2011 Toyota Camry XLE
PLUSES: More energetic, yet quiet V-6, Good mileage rating thanks to low rolling resistant tires helping boost mileage from 19/28 to 20/29. Hybrid version available for mileage minded with 31/35 rating. Handy trunk tote worth the $40 outlay.
MINUSES: Trunk space, limited rear window visibility thanks to slopping coupe roofline and large headrests, cramped rear seat entry/exit from the slopped roofline and wheel wells jutting into door openings. Styling sooo conservative.
Camry is the industry's car sales leader.
Every automaker wishes it had a sedan as successful as this one in attracting consumers over and over and over again---year after year, generation after generation. Mom and Dad buy one, but before it is finally retired, it's passed through all the kids.
However, that said, the fashion police should issue Camry designers with a ticket. The sheetmetal doesn't pop eyes or drop jaws, the reaction is more along the lines of a prolonged yawn.
For the last several years all automakers, not just Toyota, design their sedans to look like coupes, which means they give them a sloping, slantback coupe roofline, whether an actual 2-door, or a 4-door posing as one.
The design has some drawbacks, with the No. 1 problem being that shaping cars with sloping roofs is easy, shaping humans with sharply sloping melons so they can slip under or out of those roofs is a task that tests even the Good Lord's design mettle.
Getting inside the cabin means remembering to drop the melon as low as it goes. Getting outside the cabin means repeating the chore, since the roofline is deliberately low slung like a 2-door coupe not high standing like a 4-door sedan.
If memory serves, Mercedes-Benz started the trend a few years ago so that buyers would think they were slipping into sporty coupes without counting the doors as evidence.
Enough said on the looks.
Camry is offered with a trio of power choices, a 2.5 liter four cylinder, a 3.5 liter V-6, or a 2.4 liter four teamed with a nickel metal hydride battery pack for the hybrid version which offers a remarkable 31 m.p.g. city and 35 m.p.g. highway mileage.
We tested the 2011 Camry in XLE trim with the 3.5 liter, 268 h.p. V-6 teamed with 6-speed automatic, which combines off the line swiftness with fuel economy savings and a rating of 20 m.p.g. city/29 m.p.g. highway. The V-6 Camry boosted mileage to 20/29 from its 2010 rating of 19/28 by switching to lower rolling resistance radials with stiffer sidewalls to minimize dragging against the pavement to maximize mileage.
It works, but the offset is that stiffer radials mean stiffer ride. You feel more of those little irregularities in the pavement. And there is more road noise as the radials rolling over the pavement. But if you want to pull out to pass or climb the interstate inclines without the engine taking a deep breath first, the V-6 is the choice over the 2.5 liter four or the hybrid versions.
Cabin room is adequate, but the coupe profile impacts rear seat head room. Thanks to deep indents in the backs of the front seats knee room is okay in the back seat.
Trunk space is hampered a bit from the rear wheel wells jutting into the cargo hold. An optional $40 plastic cargo tote serves as a tray holder built into the floor of the trunk to hold a couple gallons of milk and keep them from being tossed about.
Rear seatbacks didn't fold to help expand cargo capacity. The rear seat center arm rest does fold down, however, to expose a pair of cupholders when needed.
The V-6 XLE tested starts at $29,370 and includes stability control with traction control, dual zone climate control with cabin air filters; power windows with auto up/down; power door locks; color-keyed power side mirrors; cruise control; halogen headlamps with automatic on/off; tilt and telescopic steering wheel; and premium JBL audio system with Bluetooth hands free phone technology; power glass moonroof; and leather seats.
When next tweaked, we'd favor added rear seat head room, wider rear seat door openings for better entry/exit space, and reducing trunk space given to the wheel wells for more space devoted to groceries or luggage.
2011 Toyota Camry XLEWheelbase: 109.3 inches
Length: 189.2 inches
Engine: 3.5 liter, 268 h.p., V-6.
Transmission: 6-speed automatic.
Mileage: 20 m.p.g. city/29 m.p.g. highway.
Base price: $29,370.
Price as equipped: Add $440 heated front seats, $209 bodyside molding, $303 rear spoiler, $529 remote start, $476 preferred package with trunk carpet and first aid kit, $40 cargo tote, $2,100 upgrade from 16 inch to 18 inch radials with 10-spoke alloy wheels, $1,810 XLE value package with $760 discount for voice activated DVD navi with back up camera, JBL AM/FM radio with satellite radio and MPS/WMA playback capability, audio jack, port with iPod connectivity, and Bluetooth hands free phone capability, plus $760 freight.