Just rented an 07 Camry

[member12]

I had to make a trip for business to Oklahoma City recently (nice town, BTW), and had to rent a car from the Avis located at the airport.
You'd think Avis would have nothing but GM or Ford, but I ended up with a new camry with low miles.

I reserved an intermediate, which they were out of, so they had to upgrade me to the next best thing. The next step was full size. They were out of Impalas so I ended up getting a 4 cylinder Camry LE with that pretty light green color. I also got the optional "Garmin" GPS because I didn't have a clue where I was going.

My first impression was that the car looked really nice. It's a bit "Aunt Marge" for me but slightly better than a Buick or Mercury.
I plugged the GPS into the only outlet that I could find, which was right next to the shifter and the cupholders near the center armrest. After I arrived at the hotel, I tried to unplug the charger for the GPS only to find that it felt stuck into the outlet. I put a little more effort into pulling it out of the Camry's outlet and ended up yanking the entire center console, oultet and all, out of place.
I kind of pushed the console back into place but it rattled the rest of the trip. It's kind of strange to have the entire center console come apart like that.

Other than that, the camry is a very nice car. It's bigger than the older versions, but it's still fairly easy to parallel park. It rides great and handles fairly well. It was a 4 cylinder automatic, so it couldn't get out of it's own way. I'd recommend getting an Impala or a V6 version of the camry if you have to deal with a lot of traffic. It's got no low end power, and only slightly better passing power. It's got more power than the 4 cylinder Accord...but I have never driven a 4 cylinder Honda that had any gonads anyways, so there is no surprise there.

The seats are fairly comfortable, but I felt like the roof was kind of low. I kept hitting my head getting in and out of the car. There is also the radio that lights up REALLY bright at night, making visibility out of the windshield more difficult.

Overall, I do like the new Camry. I have rented many cars this size, and I think the Camry 4 cylinder is better than the Malibu, Avenger, or G6. It not, however, quite up to the task against Accord, which is a more pleasant drive in nearly every aspect except for low end power. The Impala has it beat, too. The base 3.5L versions have plenty of low end and passing power for nearly every job. Impala's interior is also, IMO, better looking and more comfortable. The ride in the Impala is at least as good as the Camry and the handling is comparable.

If you are in the market for a mid size or large sedan, I guess the Camry is a nice choice. It has all the standard airbags and plenty of appeal to a lot of folks. I totally understand buying one for a family...but I still think the Accord and Impala are better buys.

Maybe it was the rentals that I have had, but I my experience with 4 cylinder Malibus were pretty bad. The malibus handle worse than the Toyota, and offer no advantage in interior room or ride comfort. I look forward to the new Malibu being introduced....then Chevrolet will have not one, but two competitors that dominate the Camry.

[jwrebholz]

Not exactly what I'd call a ringing endorsement, but at least you're honest.

[Minnesota Nice]

I really dislike how the Camry looks on the outside, but I think the interior looks pretty neat.

I can't speak for driving dynamics, but based on looks and options alone, I'd have to say I prefer the Impala and Accord to it, easily. I just wish there weren't so many damn Impalas on the road with that damn Enterprise sticker on the back of it.

[likearock00]

Nice review. I guess by sales numbers we see how the Camry compares to the GM competition. It just amazes me how long it has taken GM to finally get in the sedan market again. I personally like the exterior of the Camry. I think it is much nicer than the previous generation.

[Old Dood]

If you had your GPS plugged into the power outlet in the cubby in front of the shifter then you could have left it plugged in. That power outlet shuts off. What I like about that cubby is that it has a power outlet and a AUX jack outlet. I would leave my Sat-Radio plugged in and hooked to the AUX jack then close the cubby...Wa-La...no one knows you have anything there. In your case with hind sight of course you could have unplugged the NAV unit from the NAV unit directly and then tossed the cord into the cubby. then took the NAV unit with you for security reasons.

The power plug is tight when new. After some usage it "loosens up". I wiggled/twisted plugs out of it instead of yanking on it. My Father told always told me to never force anything. He was speaking of using tooks for the most part but that applies here as well.

[member12]

Originally Posted by Old Dood

If you had your GPS plugged into the power outlet in the cubby in front of the shifter then you could have left it plugged in. That power outlet shuts off. What I like about that cubby is that it has a power outlet and a AUX jack outlet. I would leave my Sat-Radio plugged in and hooked to the AUX jack then close the cubby...Wa-La...no one knows you have anything there. In your case with hind sight of course you could have unplugged the NAV unit from the NAV unit directly and then tossed the cord into the cubby. then took the NAV unit with you for security reasons.

The power plug is tight when new. After some usage it "loosens up". I wiggled/twisted plugs out of it instead of yanking on it. My Father told always told me to never force anything. He was speaking of using tooks for the most part but that applies here as well.

I used the one in the cubby after I broke the one by the cupholders.

You can lose small things in that cubby for years. It's deep.

[johnstarnes]

Thanks for the review. I for one very much like the styling of the new Camry.....well integrated, classy, slightly risky, sleek....a nice response on their part I feel to the perennial criticism that they made bland looking utilitarian "appliances".

[HoosierRon]

I just rented a toaster. It came in a really pleasant shade of white. Other than the handle coming off, it toasted my bread just fine...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.