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By
EWAN KENNEDY
25 September 2006
Toyota Camry has been popular in Australia since its launch over
two decades ago. In its latest format, this family sedan continues to be
built in Toyota’s Altona factory in Melbourne. Unlike other recent
Camrys it has reverted to the original series in only being sold as a
four-cylinder model.
The new Camry has contemporary styling that ties in with the
latest Yaris and Corolla ranges, particularly at the front. There
are also hints of the new Lexus theme, especially in the
mildly-separated shape of the bootlid. It’s interesting to note
that this raised-boot style plays on the ideas developed by BMW
for its latest range. Except that ever-conservative Toyota has
opted for a much less challenging lid-line.
New Camry is slightly longer and wider than its predecessor
but, unusually in these days of taller cars, it has a 15mm
reduction in height. The wheelbase has been stretched, pushing the
wheels closer to the corners.
The longer wheelbase gives a more spacious cabin, with tall
adults being able to sit behind one another to make this a genuine
five seater. However, the back seat is shaped for the more likely
load of four adults.
Three children will find there's plenty of space. The one in
the centre-rear position gets the safety of a three-point belt,
but may find the rearward positioning of the front console
intrudes on their area.
Ride comfort is excellent and the large well-shaped front seats
provide good support for adults of just about any size or shape.
Suspension design sees minimisation of tyre noise, even on
coarse-chip surfaces that can challenge quite a lot of expensive
European cars.
The latest Camry's engine is an uprated version of the
2.4-litre unit used in the previous model. It has changes to
increase power from 112 kW to 117 kW, as well as reducing fuel
consumption and tailpipe emissions.
In its latest format, the Toyota Camry is even smoother and
quieter than its worthy predecessor. The engine is almost
inaudible at idle and when revved in a moderate manner. Only when
you start to pedal hard does it become mildly intrusive, and even
then the sound of the big 2.4-litre four is quite pleasing.
The all-new Toyota's body has noticeably reduced NVH levels and
has the sort of cruising comfort that almost demanded a large
limo-like car only a generation or so back.
Handling is very good for a large, family sedan. There's
generally a neutral feel through the steering wheel at normal
driving pace. Understeer starts to come in as you push the car
hard but it’s not really intrusive until you get the car really
hustling along. And by the time understeer becomes a nuisance most
drivers will be at a speed where they need it to scrub speed off
for safety.
The new Camry dashboard layout is clean and modern with
good-sized, well-positioned controls. We found the large centre
panels really irritating at night as they throw off a lot of
light, enough to cause us real distraction on dark country roads.
Our test car for the last week was the Camry Altise. The model
comes with the choice of five-speed manual or five-speed
automatic. The auto is far more likely to be chosen by most
buyers, but our car came with the manual as Toyota knows we are
driving enthusiasts.
The change action isn’t particularly good, certainly not
sporty, but if you do let the lever move at its own speed, rather
than trying to hurry it through the gate, it all works well
enough.
The 2.4-litre Toyota engine used about seven to nine litres per
hundred kilometres in normal country driving and on the motorway.
This increased to about nine to eleven litres per hundred
kilometres in suburban and city traffic. The automatic
transmission is an efficient one and we don’t anticipate cars
with the auto option to have fuel consumption more than about five
per cent up on that of the manual gearbox.
Toyota’s new six-cylinder Aurion, which is heavily based on
the Camry platform, will be introduced towards the end of this
year. It is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 producing 200 kW when
running on standard unleaded petrol and 204 kW on super unleaded.
Toyota has already confirmed Aurion will have a combined
city/highway fuel number of just 9.9 litres per hundred kilometres.
Meaning it’s not going to be a lot thirstier than the
four-cylinder Camry.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
Altise 2.4-litre four-door sedan - $28,000
Sportivo 2.4-litre four-door sedan - $33,000
Ateva 2.4-litre four-door sedan - $33,000
Grande 2.4-litre four-door sedan - $39,900
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: $1500 option in Altise and Sportivo,
standard in Ateva and Grande
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: $750 option in Altise, standard on all other
models
SPECIFICATIONS (Toyota Camry Altise 2.4-litre four-door
sedan)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 2.362 litres
Configuration: Four cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 9.6:1
Bore/Stroke: 88.5 x 96.0mm
Maximum Power: 117kW @ 5700rpm
Maximum Torque: 218Nm @ 4000rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Five-speed
Automatic Transmission: Four-speed
Final Drive Ratio: NA
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4815mm
Wheelbase: 2775mm
Width: 1820mm
Height: 1480mm
Turning Circle: 11.0 metres
Kerb Mass: 1415kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 70 litres
Towing Ability: 500kg (1200kg with braked trailer)
MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Front Suspension: Independent, MacPherson struts, coil springs,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Independent, dual lower transverse links, coil
springs, anti-roll bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: NA
Standing 400 Metres: NA
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 91RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 8.9 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/100,000km
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Marque Publishing Company
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