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Auto Profile: 2002 Toyota Camry XLE V6
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| 2002 Toyota Camry XLE: Best-Selling Style and Refinement |
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| Updated |
Mar 17, 2005 19:41:50 |
| Rating |
 449 ( -62 -13.8% ) | | Author | Phil Ruth |
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Description:
2002 Toyota Camry XLE: Best-Selling Style and Refinement
Despite heady competition from the likes of Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Honda and VW, the Toyota Camry has long ruled the mid-sized sedan roost. The reason is simple: Since its introduction in 1983, the Camry has proven itself to be an eminently practical and reliable car. Back then, the Camry was a boxy hatchback and sedan, and while subsequent generations became larger and more powerful, Toyota kept to the Camry's "no frills" look and feel. Until now. For 2002, the Camry has been completely redesigned on a brand-new platform. The newest Camry generation is sold solely as a four-door sedan, although the Camry Solara continues as a coupe and convertible. Toyota claims that the new Camry's design is both sportier and more personal than the sedans that came before. We evaluated a Camry XLE to find out if Toyota hit its mark. Toyota's finest wish for the new Camry is for it to retain and expand its status as the best-selling car in the U.S.. To that end, Toyota claims to have imbued the new model with a more personal fit -- this mass-market, top-selling car will actually feel like a car tailored to each individual buyer. The Camry lineup starts with the $18,970 LE, which comes with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder mated to a five-speed manual transmission. The LE is well-equipped with standard niceties such as tilt steering, power doors, cruise control and an outside temperature gauge. The two trims above the LE illustrate the more specialized feel Toyota is aiming for with this new Camry generation - the $20,310 SE is designed with a sporty flair, while the $22,295 XLE ladles on the luxury. Case in point: the SE adds fog lights, a rear spoiler and a "brushed chrome" interior trim. The XLE adds power adjustments for both front seats, automatic climate control and a glossy wood-grain trim. Choose the XLE, and the options list offers plenty of additional opportunities to personalize your Camry. Our test car came with the "Value Package #9," which at $4,360 seems to contradict its name. That's quite a bit of cash for an option package, but it does transform the Camry's interior look and feel. Supple leather seating and a JBL stereo system create a winning first impression. The most impressive feature of this option package was the DVD navigation system. It works much like the one found in the Acura 3.2TL, with voice prompts telling you when and where to turn and a point-of-interest feature that points out the restaurants, gas stations and other area landmarks. The rest of the interior is family-ready. The new Camry is taller, and the feel of extra space is impressive. The body sits up enough to allow for chair-height seating, and entry and exit through the door openings is easy on the knees. The front seats have plenty of elbow room, and the rear seat is wide enough for three-across seating. All seats are cushy, with relatively flat cushions and soft padding. Visibility is mostly good, although the rear roof pillars were a bit wide. Other than that, though, the Camry's interior is well-sorted and roomy. The same is true of the trunk. In terms of driving feel, it's clear the lessons learned at Toyota's Lexus division have continued to filter into the Camry. Smoothness is the XLE's forte: all the controls feel as if there's a soft buffer separating the driver from the road's harsh realities. The highway ride is whipped-creamy smooth with no untoward floatiness. Handling is a similar story; body lean is noticeable in turns, and as with most mid-sized sedans, the Camry simply runs wide if you hurl it into a bend - there's no abrupt tail-wagging to spill drinks in the console cupholder. It's not as if the Camry won't play: lift the accelerator as you enter a curve and the rear wheels tuck in to help maintain your line. All in all, there's little about the XLE Camry's smooth motoring that encourages you to drive with enthusiasm. Perhaps the SE, with its firmer suspension tuning, provides a more engaging driving experience. That's not to say that the XLE isn't an appealing car to drive. With a friend visiting here in San Francisco and two cars from which to choose - one the Camry and one a high-revving sport coupe - every time we hit the town, we took the Toyota. Whether it was gazing up at the Golden Gate Bridge through the Camry's huge moon-roof, buying a CD in the Haight and listening to it come alive on the magnificent JBL sound system, settling into the soft seats after a jaunt through Marin headlands or dressing to the nines and driving to dinner, the Camry always felt pleasurable and comfortable. Of course, such opulence isn't cheap. The sticker on our test car topped $31,000, an amount that leaves Camry Land and enters the luxury-car realm. Some options can be left behind - how is it that Toyota charges $179 for a trunk mat? - because the basic goodness of the Camry isn't tied up in separate features. Instead, it's the continuation of Toyota's best-selling concoction of comfort, roominess and refinement that makes this Camry another in the line of must-have choices for the mid-sized sedan buyer.
--By Phil Ruth
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