeably less road noise than any of the three most popular Japanese "family" cars... plus we like odd cars.

Sure it does, you just can't hear it over all of the laughter.

k, I chuckled at that one.

Zembonez · May 4, 2009

Road noise is the biggest complaint I have with Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Last time we bought as new car, we drove them all and actually liked the Nissan Altima 3.5 SE (great power and very responsive steering) but the road noise was horrible. Accord was a BIT better but not much and we never got out of the parking lot in a Camry because I just don't like the styling (way too vanilla).

The Scion actually has noticeably less road noise than any of the three most popular Japanese "family" cars... plus we like odd cars.

Sure it does, you just can't hear it over all of the laughter.

NAH. People in Texas have enough class to keep it to themselves... plus most of us are armed.

nobrakes00 · May 5, 2009

IMO, Toyota's success has come from two things: 1) They adapted the idea of being able to both mass produce and not skimp on quality some 25 years before Detroit caught on. -and- 2) Even though Detroit caught on eventually and started pumping out higher quality vehicles, the marketing of Toyota's "world famous quality and reliability" had already been hammered into people's minds. Especially out here on the west coast, you'll see tons of foreign vehicles. Sure, you'll see a lot of American trucks and SUV's in Cali, but I'd say the ratio of foreign cars to American cars is 10:1.

I've had 3 Toyota's, and although I never worried about them breaking down, all of them had fit & finish issues. But then again, so have some of my American vehicles. In this day and age, I think most manufacturers realize that they have to pump out a decent product to survive, and some of those car/truck companies may very well produce a better product than Toyota, but again, Toyota has done a phenomenal job at marketing their quality and reliability and people believe it.

As for the Camry, my dad almost bought one until he finally ended up buying an Altima. I think his Nissan is put together much better than the Camry, but the 4-cyl cvt is a bit noisy.

Nick The Great · May 5, 2009

That kinda echo's every Tojo i've ever been in. Even my boss's 2008 Tundra has a louder cabin than my old 99 Silverado does now.

I'd think with a baseball cap no one would recognize you.

ALange · May 5, 2009

Toyota's are cripplers when it comes to comfort. My wife has a Prius that she bought strictly for around town economy. Our Chevy truck is used whenever there is any real driving to do.

grampadirt · May 7, 2009

I had an '84 Toyota 4X4 p/u years ago that I thought was built pretty good.It was the SR5 version which had a little more goodies than the reg. one.The bucket seats were very comfortable for my 6'2'' frame.I beat the sh*t outta it and always got me home(even after I rolled it a few times).Perhaps in this day & age the car builders are sacrificing some of the old qualities for a larger profit with cheaper fit & finish.