Toyota Camry 2001 test drive - 2004 sedan

Planetary scale

Toyota Camry: the most cosmolitical car of our time
There is one very specific, but rather accurate indicator of the popularity of a particular model of the car, we will call it conditionally by the bargaining coefficient. According to CCC Information Services Inc., the Toyota Camry model is not only the best -selling US car, but also the most stolen. In Russia, there are completely different priorities: judging by police statistics and reports of insurance companies, among new foreign cars the Audi A6 model is most popular with automobile thieves. Both of these cars were on the wheel test.
It is no coincidence that we drew attention to Toyota Camry. The soul of an average domestic motorist is torn between two American and European automobile cultures. We love fast and nimble cars, but we prefer that they be large and comfortable. We admire the cars of the catchy design, but still more often we get driving in strict and restrained forms. Is a compromise possible? How to combine these seemingly inconsistent qualities in one car? The answer to these questions was given by the three -day Toyota Camry 2001 model year.
For the test, I chose the most sold version of Camry now a car with a 2.4 -liter engine (power 152 hp) and a mechanical gearbox. There is also a variant of this model with a machine gun. Camry with a three -liter six is \u200b\u200boffered only with automatic transmission and in a richer equipment.
Actually, the choice of configurations is small. In order to reduce prices (about them at the end of the material), the Japanese offer for the Russian market only two basic packages of configuration and eight colors of the car.
I don’t know how, for example, the golden or white Camry would look, but the silver version of the car makes a very solid impression. The car looks extremely impressive. At first glance, the Toyota sedan of business class seems even more than the current generation of Mercedes S-class. Although in fact, the dimensions of Camry do not go to representative sizes.
Car Design Anthem Cosmopolitanism. (I can imagine how hard it is to bring his melody to the designers working on Toyota.) The Japanese company is originally set up for the export of its products (for the Toyota domestic market, it makes completely different cars) and leaders in sales on all continents. How to please the residents of the United States (main sales market) and Europeans in such a situation (in the Old World are now a very aggressive policy)? And you should not forget about the market for booming Asian countries.
Most likely, it is precisely because of the desire to distribute to all sisters by earrings the image of this car seems blurry. Separately, all the features look very bright. The design of the front resembles the stylish sedan Peugeot 607. The feed of the car in certain angles resembles a new S-class. However, at the same time, it does not work to determine the general corporate identity.
However, all this is nothing more than grumbling. Many of my colleagues claim that Toyota does not have a corporate style. Nevertheless, few will argue that the current model range of the company is absolutely recognizable and original.
Discussing the aesthetic advantages and disadvantages of the new Camry, do not forget that the car has a record -low -low aerodynamic resistance coefficient (CX) 0.28. Thanks to the streamlined body forms, aerodynamic noises are maximally reduced: in motion even at speeds for 120 km/h in the cabin, only rustling tires is heard. Due to the lack of other external stimuli, this sound sometimes even seems too annoying.
Another advantage of Camry design is that the car does not boast of its origin. It just looks expensive and solid. Moreover, this is noticeable not only in the appearance, but also in such indicative trifles as the sound of the closing door, the rustling of the engine (in the cabin, only the tachometer arrow resembles its work), the quality of plastic imitating the skin.
The inner world of Camry is also symbiosis of compromises. The front panel is made straight, without bends. The console is drowned deeper, which creates a feeling of additional space. All these details are quite in the spirit of American cars. At the same time, the materials of good quality, practically not inferior to the best German patterns. True, the inserts under the tree frankly irritate, and the black fabric upholstery of seats and doors seemed to me too much.
But the combination of devices is made in European stylish and concise. Toyota designers used a very original solution by placing the indicators of the fuel level and the temperature of the engine inside the speedometer and tachometer. Thanks to this, the main devices turned out to be large and perfectly readable, and they do not have to be distracted for the testimony of secondary devices, they are also always before their eyes.
Camry chairs are in European and look very sporty. And the gear lever also works as if in a rally car quickly, clearly. With a puffing sound.
For Camry in Russia, as we have already mentioned, only two standard equipment options are possible. True, their level is raised as high as possible. In a car with a 2.4 liter engine, unlike a three -liter version, there is no system of dynamic stabilization of VSC, the antiprop -based Traction Control system and a leather salon. Otherwise, it is packed in the highest category: ABC, electric package, heating seats and mirrors, computer, cruise control, climate control. The standard package includes an electronic distribution system of the EBD brake forces and an emergency BAS braking system. Add here six more airbags, including side curtains for front and rear passengers. An intra -sulfate mirror is electrochromatic, selfless. The headlights can operate automatically, turning on with a lack of light (for example, when entering the tunnel), and the wipers are equipped with a rain sensor.
The new Toyota Camry also demonstrates the versatility of its character. The magnificent engine works very plastic, allowing you to often not switch transmission in urban mode. At the fifth speed, he quite confidently disperses the car at a speed of 60 km/h. Such characteristics of the motor are tuned for leisurely riding. However, the engine is capable of shooting the car from the traffic light and give it additional acceleration at speeds per 100 km/h. In a word, a new generation of Toyota engines with a system for changing the phase of gas distribution VVT-I due to its versatility clearly overtakes competitors.
Camry suspension with a mechanical checkpoint is more suitable for lovers of active driving style. At high speeds, it perfectly swallows all the irregularities and asphalt potholes, so that the machine does not swing absolutely on the gentle waves of the road surface. Camry does not pay any attention to the quality of roads. So it shuts off to make a multi-kilometer march on it for example, in St. Petersburg. But in the city, in a calm mode of movement, the car seems a little harsh. According to my colleagues, those who prefer leisurely and comfortable movement in a metropolis should pay attention to the version with an automatic box, the suspension is noticeably softer.
Very reasonable prices are set for the new Camry: a car with a 2.4 liter engine, a mechanical gearbox and a velor salon is offered for $ 27,900, the same machine with an automaton costs $ 1200 more expensive. A top version with a rich list of standard equipment costs $ 36,900. It is interesting that the previous generation Camry in 1998 was sold for $ 46,000!
Sales of the new Camry began in November last year, and today we can already say that the car will be sold much more successful than its predecessor. In past years, this business class sedan, despite all its virtues, was badly sold out of hand. The terms, as I see, lies primarily in the aggressive policy of Toyota in Europe, and in particular in Russia. A giant car corporation set itself the goal of winning 10% of the European market and in order to achieve this goal will stop at anything. Including before the liberalization of prices.
Igor Komarov
 

Source: Wheel (company)