2009 Toyota Camry
Nothing sloppy about second in line
The current generation Camry first flaunted its redesigned exterior and new-gen powertrains back in 2006 (when it appeared as an ’07 model), and five trim choices moved the always-popular marque ever forward in Toyota’s brand evolution.
My tester the past week was a near-base model LE, employing the company’s four-cylinder gasoline powerplant and five-speed automatic transmission. (The Cam can also be had with a V6, or as a gas-electric hybrid; and you can still get it with a five-speed manual transmission in the SE trim, for we fans of the stick)
I have driven the full line of the latest Camrys (or Camri, whatever the correct plural is), so the exterior and interior held few surprises, but what did take me aback was the sticker price — less than I expected.
Go ahead and skip to the end of this story if you want to see the MSRP right away, but right now let’s tackle the bones of the car.
A 2.4-litre engine with variable valve timing powers the gasoline only four-cylinder iterations of the Camry line, offering a potential 158 horses if you push it to 6,000 rpm. It’s big for a four-banger, but a smooth powerplant throughout the full range of acceleration.
Like most fours, it won’t shock you with its 0-100 times, but the tester’s engine kept up with traffic and didn’t let me down with its passing power in either highway or city driving.
The transmission (a five-speed automatic with overdrive on my LE) performed with the reliable competence you would expect from Toyota, providing fluid shifts at the appropriate moments, though with the characteristic lag during hard acceleration that is always the tradeoff a buyer makes when choosing the combination of a four-cyl with auto box.
It’s not enough to be troubling, but I will say that if you want to get the most from the 2.4-litre, you may want to consider the manual tranny available in an SE trim. But for most consumers of Camrys, the automatic is the big seller.
Outwardly, the vehicle is a good looking, if still somewhat conservative, car. The grille and front end reflect Toyota’s move toward harmonizing the appearance of all their passenger sedans, and its styling cues are reminiscent of the rest of the company’s lines.
Camry is ToMoCo’s second-in-line, fitting in between the larger Avalon and the Corolla, and fills the need for a not-quite-luxury car that never looks cheap or compromised when parked alongside more expensive competitors.
The interior offers decent roominess in this class. Front headroom was very good in my tester (which didn’t have a factory moonroof, which usually compromises headroom for us tall types), and rear seats were also quite good even for full-size adults.
The rear seats fold down not-quite-flat, and allow a pass-through to the trunk. The trunk itself is adequately roomy for a midsize car, certainly accommodating groceries and luggage with a volume of 15 cu. ft.
All gauges in the tastefully lit display are easy to read, onboard controls are simple and intuitive to use. My tester also included a six-speaker sound system with auxiliary input jack — a must for today’s car buyer.
I found myself hatin’ on the cloth upholstery, but this seems to be just a personal thing unique to me. You may recall how I hated on a similar fabric in a recent Honda Odyssey — a sort of pseudo-suede eeling material (“psuede” let’s call it) that I just don’t care for.
In all fairness, though, it didn’t seem to bother anybody else that I showed the car to, and higher trims of Camry can be had with leather seating surfaces.
The ride, balanced on coil springs and MacPherson struts with stabilizer bars all around, is tuned for comfort and smoothness. It handily absorbs road roughness and deals with normal driving perfectly, and holds up well in turns, maintaining enough stiffness to keep the body of the vehicle from swaying.
As you may expect, the Camry’s rack and pinion steering isn’t the sport-tuned affair found in something like an Acura or a Civic Si, but the balance between responsiveness and light-touch feel kept the car very maneuverable and easy to handle.
A full array of safety features is a given in any Toyota, so I’ll not go into all of it here (if you want to see a more in-depth look at the full array of standards and a good tool for comparison of the full line of 2009 Camry models, I refer you to our Autonet website at http://www.autonet.ca/newcarsearch/).
Ultimately, the Camry LE tester showed itself to be a competent sedan for everyday use, with enough capability as an everyday family car that offers good curbside appeal at an attractive price point.
I was surprised, frankly, as I expected it come in quite a bit higher than it did: my LE tester with the “convenience package” option (which adds VSC, traction control and an eight-way adjustable power driver’s seat with very good lumbar support, and an electrochromic mirror with compass), came to an MSRP of $25,180 before freight and taxes.
The full line of ’09 Camrys runs between $23,400 and $35,020.
Summary:
Strong Points
Weak Points
- - a right size' upscale family car
- - a good level of standard equipping
- - array of available options and engine choice
- - laggy acceleration with 4-cylinder engine
Editors Rating:
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