2007 Camry LE V6 - 1 Year Old (musings)
OK, my "new" car isn't so new anymore. It's just a bit under a full year old and has just under 19K miles on it. I thought it might be nice to post some findings and feelings that I have experienced over the past year. Perhaps some will take this as a mini version of a "long term test report" like some auto mag's do.
(listed in no particular order)
1) The 3.5L V6 motor is sooooooo nice! If you keep the RPM closer to 2K and NOT in the 4K range, my gas mileage is relatively great! I'm getting somewhere in the very high 20's MPG as a rolling average.
2) Overall, the motor's quiet when it should be and growls nicely when pushed. There's no noticable torque steer in turns and the OEM tires seem to be holding up. I have little doubt I'll make it to 35-40K on the factory tires.
3) The new transmission is working just fine. There's no spots on the garage floor after being parked (as I would expect) and there is no slipping or flaring between any of the gears.
3) Overall I'm still a little disappointed in the overall quality of the car but it's better than most if not everything on the market at this time. When I was deciding on what to buy, my personal criteria was set at <25K...including tax & title & options...out the door! I did it...not by much but I did make it under that mark.
4) I still ahve not changed the oil myself. The whole movement away from the good old fashioned can-type filter to this newer concept of, "...you only need to change the element...". Well, I know it's better all the way around but it's a tad daunting to me.
5) Confort....well, the front seats are supportive and seem to be fine for short or really long trips. The head-rests are almost in the right spot but seem to be a tad too intrusive for my personal taste.
6) Headlights...oh man. The OEM bulbs and projectors should be reconsidered by Toyota. There's a VERY SHARP cut-off line between the lit and dark areas...this can become VERY pronounced when you're driving up & down some hills in the country when it's DARK outside. I switched to some MTEC bulbs and they had some great color but one of them popped early...instead of paying & waiting for some warranty returns I just went with some low beam bulbs from PIAA. They're not as white as the MTEC's but they are better than the "near yellow" OEM bulbs.
7) Fit & finish...overall, I'm still very impressed. Nothing to complain about at this point. Oh...a week or two after taking the car home I was upset over the front seat squeaking like the back seat of a 75 Nova on a Saturday night! A factory TSB almost fixed it but Toyota ended up replacing the seat bottom and mounting hardware. No problems now.........
8) Customer service... OK, I've had my car into the dealer six or seven times for TSB work. I've called and spoken to Customer Service Rep's in Torrance and dealt with two different dealers (bought the car at Sierra Toyota in Lancaster, CA and service the car at Frontier Toyota in Santa Clarita). Overall, the dealers have been great and the Cutomer Service people have been EXCELLENT.
9) LE V6 Features... Overall I like what the car has but I do miss some things that the XLE or other cars in the Camry's class have. Things like;
- A drivers window that goes up & down with a single touch
- LONGER sun visors...or visors that have extentions
- Built-in wiring for things like fog lights and an auto-diming / compass equipped mirror
So, would I buy the car again?
Hmmmm, tough question but I think that I would.
I hope that this has been helpful (or at least NOT annoying).
Thanks
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