2007 Toyota Camry Review

PROS
Passenger and cargo room, Comfortable ride, Good fuel economy, Refinement

CONS Sloppy handling, Haphazard fit-and-finish 

Vanilla is the most popular flavor for a reason
Toyota's Camry is the bestselling car in America. For 2007, it is completely redesigned. The new Camry sports freshened styling, additional power, and a hybrid model. When compared to the previous generation, wheelbase grows by 2 inches, but overall length is unchanged. Camry comes only as a 4-door sedan and competes with the cars like the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, and Nissan Maxima in the extremely competitive midsize-car marketplace.

Camry comes only with front-wheel drive in one of five trim levels: CE, LE, SE, XLE, and Hybrid. All come standard with a 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine. In all but the Hybrid model, that engine teams with either a 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic transmission. Available on LE, SE, and XLE is a new 3.5-liter V6. It comes only with a 6-speed automatic. The V6 makes 268 horsepower, 58 more than the previous V6.

Standard safety features include antilock brakes, front side airbags, curtain side airbags, and a driver's knee airbag. Traction and stability control are standard on the Camry Hybrid and optional on others.

A split-folding rear seat is standard on all models except for the SE, which gets a rear-seat pass through. Also standard on all models are a tilt/telescope steering wheel with radio controls and cruise control. New options include a keyless starting system and Bluetooth link for cell phones.

Get up and Go
Acceleration with the 4-cylinder engine and automatic transmission is adequate. Toyota doesn't quote a 0 to 60 mph time, but it's likely around 10 seconds. That matches up well against competitor's 4-cylinder models.

The engine has decent punch off the line, but feels labored when going up mild hills and in highway passing situations. Being a large-displacement 4-cylinder, there's a fair amount of idle vibration and coarseness in hard acceleration. However, when cruising and in part-throttle acceleration, it's smooth enough.

The 4-cylinder/automatic combination has EPA ratings of 24 mpg city and 33 mpg highway. Those numbers compare favorably with other 4-cylinder-powered midsize sedans. Toyota recommends less-expensive regular-grade fuel for all Camry engines.

On the Road
Camry has long been one of the smoothest-riding midsize sedans, and the '07 model is no different. The softly-sprung suspension on the Cmary LE does a good job of absorbing most pavement imperfections--both large and small. It's also quite good at filtering out repetitive resonances like concrete-slab highways. However, there's still a fair amount of float, which, on bumpy roads, grows disconcerting. SE and models with the available 17-inch wheels are likely to have slightly better ride control, but also a bit more road feel.

With its comfort-tuned suspension, Camry can't match the cornering ability of more athletic-feeling sedans like the Honda Accord and Nissan Altima. The Camry LE has a fair amount of body lean in fast turns and the soft tires don't have a lot of cornering grip. Still the '07 model feels more confident on the road than the previous generation and remains poised in all but aggressive driving--perfect for the daily commute.

Interior noise levels are low. Wind noise at highway speeds is minimal. Tire noise is pleasantly absent on coarse surfaces. As noted before, the 4-cylinder engine growls a bit in hard acceleration, but quiets down in cruising.

Behind the Wheel Modern dashboard features clear, well-lit gauges and large, prominently placed ancillary controls. The radio and climate-control system are strikingly lit at night, and, on the LE, feature large easy to operate buttons and knobs. The optional navigation system features a large screen and integrates some audio functions. It's also easy to use compared to most competitors' systems.

Materials are on par with other vehicles in the class. Construction is solid, but fit-and-finish could be better--especially on some of the dashboard trim pieces.

Front bucket seats are somewhat soft, but overall comfortable. There's excellent head and leg room. Standard tilt/telescope steering wheel is a nice touch, but power-adjustable pedals are no longer available. Visibility is good to all directions. Wide door openings make getting in and out a snap.

Rear bench seat offers good leg and foot room. Head room is adequate for most adults, but those over 6-feet tall may have to crane their neck to the side. Floor in rear seat isn't totally flat, but the driveline hump isn't as intrusive as in some competitors, making three-abreast seating more comfortable.

Trunk offers 15.0 cubic-feet of storage area. That's on par with the competition. Trunk opening is large, but inexpensive "J"-shaped trunk hinges eat into cargo area. Split-folding rear seats expand cargo space. The center console features lots of covered and uncovered storage bins and the glovebox is large. Door map pockets are just average.

Bottom Line  Camry's biggest problem remains its vanilla disposition. It does everything well, but nothing spectacular. It's refined, comfortable, roomy, fuel efficient, and reliable. It just isn't all that exciting.

For many people that isn't a problem. In fact, it can be argued by Camry's perennial bestseller status that not forcing people to accept shortcomings is a Camry strong point. It's not the outstanding overall value it once was and the competition has clearly closed the quality and reliability gap. Still, it's hard to question Camry's outstanding resale value, fair pricing, and a jack-of-all-trades nature.