How about trial by mileage, rather than time? Bought my 4-cylinder
SE a month and a half ago and just hit 4,000 miles......Had a job
transfer and wouldn't have been able to afford my previous vehicle (V-10
4x4 Dodge). I debated the four over the V-6 and let "common sense" and
the extra cost of the larger engine, and went with the four. "Consumer
magazines" claimed that their tests showed a "real world" mileage
difference of only 1 mpg between the two, but that just doesn't make
sense to me (how can an additional 110 hp only account for 1 less mpg?).
I didn't want to finance the extra amount either (I was already stepping
up to this model as I had originally considered the Corolla for mileage
only), so 4-cylinder it was.
80-85% of my mileage has been on the highway (none of the tanks
purely highway, however) and I have gotten between 27 and 30 mpg with a
relatively gentle toe on the gas pedal (72-73 in 70 mph zones on
cruise). I had seriously hoped to be closer to the 33 mpg which the EPA
and Toyota has listed on the upper end of their scale on the sticker and
sales brochures.....Guess I have to stick to slower highways and drive
no more than the posted limit......
I have a rattle/vibration in the dash above and to the left the
steerng wheel, one possibly in the lower front passenger door (might be
something in the map pocket--haven't checked yet, doesn't do it all the
time) and have noticed the downshifting from 5th to 4th at highway
speeds when the incline even gradually increases, but I figure that this
is just the overdrive and it doesn't seem annoying, and I probably
wouldn't have ever even noticed if it weren't for this site......
Someone has mentioned the cloth wearing out on the driver's side
armrest--4,000 miles and mine still looks brand new.
I love the body style and it gets lots of comments from passersby.
I have noticed a somewhat annoying noise at the driver's window
whenever it rains--the rain hitting the window "frame" is
noticeable.....
The car is quite comfortable, I haven't taken a trip longer than 3
hours in one uninterrupted trip yet, but will be in a month or so and am
not concerned about getting cramped up--wish I could've had the leather,
but the cloth looks good and this also saved a bunch.
Even though I purchased this for mileage (and comfort, upgrading
from the planned Corolla), the SE package with the 17" wheels and
upgraded suspension package makes it handle like a dream (remember, my
comparison is from a 4x4 truck, so you may want to take this with a
grain of salt) and I can take my off-ramp from the freeway (which
crosses back over the freeway) faster than I feel comfortable with....
Anyway, hopefully my ramblings have given you a good feeling about
the car--I also like the grill and dash on the SE better than the ones
on the other three models......I would definitely buy it again though I
would like to know what the V-6 truly gets in mileage......


Stan

I purchased the 6 cyl and my percentage of freeway driving (no
traffic) is running at 25mpg consistently. My very first tank of gas
(from the dealer) yielded just above 30 mpg. But I never drove above
65mph and that was almost entirely freeway. I've been running on
premium. The manual indicates that testing was done with premium gas.
But on the freeway I have to admit I do exceed 65 so that may be the
reason why my mileage dropped after that first tank. I just can't
help thinking, though, that they put some kind of additive in the tank
to impress me with that first tank. I've never come close to that 30
mpg mark since my first tank of gas.

My only complaint is the road and wind noise. I was after a car that
was quiet. This one isn't. On a very smooth road at less than 50
mph, it is very quiet and smooth. On the freeway, I have to really
crank up the volume on the radio to hear soft music. I'm constantly
changing the volume between rock and light music. And forget AM. My
last vehicle had a telescoping antenna and AM was fine. The Camry has
the antenna built into the windshield and the AM reception is
terrible. But the radio is fine. When I play CDs or my mp3 files, it
sounds fine.

Wind noise is very pronounced. What makes it worse is that the source
comes right next to my ear. I think it's caused by the small gap
between the door and the body at the tail end of the door directly
next to my left ear.

Smooth and quiet is what I was looking for. When I first test drove
the car it was in another city where the roads were really terrible
and I was turned off immediately and started looking at other cars.
But then I gave it another try at another dealership and was
impressed. But those roads were like silk and I only drove for a very
short period on the freeway so I made the purchase. I learned a
great lesson there.

By the way, the first dealer suggested I install DynaMat throughout
the car to quiet it. So he wasn't even arguing the point regarding
noise.

But to be fair, I was looking for the smooth and quiet of a $40,000
car in a $20.000 car. Overall, I'm happy with what I got for the
money. But if I had the money, I would have gone for the more smooth
and quiet car.

Don
On Sat, 7 Oct 2006 14:24:54 -0700, smwright@webtv.net (Stan Wright)
wrote:

"Don" <dsarvas@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:45292be7.618828@news.west.cox.net...

The Camry is, by far, the smoothest and quietest riding vehicle I have ever
been in. That covers over 60 years driving or a passenger in a motor
vehicle.