New Toyota Camry review, test drive

The new Toyota Camry is better looking, better equipped and more comfortable, albeit a little on the expensive side.

Published on Oct 25, 2012 08:26:00 PM

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Five minutes in the back seat is all it takes to know the focus of the Camry’s dynamics. The Camry isolates you beautifully from even the sharpest of bumps. The suspension is silent, bump-absorption is simply fantastic and the Camry rides like there are pillows between the tyres and the road. It comes with relatively high-profile 215/60 R16 tyres and these play a big part in the way it rides. The best part though is that this soft ride doesn’t come at the expense of stability. Rebound damping is excellent, and the Camry settles down almost immediately after it hits a bump, and it doesn’t bob about. Sure, it’s not as rock solid as a Superb at high speeds, but Toyota has found a very nice compromise nonetheless. Worth mentioning is how little road noise enters the cabin – there’s barely any tyre and wind noise, and the suspension works very silently too.

Show it a set of corners though and the Camry fails to engage. The electrically-assisted steering is numb and there is quite a lot of roll. Turn into a corner enthusiastically and the car will run wide, there’s plenty of tyre squeal and the absence of traction control becomes apparent, as there’s no electronic nanny to cut power and keep the car in line.

As expected, it’s not particularly nimble in town, but the light steering does help, and visibility isn’t too bad either. We just wish a reverse camera was part of the equipment list. It is rather necessary as the Camry’s rear overhang is quite long.