My previous vehicle was a 4WD Extended Cab '99 Ford Ranger. In April, 2007, with a second child on the way, the wife insisted I trade it in for a more fuel-efficient and family-friendly car. I loved that truck. It was simple, practical, got a lot of use, and I never had a problem with it. With the current fuel/energy crisis, and soaring gas prices that seem unlikely to EVER come down, and after much research, I decided that finding a reasonably-priced truck or SUV that got 30 - 40 mpg would be akin to finding the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus. So I started looking at sedans.

Since my wife had always owned Toyotas, and swore by them, after some serious searching and comparing, we decided to look at the Toyota Camry and the Toyota Corolla.

Initially, I was more set on getting a smaller car like a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic that got over 30 mpg. However, two features I absolutely insisted on (in addition to A/C and CD player, which seem to be standard these days) were Leather Seats (for ease of cleaning), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC). These options were either: not options, extremely hard to come by, or only available in "combination packages" with other stuff I didn't care about or need (like pimptastic tint, rims, 6-disc CD changers, subscription to XM radio, fog lamps, bing-bada-bling trim packages, moon roofs, designer floor mats, ash trays, mosquito net, glass etching, spoilers, chrome tail-pipe tips, headlight fluid, etc.), which only further jacked up the price of these economy cars.

At the dealership the salesman was able to locate a Corolla with Leather seats and ESC that was still enroute on a cargo ship. However my wife's jaw dropped when she saw the invoice price of over $21K. "There is absolutely NO WAY you are pimping out a compact car with features that bring it up over 20 grand when that car is not worth any more than $15K," she screamed at me. So after test driving the Camry, we decided that the newly redesigned 2007 Toyota Camry was the car to get.

My initial take on the Camry was that it drove nice (it does), and that it was a good-looking car. With the exception of the 4-Runners from the late 1990's, I have always felt Japanese cars were and are generally ugly - practical, but very ugly.

PROS: one year later, I still feel that it drives nice and looks nice. While it is no sports car, the car handles competently. Braking is a bit mushy. However, the Electronic Stability Control is FANTASTIC, and helps compensate for the mediocre braking. Car is very stable on slick roads with the ESC. Also, ESC improves handling considerably when faced with last-minute maneuvering. There have been several close calls where I have had to avoid drivers cutting over into my lane because they were busy chatting on their cell phone, too careless to check their mirror, or too lazy to look over their shoulder first.

CONS: one year later, there are a LOT of little things that I absolutely CANNOT STAND about this car. I am very particular, and a lot of these complaints may not bother most people, but I still feel they are annoying. In addition to the mushy braking and having the acceleration of a Yugo, off the top of my head, my gripes are as follows:

1) DASHBOARD LIGHTS - these lights are on ALL THE TIME, whether you want them on or not. This is particularly unsafe, especially around dusk if you forget that your headlights are not on, but the dashboard light is lit up. This is a dumb feature. There is no way to disable it - I already begged the dealer have it turned off unless my lights were on, and they could not do it.

2) VALET KEY - why is there a valet key when there is a trunk release on the floor? This feature is worthless. The only thing in the car that locks is the glove compartment. The center console does not even lock.

3) AUTO-UNLOCK WHEN CAR IS PUT IN PARK - when I am stuck at a red light behind a LONG line of cars, and I know I will be there for a few (usually 2-4) minutes while the four-way timers work their magic, I like to put my car in "PARK." You can call me lazy, I don't care. I hate keeping my foot on the brake. Likewise, when I pull up to a drive-up ATM to fumble with my wallet (or wiggle around to reach up three feet to press buttons on an ATM that was designed for a vehicle the size of a Humvee) or I am at a drive-through, stuck behind someone with an unusual order that is taking a long time, I like to put the car in "PARK."

ANY time you want to put the car in "PARK," but you are NOT planning on exiting the car, the car automatically unlocks itself.

NOT GOOD!

Especially if you are in an area that is known for carjackings, muggings, etc.! This auto-unlock feature when you put it in park needs to be disabled.

4) THE 4 CYLINDER IS INCREDIBLY SLUGGISH - stick w/the 6 – I wish I did- it only gets about 1-2 mpg less in fuel economy than the 4.

5) THE FUEL ECONOMY IS NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT - maybe 24 MPG - O.K., but nothing special in this world of compact cars that average 33-40 mpg, and hybrids that get over 50 mpg.

6) "RAT HAIR" CLOTH FLOORING AND CLOTH CEILING - purchased leather package for ease of cleaning, yet still stuck with "rat hair" cloth flooring and cloth ceiling - how about vinyl flooring/ceiling?

7) ORIGINAL TIRES - Bridgestone Turanza EL400. The tires are almost worn down to the warning bars, and likely will need to be replaced by summer of 2008. I purchased the car new at the end of April in 2007. In one year, have just under 15,000+ miles on car. I do not race it. I do not travel over dirt roads. I drive to work, to bring the kids to the doctor or the supermarket, etc.

8) AUTOMATIC SHIFTER SETUP POORLY DESIGNED - the automatic shifter is set up poorly. It is too easy to knock it from drive into neutral which is one up from drive, or worse yet reverse which is two up from drive. The former HAS happened. I hope the latter NEVER does!

9) POOR PAINT JOB, CHEAP PLASTIC GRILL - it looks nice from a distance, but it is cheap. Have fun getting the bugs and tar off. I am starting to get small chips in the hood.

10) TILT STEERING IS NOT REALLY TILT STEERING - What it really is, is telescopic steering and a severely limited up and down position.

11) THE POWER SEATING CONTROLS ARE SEVERELY LIMITED - I want back support at an 85 to 90 degree angle like a stock car driver, all the way up to my head. I do not want the seat back in a "LAAAIIIID-BAAAACK" 65-70 degree position so I look like a pimp. This seems to be about as far upright as it will go. My Ford Ranger with manual seat adjustment was MUCH easier. Also, looking over my left shoulder to merge or change lanes poses a hazard as all I see is the A-Line of the car/door frame and a little sliver of window. To actually be able to see my blind spot, I would need to physically remove the headrest, prior to driving. This poses another problem, and that is, in the event of an accident, I would probably snap my neck without it. But at least I could see my blind spot.

12) IF YOU DO NOT IMMEDIATELY FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT WHEN YOU PUT IT IN DRIVE AND TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BREAK, ANNOYING CHIMING GOES OFF FOR ALMOST AN ENTIRE MINUTE - I ALWAYS drive with my seatbelt fastened. However, the seatbelt often is not completely fastened until I am a at the end of the block. Reason: I am usually fumbling with the garage door opener and putting it back in the glove box and looking to make sure the garage door has actually closed. What happened to those two-second beeps a car used to emit when you turned the ignition as a courtesy? This is especially a pain-in- the-ahem, PITA, when the baby has just fallen asleep. Care must be taken to ALWAYS fasten your seatbelt IMMEDIATELY, or else you will suffer a maddening alarm that seems like it will never stop.

PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD WITH THIS CAR:
As of 04/13/2008, the front passenger door would not open -from the inside or outside. The automatic lock and unlock made no difference. As of 04/15/2008, the dealer has replaced the locking mechanism and it is repaired as it is under warranty. The dealership said that this is the first time they has ever encountered this problem with the Camry and said, upon inspection, the door's locking mechanism was defective. This is something I would have expected with a VW or GM product, but not with a Toyota.

My Verdict: This car is the FUN POLICE. I want to control my car. I do not want my car to control me. A lot of the above features are a result of poor engineering. The power seat control issues probably could have been eliminated if I chose the manual adjustor, but it was part of one of those "package deals" where I could not get Electronic Stability Control unless I got this feature. Shop around. Definitely check out Honda, or Hyundai. Beware, however, we looked at the Accords, but they were considerably higher-priced with identical features. For about $22,500 (before taxes) I bought the 2007 Toyota Camry LE 4-cylinder with leather, cruise control, A/C, CD/AM/FM/MP3, Electronic Stability Control. A similarly-equipped Accord would have been $26K - $27K. I cheaped out and wound up with mediocrity. You get what you pay for.
Amount Paid (US$): 22500
Condition: New
Model Year: 2007
Model and Options: LE