The Hindu Business Line : Camry: The automatic luxury choice

AFTER a prolonged lull, Toyota recently broke in with a flurry of launch activity, bringing into India the new Camry and the exciting Land Cruiser Prado. New vehicles from Toyota are always eagerly looked forward to; time and again the company has been proved right in its choice of cars for each of the markets it is in. Its products are designed to match buyer expectations in terms of build quality and price.

But before speaking about the bigger, burly sibling in this column, a quick look at the new Toyota Camry. The Camry — one of the most well-proportioned and beautiful premium sedans to hit Indian shores from the land of the rising sun — has been put through a makeover that has quickly expanded the already long list of its admirers. The new Camry was headed here the moment competition upped the ante with refurbished versions of their luxury sedans. Cars such as the new and less expensive Honda Accord and the slightly more expensive new-look C-class from Mercedes Benz, both of which compete pretty much in the same Rs 20-lakh-plus price bracket, are already in the reckoning for car buyers in this segment.

It is not without reason that the Camry has been one of the best selling sedans in the past in this luxury segment. After its introduction in the last quarter of 2002, Toyota has sold 1,100 units in 2003-04 and during the first nine months of this year 684. After its launch two years ago and after winning a number of awards and hearts along the way, the Camry has had its first real makeover now. The new, fifth generation, Camry will also mark Toyota's entry into the automatic transmission segment in the luxury passenger car category. So, after the Corolla automatic, the flagship Camry will be nest Toyota car in the Indian market to sport a brand new, even more sophisticated automatic gearbox.

In terms of the driving experience, the new Camry brings to the Indian car buyer an auto transmission car on a par with the models now on sale in the US, Europe and Japan. But how often do car owners in India, in this luxury car segment, drive the vehicle themselves. More often than not they are chauffeured. But with its `Super ECT', electronically-controlled, four-speed automatic transmission, Toyota feels the Camry buyer who is used to the back seat may want to take the wheel more often than the occasional weekend trip to the movies. The new Camry focuses on improving four aspects of this best-selling car: Design, performance, comfort and safety parameters in whicj the Camry was already a benchmark in its class.

Exterior design

The Camry's stately fascia has been further refined by with the help of a new-look chrome radiator grille and a stylish redesigned headlamp console. The radiator grille features a new set of thicker horizontal bars to give the car a sleeker look. The new clear headlamps feature four engraved, reflective cylinders that are aligned consecutively within a spindle shaped sparkling crystal lens glass housing. The cylinders, in turn, house the high- and low-beam bulbs and indicators. New fog lamps with wider light patterns ensure better peripheral illumination. The rear combination lamps have also been slightly altered for improved looks and visibility.

Refreshed interiors

Exterior improvements on the Camry have been complemented with interior changes.

The seats now come with an improved power lumbar support for greater comfort resulting in a 10-way power seat. The new two-tone dashboard with wood grain inserts give the Camry a pleasing, warm and sophisticated interior.

A luggage holding net for keeping loose stowage in place in the boot, rear air-conditioning vents, and a foot parking brake provide for greater convenience and comfort.

The new Camry also comes with curtain airbags for improved safety; it already had `driver-plus-passenger-plus-side-impact' airbags. For additional safety, the Camry is fitted with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake force distribution and a brake assist system.

VVT-i engine

This fifth generation Camry is powered by a 2.4-litre, four-cylinder, 16-valve, double overhead camshaft (DOHC), VVT-i engine. With intelligent variable valve timing, in short VVT-i, the Camry engine delivers 141 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 20.9 kg-m of torque at 3800 rpm.

Toyota's patented VVT-i technology provides smooth acceleration through continuous optimisation of fuel and power availability, enhancing fuel economy and reducing emissions.

The VVT-i system achieves this by setting up the optimum valve timing by continuously changing the timing to open or close intake and exhaust valves in response to the engine load, rotation and other operating conditions.

The car is also fitted with an electronically-controlled four-speed automatic transmission called Super ECT by Toyota, which ensures a highly efficient gear train that is designed to make driving more responsive and enables the engine to deliver seamless power.

The hi-tech new automatic transmission also sports a hill sensing control that enables easier driving in hilly road conditions.

The other highly advanced feature available in the new Camry automatic is Cruise Control that will offer the driver an extremely smooth and comfortable drive on the highway.

With the launch of the automatic variant, the Camry — already a dominant player in the manual transmission market — will now stake its claim in the premium automatic transmission segment.

The car is being imported as a Completely Built Unit (CBU). Priced a shade lower than the Rs 20-lakh mark (ex-showroom), the Camry will be an excellent choice for the quality- and value-conscious car buyer in the super luxury segment.

The five-speed manual transmission variant of the Camry continues to be available for an ex-showroom price of about Rs 18.2 lakh.

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