REVIEW
Gavin Foster
Toyota Camry, R175 651 to R270 320
The new Australian-built Toyota Camry is here, and it offers pretty well what its predecessor did spacious, safe, reliable motoring in a conservative package. Toyota says that the car is aimed at existing and previous Camry owners, and will be marketed as a family car rather than a “look at me” image statement.
With underpinnings designed in Toyota City in Japan, and a body styled at the Toyota Technical Centre in California, the Camry is the best selling car in the United States 400 000 are sold in that country yearly, nearly double South Africa’s entire car production. The plant in Australia that produces the current model has churned out more than 650 000 of the cars already. As a comparison, South African production of previous generation Camrys in nearly two decades was less than 10% of that, so the decision to import rather than build locally makes sense.
Apart from being bigger than the earlier model, the new Camry is also quieter and safer, thanks to improved aerodynamics, soundproofing and side-impact absorbing structural members. Disc brakes on all four wheels and dual airbags are standard across the range, as are aircon, electric front windows and external mirrors, height- and reach-adjustable steering wheels, an RDS radio/tape with electric antenna, a high-mounted stop-light and a transponder-key immobiliser system. The base model 220 GL is available in auto or manual, while the somewhat more posh 220 GX and 300 GLX versions come with a four-speed auto transmission only. ABS is standard on the GX and GLX.
Both engines offered in the new imported Camry are already well known in this country, having powered the locally built earlier versions of the car since late ll;lll1997. The top-of-the-range 300 GLX uses the familiar 1MZ-FE all-aluminium 24-valve DOHC 2996cc V6 which produces 141kW and 279Nm, while the four-cylinder models rely upon the well-proven 2,2 litre 5S-FE engine with its 94kW and 187Nm.
We drove the new Camrys for about 500km spread over two days and the car impressed with its build quality. We were pleasantly surprised by the performance of the four-cylinder version with such a large body and just 94kW we expected it to be underpowered. The cars proved comfortable, more than quick enough for most people, and felt safe and stable whatever the conditions.
The new Toyota Camry is cheaper than the car it replaces but it’s still not cheap. Priced at between R175651 for the 220 GL manual and R270230 for the 300 GLX automatic it’s up against some pretty formidable opposition offering more technology and glamour names like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo spring to mind. Still, with the Camry’s reputation for economy and reliability and Toyota’s huge dealer network we can expect to see a fair number on our roads in future.