Our Camry stands tall

ALTHOUGH the Camry is made in five other Toyota sites around the world, our version is "the best". That is not only the opinion of Toyota Australia’s senior executive director of sales and marketing David Buttner, but also his bosses in Japan.

"It’s by far the best," he said. "It’s an Australian-built, world’s best practice, global car built at a plant which has the best quality reputation of any of Toyota’s plants around the world. It’s the equal of many cars which can be imported into this country." As a global car, the Camry’s new chassis has been designed for high levels of safety, ride, handling, stability and low noise. However, some Australian-specific issues with ride, handling and noise suppression were also factored into the car’s design and engineering. Some of those gains have subsequently been adopted in some of the other models sold elsewhere.

The car’s 2.4-litre VVT-i engine carries over, with some subtle improvements for driveability and lower running costs, while maintaining the outgoing car’s fuel economy. There is new engine management software, an electronic throttle that helps emissions and response and twin counter-rotating balance shafts that ensure smooth operation.

The 2.4-litre twin-cam multi-valve VVT-i four-cylinder engine now develops 117kW at 5700rpm – up 5kW – and 218Nm at 4000rpm, and is mated to a new five-speed automatic transmission with uphill/downhill shift control and a gated shift.

Official combined fuel economy is 8.9L/100km for the five-speed manual and 9.9L/100km for the five-speed auto.

Although electronic stability control is unavailable across the range – unlike the new VE Commodore – the Camry now includes active braking with intelligence (ABi) and ABS with brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) on all models.

The body is also stronger, more rigid and has is a lower centre of gravity to aid handling as well as a larger footprint on the road compared with its predecessor.

Anti-vibration sub-frames are used front and rear, which, along with other sound-deadening measures, have enabled Toyota to claim the Camry is one of the quietest Australian-built sedans available. The front suspension also benefits from a reinforcing cowl front panel that enhances front-end rigidity.

The Sportivo (left) model gains a V-shaped rear brace behind the rear seat and underbody stabilising braces at the back for extra rear rigidity.

The car’s on-road stance is more aggressive than the previous model, courtesy of 30mm front and 45mm wider front and rear tracks, as well as a 55mm longer wheelbase.

The car’s suspension is a coil-over MacPherson strut package up front with wide-based L-shaped lower arms at the front and dual link struts at the rear.

It features new multi-leaf/multi-disc linear control piston valves in the dampers and a newly developed oil seal at the top of the damper body. These are designed to enable the damper to generate more linear responses, helping improve body control, road holding and steering feel.

As befits the sports model, the Sportivo gains inbuilt rebound springs in its damper units, which aim to provide a flatter ride during cornering.