Toyota Camry 1997 test drive - 2001 sedan

Tell me, who is your friend ...

Having reinvented the well -known saying, you can say: tell me what your car is, and I will say who you are. And vice versa ... The owner of Toyota Camry, for example, is seen as a calm, self -confident person who does not need too much attention of others. His clothes are conservative, life is streamlined. He is in no hurry and is never late. He knows his job thoroughly and does it without unnecessary noise - reliably and professionally. And, of course, he expects about the same from his car. No diet is required here, the main thing is to delight and comfortably deliver your master where necessary. Day after day, month after month, year after year ...

 

The expression is an American large three, which is habitually meaning Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, has been used in another sense for some time - Ford Taurus, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. These three models have long competed for the title of the best -selling car in the United States. Last year, Toyota Camry came out in the first place ...

 

Why did we talk about the American market? Firstly, because it is the largest in the world (last year 385.814 Camry copies were sold there) and largely determines the technical policy of manufacturers and the appearance of cars they produce. Secondly, the Camry model is assembled at the factory in Kentukki, and the Americans themselves already consider it American.

 

Camry acts as the main striking force of the Japanese company in the middle class sector in the USA. Modifications help her - slightly elongated Toyota Avalon and luxury Lexus ES300. The compartment has just appeared - Camry Solara.

 

Of course, Camry is collected not only in the USA. The model is so popular that it is also produced in Malaysia, Australia, South Africa ... Well, of course, in Japan. The Toyota Camry 3.0 V6 tested to us for the GX configuration was native - Japanese - assembly.

 

The appearance of the model from the point of view of modern automotive fashion is fully consistent with what a middle -class family sedan should be. Or - a car of a business person. This is especially noticeable when comparing with the previous version made in a pseudo -diagonical style - with an abundance of curved surfaces and smooth lines. On the back of the new Camry, there is no trace of this riot of forms - everything is made concise, simply and, as they say, with taste.

 

Narrow, elongated rear lights resemble the lighting technology of some European models. Powerful and solidly looks a front.

 

The interior of the car is in perfect harmony with its appearance. When the door slammed behind you with a soft click, there is a feeling of absolute security from the outside world. Complete silence. True, the motor does not work yet and the radio is silent, but - everything has its time ...

 

The salon is made with particular care - the quality of the parts and their fitting is beyond praise. The plastic of the finish looks solid, the leather upholstery of the seats is perfectly selected in the tone of the dashboard and the side panels.

 

The form of driver's seat is ordinary for a middle -class car. The electric drives move the chair in horizontal and vertical directions, and also bend the back, and they work with the ignition turned off. On the left on the back there is a handle of adjusting the lumbar support. There is also an electric heating of the seats. The range of adjustments is quite sufficient, and even a steering column - with a variable angle of inclination. The mutual location of all controls is without comments. A comfortable steering wheel with skin-sheathed skin lies perfectly in the hands and provides good feedback in the car driver. A pillow is hidden in the hub.

 

The combination of standard devices is covered by a visor characteristic of Toyota cars, at the right base of which the clocks are located. The steering wheel switches are made in a traditional Japanese manner - they are concentrated by the management of almost all electrical devices and mechanisms, including external lighting and wipers.

 

On the central console there are proprietary music of Toyota with a removable panel and the controls of the climatic installation. Everything is strict and rectangular. On the upholstery of the tunnel, the handle of the gearbox, which resembles the head of the rising cobra, lined with leather, rises. Further, the upholstery goes uphill, forming a support for the central armrest and a place for two cup holders. Here is the handle of the parking brake.

 

The car interior is quite spacious for four tall people. The third passenger will also fit in the back seat, but he is unlikely to like the tough average section of the seat. A niche of a sliding hatch, slightly protruding from the ceiling, can slightly interfere with the rear passengers, but for them there is a corner of the sky above the head - at the upper edge of the rear window. The trunk with low loading height has a good capacity for a car, and separately folding backs of the rear seats allow you to transport long -sized cargoes.

 

Under the hood, the V-shaped six-cylinder 2995 cm cubic meter is transversely placed under the hood. (190 hp, 276 nm). The box is automatic. (In the range there is a 2.2 liter of a four -cylinder motor, and a mechanical five -speed box.) The drive is on the front wheels. Noticeable upper supports of the racks indicate that the front suspension is Macpherson. The rear refers to the long -used Toyota vehicles and a well -proven design with a spring stand, two transverse and one longitudinal rods.

 

Turning the key in the ignition lock ... Control lamps come to life and extinguished, only the luminous inscription Overdrive on/OFF and the parking brake indicator remain, and the Latin letter R. The silence is full - does the engine work on the transmission mode indicator - does the engine work? A quiet rustle from under the hood (air conditioning or fan?) Forced to look again at the dashboard - the tachometer arrow glued to 800 r. It turns out it works! And I was already ready to run the engine again. Toyota has always been famous for the slowness of her power units, but this time she surpassed herself.

 

The handbrake is down, the selector is to position D, and the car gently moved without pressing the gas. The pedal unit is made successfully - the gas is exactly under the foot that fell to the central console; The brake is strictly in the center. Left leg - rests on his own area.

 

Soft and sensitive accelerator allows you to accurately dose traction. The steering wheel is very light, it will help with maneuvers in the parking lot. With a speed set, the feedback increases, but not as much as we would like. Although the Americans are probably satisfied ...

 

We got out on the highway, you can add gas. The car is confident - in the automatic framework - gains speed and switches the gears, but at first it does it somehow strange. It seems that the transmission is controlled by an inept driver - the moments of turning on and turning off the clutch and switching of gears are well tangible, and everything is done somehow out of place. I would switch differently ...

 

However, this did not last long, the confusion suddenly stopped, and there was a feeling that there was no steps in the transmission at all, so smoothly and smoothly passed from one to another. All clear! The automatic machine on Camry is self -learning, with adaptation to the manner of riding a particular driver. At the beginning of the movement, the transmission got used to the driver who instinctively tried to go evenly. This was just required. The box settled down, and then everything went like clockwork. The effect of mental management has appeared - habits developed by years suggest that right now it is necessary to switch the program, and it obediently switches ...

 

We will try to accelerate sharply. The pedal to the floor, the box goes down, and Camry quickly gains speed. Upon termination of acceleration in the work of the transmission, everything remains as before. No malfunction, programs switch equally imperceptibly. For a city ride, this is what you need. The intensity of movement may vary - with a constant style.

 

Changing the style was easy enough. We got out to the Moscow Ring Road - to where we were wider - and drove sharply, with a quick set of engine speed. The training period was followed in the work of the transmission, and then everything calmed down, and we already had a car, ready for high -speed driving on autarts - with a frequent change in the lanes. By the way, it turned out here that at high speed more than we would like, there was noise of the wind - the external aerodynamic of the body was deceiving. Nothing perfect ...

 

Changing the stripes is a pleasure, Camry is excellently obeying the steering wheel and perfectly holds the way in corners and sharp restructures. It seems that the car can simply indicate where to go - she will do the rest herself. In the city stream, it only needs to be directed into the vacant space and press gas, it diverses there, as it were, on her own. And you can not be afraid that the box suddenly decides to change the program at the most inopportune moment: at the exit from the turn, you are confidently accelerated - in accordance with the driving technique on front -wheel drive cars. In addition, Camry slows down the engine on the descents, and this is not characteristic of all automatic machines.

 

The work of the suspension in terms of smoothness and comfort deserves the highest rating. For a long time I did not have to deal with a car that is equally well suited for quick maneuverable driving along good roads, and is not afraid of coating defects that we are so used to. Of course, Camry cannot be considered as a panacea from road diseases, but as an analgesic it is quite suitable. Small bumps are literally swallowed, you guess about their existence only by changing the noise of the wheels, which can go over the investigation of the move from one type of coating to another. When overcoming more serious obstacles to the body, deaf shocks softened by the suspension are transmitted - without tangible consequences for the car inside. Brains in corners - in quite acceptable limits. The characteristics of shock absorbers do not allow, when moving through gentle irregularities, to develop prolonged longitudinal swing. And powerful brakes do a great job of their work, and it seems that ABS is simply not needed here ...

 

So, Toyota Camry 3.0 V6. A good car - you can’t say anything. That is how the modern car of the middle class should be - comfortable, fast and solid. The Camry body may seem fresh, boring to someone. Well, okay. The goalkeeper Tretyak was also bored. Remember? He did not work for the public, but calmly and professionally did his job - reliability and vulgarity itself.

 

Sergey Ivanov
 
 

 

A source: Motor magazine [No. 9/1998]