Test Drive: 2006 Toyota Camry

[Sahil]

Shinrai Toyota sent me the Camry for a test drive finally,after a 3 day wait as there were too many request for test drive to them. Rightfuly so since the car is a stunner!

Exteriors:I dont wanna say much on this front as almost everyone has seen the car on road. According to me its one of the best looking cars we have on our roads.

Interiors: The minute i stepped into the car i felt a sence of freshness, everything around me looked very different from other cars. The dashboard gives a very High-tech feelings with its silverish blue lighting and inserts. The steering is the most appealing part, styled well and you can even set the AC control through its dedicated button.Toyota has tried to be very 'different' with its leather color which is a mix of grey and biege called 'Griege'. But thats all a gimmick, i wasnt too impressed as the wood inserts which are similar shade to that of the NHC dont match very well with the 'Griege.'
The front seats cushion you very well, specially your back thanks to the lumbar support. The only and biggest problem is that the seats are not as long as the accord for instance, so the front portion of your leg near the knee is not supported unless you take the seat completly behind and pull the steering fwd. I face this same problem in my NHC due to which my legs start paining after a long drive. The driving position is just perfect,seats can be raised up very high so you get a good command of the road.
The rear seats are excellent, big and comfy. Legroom is almost as much as the Superb which is ALOT! The automatic that i test drove came with rear AC vents which is an added boon. A+ on the rear seat comfort.
Suspension is a little stiff but it eats up the rough roads well. I found the car to be pretty silent on the inside, cuts out most of the traffic noise.

Performance I sat in the car with alot of excitment to see how the 167 horses are belted out. But unfortunatly i was disappointed, there was a slight lag in the power delivery. The low end torque is where the problem lies, once the car reachs the mid and top range its flies. The engine is typical toyota-ish, silky smooth but slightly sluggish. The car sounds and behaves much like the corolla.
I enjoyed driving the car as it was very sturdy to my surpise. The steerings responded well and the car stayed in place even on fast turns which doesnt make u miss the traction control much.

Verdict I am CONFUSED! once again!!(yeah yeah laugh on ) Even though i have booked the car i wasnt felling to satisfied. So i called for a v6 accord test drive! Big mistake! coz i am pulling my hair out now. The camry is a great car no doubt but the V6 accord is a rocket!!
Yes the camry is much better than the Accord but i am not very convinced is the 9 lakh difference is justified.

[iraghava]

Sahil I have been watching your threads for a while & didn't comment on them yet because I wanted to recommend the Accord V6 to you. But as I read you already have one Accord so I didn't wanna confuse you even more!!

But seeing after what has happened I would seriously recommend you to go for the V6 and save yourselves a LOT of money in the process. And of course the damn car is pretty fast too!! My pet peeve against the Camry is the price as even after considering all factors like better styling, relative exclusivity (for the time being) & newer interiors, I couldn't get myself to justify the cost of the car and the added premium over the V6 for what is also only the 4-cylinder version.

Good luck with the resulting confusion now though!!

[GTO]

So i called for a v6 accord for a test drive!

but my hearts not willing to shell out 8-9 lakhs in the difference

Hahaha...standard fare. As you know, internationally the Camry is priced within a whisker of the Accord but the CBU aspect shoots up the price in India. I would pick up the Accord V6, or shell out a couple more for the C220. The Camry is great but simply not worth 25 lakhs. Is it 50% more car than the Accord? No ways!

Its surprising to note that you found the new Camrys ride a little harsh. The previous gen was known for its soft magic-carpet ride.

Nice Report. Thanks for sharing.

GTO

[himanshugoswami]

So i called for a v6 accord for a test drive! Big mistake! coz i am pulling my hair out not. The camry is a great car no doubt but the V6 accord is a rocket!!

Simple- cancel the booking of the camry and book teh accord!

Also, although i have not driven the new camry, I have driven the V6 accord quite a bit. All I have to say is that the camry must be one hell of a brilliant car for u to say that it is MUCH better than the accord!

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hahaha...standard fare. As you know, internationally the Camry is priced within a whisker of the Accord but the CBU aspect shoots up the price in India. I would pick up the Accord V6, or shell out a couple more for the C220. The Camry is great but simply not worth 25 lakhs. Is it 50% more car than the Accord? No ways!

Its surprising to note that you found the new Camrys ride a little harsh. The previous gen was known for its soft magic-carpet ride.

Nice Report. Thanks for sharing.

GTO

I knew you would have the biggest laugh, and you wanna laugh more? I have called for the pricelist for the C220 too, the fax should come in any minute Yeah and too add to the humor the Audi pricelists are on my table too, i am back to square one! (This smiley should be my new avatar)
Btw, i didnt find the ride harsh.....infact the ride quality was almost upto german levels.

If only the camry came with the V6 at that price i wouldnt have thought twice. Some car seriously needs to fill in the 20 to 30 lakhs segment! ASAP!!

[GTO]

Dont mean to confuse you anymore, but some points to consider:

1. Audi : Cann it. Do you want to pay 30 lakhs for a FWD car? Also, the Audi service will never match Mercedes service.

2. Accord and C220 : Both are due to be replaced with entirely new generations, in the next one year. Do you want to buy a top-rupee car that is in the final year of its production?

(This smiley should be my new avatar)

Come on, Look at the positive side. Shopping for a 20 lakh car is actually fun. And enviable.

GTO

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by GTO

Its surprising to note that you found the new Camrys ride a little harsh. The previous gen was known for its soft magic-carpet ride.

And for the gentle waft which not many people liked - going by the Lexus ES300 which is the same car in a different avtar, the ride has been nicely stiffened.

Sahil - the Camry has always been better at CRUISING at good speeds than at drag-starts. Perhaps you should go for a longer test drive and check out that aspect too. You could just waft all day at 180 kmph in the older version, with no engine or wind noise - it was never a traffic-GP ripper, though.

[DRC]

I too agree with GTO.

And your present avtar is good enough. Keep running in this vicious loop of new cars and upgrades

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by GTO

Come on, Look at the positive side. Shopping for a 20 lakh car is actually fun. And enviable.

GTO

Man, I have passed the stage of it being fun anymore. Thats why i said, India desperatly needs to get more cars in the 20-30 lakh price range, which are value for money and not CBU!
About the new generation of these cars, I am not sure about the C-class but the Accord is due to come with just a few cosmetic changes. Primarly the rear which is gonna be crap from the new ones that i have seen in the state. What i am curious about is if they are gonna upgrade anything else, the interiors,engine or the addition of paddle shifters. Nobody seems to have any news on the same.

My biggest fear with buying the Camry is that Toyota will start production locally. And i have a strong hunch they will, seeing the demand and waiting period for the new Camry @ 25+ Lakhs, the company is bound to make the most of it buy getting it produced here and eating up the entire market segment. The least they would do is getting it in as CKD, which would again bring the price close to the 20 lakh barrier.

[GTO]

About the new generation of these cars, I am not sure about the C-class but the Accord is due to come with just a few cosmetic changes.

C Class : Look up some recent magazines, or do some google searching. You will see spy pics of the new C Class which is due to launch within the next 6 - 8 months. Looks a LOT like the previous S Class.

Accord : Previous generations have been 1986-1989, 1990-1993, 1994-1997 and 1998-2002. You can guess how long the current generation will last.

GTO

[lamborghini]

Hey Sahil,
i would advise you to wait for a bit and get the new accord.
According to ACI, it is due in September so go and check it out.
BTW, i was surprised that you had to wait for 3 days for the TD of the Camry.
When we went to Shinrai Toyota to check out the Camry on a Sunday, we were told that we couldn't have a TD as the person looking after the Camry didn't come which kind of pissed us off as a prospective buyer will mostly be free on a Sunday and if the car isn't available then, what's the point of him wasting his time.
We finally got the car for a TD after arguing for 5 minutes with a saleslady but when the car came out, she was like we have a fixed route for the Test Drive and you will be given the car at Worli Seaface and till then you will have to sit in the backseat which was even more pissing off as we wanted to test the car on varied terrains and not on the smooth Worli Seaface.
By then we were quite pissed and just walked.
The saleslady's rudeness didn't help matters much. She was quite arrogant to begin with and if we have decided one thing, it is that we will never buy a Toyota from Shinrai.
BTW,
The camry isn't worth the 9L difference over the Accord no matter how you see it.
For the price of two Camry's you can get 3 Accords with 3.0 Litre V6 engines.
THINK.

[Boom Shiva]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

For the price of two Camry's you can get 3 Accords with 3.0 Litre V6 engines.
THINK.

In that case, send the extra Accord over to my place

[NRKUMAR]

Here in the US, Honda has some positives backing it -
a) Honda Accord has a better resale/residual value compared to Toyota Camry.
b) Also for similar feature set (Engine, etc), Honda Accord is cheaper by atleast $500 compared to Toyota Camry when you buy new.
c) Honda/Acura cars (Civis/Accords) are the preferred cars to mod
d) But Toyota Camry out sells Honda Accord by atleast 20-25k units every year

NRK

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by NRKUMAR

Here in the US, .....d) But Toyota Camry out sells Honda Accord by atleast 20-25k units every year

Totally agree with you. There are so many Camrys here. Every signal, every lane has one especially the one which is 2 Generations old, a little boxy one.

[jesal]

drove the new camry over the weekend car is for 27 laks on road. though on the brochure it said it was 123bhp. so which one is it. car is worth nothing above 20 laks though i know its high since i day i left thailand they had launched their new camry as well close to 12 laks only. it looks kinda diff. but see it from this view they use camrys as taxis there and here comparing it with the c class or so the showroom people say. anyways i know accord is good its very old and boring now. if u do have the money to B L O W. get the camry for sure. india will take ages to get a stunner like this again !!!