I just bought the new XLE V6 after 13 years of driving Mercury Grand Marquis. Naturally, I was accustomed to the wonderful, soft, quiet ride of the Marquis and wondered how this Camry would stack up. When I went car shopping, my intention was to try a different type of car, find something with more reliability than most American cars, and still hold onto the luxury and smooth, quiet ride I'd been used to. Well, I found it.

I tried Acura TL (pretty nice), Mercury Montego (cheesy interior trim, plus 1st model year, which scared me), pre-owned Lexus ES300 (very nice), and two different Camry XLE V6. The Camry won hands-down. It's bigger inside than I thought it would be, very luxurious, and everything is placed within convenient reach. I can't believe how much this car has to offer for the price. I got the Stability Control and side curtain airbag option, as well as heated seats. I felt the navigation and satellite radio were expensive options I didn't need. It does have a 6-CD changer, plus cassette and radio. I don't know how useful the cassette player will be at this point, but maybe some people still use them.

As other people have said, be sure to check what tires come on your car from the factory. I did not want Bridgestones, I wanted Michelins, so I told the salesman that right away. My car was obtained from a dealership in Virginia (I live in Delaware) and it came in with Michelins. They can swap them out for you if necessary.

One point to be wary of: My dealership has a policy of taking the car back for a full refund within 72 hours and not more than 250 miles after delivery. Well, the next day after I bought it, we took a 45 mile drive to show it to my parents, and I was MORTIFIED by the ride. It literally rode like an old truck over bumps, thumping and shaking, mostly in the rear. I couldn't stand it. The two I test drove didn't do that. I called the sales manager the next day and told him I wanted to return the car. He said okay, but before I did that, he had had a few other calls from people about the same thing, and it seems the factory likes to overinflate the tires for some unknown reason. We checked the tire pressure and it should have been 29 psi. Well, each tire had 42 psi!! Once we let the air out, the car rode fine. I told the manager my feelings about that -- that they should be checking the pressure before letting a customer drive off, since they already know about that issue. So, check your tire pressure before you leave the dealership!!

The car rides smoothly and quietly and handles very well. Entry and exit is easier in the Camry than in my Grand Marquis. Funny thing, my car doesn't have a cigarette lighter or ashtray (I don't smoke anyway, but thought it was odd).

The exterior is good looking enough for me, and I'm hard to please. I got the Salsa Red Pearl and plan to put a beige cloth roadster top with Toyota emblems on the sides of the top, as well as custom paint stripe. My dealership has not seen any Camrys yet with tops on them, so they are excited to see it. I am trying to make it look different than all the millions of other Camrys out there.

I only have about 100 miles on the car so far, but right now I am very happy I decided on the Camry. I keep my cars a long time and hope to have this one at least 10 years, maybe more. I still have my Marquis, with 200K miles, and I would assume a Toyota can do at least that well. It does have a rattle in the rear that I believe is coming from the seat belt mechanisms at the top of the seats. The salesman has heard it and will have it fixed.

By the way, I didn't even try a Honda Accord because I heard lots of reports that they ride a little rougher than the Camry. Smooth ride is a biggie with me, so I went with the Camry.

I do wish Toyota (and other makers) would do what Ford does and put entry keypads on the driver's door. I've always had that feature and will sorely miss it. I'm scared to death I will lock myself out of this car.
Amount Paid (US$): 25,779
Condition: New
Model Year: 2005
Model and Options: XLE V6 - VSC/side airbags, heated seats, cloth top, paint stripe