Toyota Camry Sportivo 2002 Review

The Toyota Camry has always had an image problem with Australians. Nothing to do with the quality of build, and definitely not a value-for-money issue, instead the Camry has suffered from a distinct lack of personality. Front drive cars have to be very good to sell well in Australia, the spiritual home of the big, rear drive, family sedan.

Which is why Toyota spent the last few years analysing Australians' driving habits, coming to the conclusion that Camry needed to be more of a "driver's" car. At the same time it had to have plenty of room, be high in quality and features, and have good performance. Critics have been saying the same thing for years, but that's splitting hairs. Regardless of how Toyota arrived at this conclusion, it's good news for new car buyers - if Toyota succeeds...

Ask any Australian to name an 'Australian' car and they'll undoubtedly respond with Falcon or Commodore. Why not Camry? Truth be told, this latest generation Camry - the fifth since its launch in 1980 (Australian production started in 1987) - is the most Australian yet, and quite possibly contains more local content than any of its rivals.

Toyota reckons 77 percent of the new Camry is local. But so what? Australians haven't exactly prioritised patriotism over price in recent times, at least not enough to keep a big name companies - like Arnotts - locally owned. This figure is up from 66 percent on the last model, though it's not all about giving the customer a more Australian car. It also reduces Camry's vulnerability to adverse currency fluctuations between the Yen and the Aussie dollar.

Fifth generation Camry is substantially changed, and you'll have no trouble picking it over the old one visually. Every panel is different and, says Toyota, unique to Australia's Camry - not shared with the Japanese or US versions. It is built on Toyota's Modular Platform shared with the Avalon large car, though according to Max Gillard from Toyota Australia's engineering department, it's substantially changed.

"For a start it has different subframes, which are a key factor in allowing our suspension team to balance ride, handling and NVH." Cynical types would take that to mean the Avalon's ride and handling aren't balanced...

Other differences between the two are minor, and include new apron and strut towers, new dash sub assembly, new radiator upper, front quarter inners and reinforcements for new dashboard.

But the similarities aren't minor. Let's take a look at the dimensions of the Camry as compared to the Avalon. Overall length and width are identical, as is the car's wheelbase and front and rear track. Inside, Camry is significantly bigger than the model it replaces. There's 98mm more leg-room and 20mm more shoulder-room in the rear, front shoulder-room is up 38mm and the boot is almost 10 percent bigger.

Funny thing is, new Camry is now bigger than Toyota's Avalon in all these areas. Read on and you'll discover it's also lighter, faster, and handles better. So why buy an Avalon?

Toyota Australia vice president John Conomos concedes sales of the more expensive Avalon will suffer as Camry steals the limelight, though he insists measures are under way to redress this imbalance.

"Until we do more work on the appearance of the Avalon with a facelift one year from now (in September 2003), of course the sales of Avalon will be relatively less.

"We are clearly targeting Camry at new and more youthful buyers. New Camry gives us the chance to specifically aim at more distinctive buyers than the old model. We believe that puts a separation in the marketplace."

Regardless of its effect on Avalon's appeal, the fifth generation Camry is at the same time a sportier and more mature prospect for new car buyers. Toyota trumpets an increased focus of sporting prowess and appeal, with Camry receiving substantial modifications to the way it rides and handles.

"The handling target," says Max Gillard, "was to equal the old Camry Touring (the sports model in the previous range) or better it. We wanted to enhance the overall vehicle feel in confidence and push the Camry's performance envelope."

Toyota undertook plenty of local testing and tuning in the hope of achieving that goal, trialling more than 50 different suspension setups and calibrations. Toyota Australia also locally developed a power steering system to address the previous model's intrusive steering kickback in bumpy corners.

Engines are a mixed story, the four cylinder is all-new to Camry, the V6 is carryover from the old model. Don't be surprised if you've seen the 2.4-litre, four cylinder engine before. Toyota is known for getting the most applications out of each component, and this engine was first seen in the Tarago. It's expected to find a home in the next generation RAV4 also.

It's standard fare twin-cam, four valve technology with a twist. Variable valve timing acts on two intake valves per cylinder to optimise performance and fuel economy depending on driver needs. The result is a peak output 112kiloWatts of power and 218Newton-metres of torque - that's 18kW and 31Nm better than the old 2.2-litre.

Toyota claims four-cylinder Camry manual accelerates to 100km/h in 9.3 seconds - almost 2 seconds quicker - while automatic versions take an extra 1.2 seconds. Despite this, fuel economy is said to be 10 percent better, returning 9.0l/100km in city conditions and 6.6l/100km/h on the freeway.

Local assembly of the alloy V6 engine - carried over essentially unchanged - starts early in the new year. Toyota claims the engine, with two camshafts per bank and four valves per cylinder, delivers strong torque from 1200rpm right through to 5800rpm. Peak power is unchanged at 141kW, peak torque 230Nm.

Sportivo V6 models start with this engine, adding a sports exhaust which frees up an extra four kilowatts of power. That's a tub-thumping 2.8 percent increase on standard V6, and worth little in what is the heaviest manual Camry in the range. In fact 0-100km/h performance for the Sportivo V6 is identical to the standard V6, 0-100km/h in 8.3 seconds (manual) and 9.3 seconds (automatic).

The new four cylinder engine comes with a significantly improved four speed automatic gearbox. Advantages over the previous generation, says Toyota, include 50 percent quicker shifting between gears and a smoother transition. The lighter, smaller transmission is also said to impact positively on overall fuel economy.

The Camry safety story gains another chapter with driver and passenger airbags standard across the entire range. Side airbags are standard on the higher grade models, and optionally available on all others bar the base Altise.

Improvements in torsional rigidity, frame strength and impact absorbance should improve Camry's crashworthiness. Indeed Toyota's inhouse testing suggests a four star Australian NCAP crash rating is achievable in both frontal collisions and side impacts.

Other less notable but no less important changes to Camry include the multi-reflector headlamps, developed in partnership with Hella, which are said to improve both low beam and high beam illumination.

Though Toyota is targeting the younger, sportier buyer with this new Camry, older buyers are likely to benefit from the car's higher internal hip point. It's 38mm higher than before, which should make it easier to get into and out of the vehicle.

Five generations on, Camry is as much an integral part of the Australian new car market as Commodore or Falcon. Though not sold in anywhere near the volume currently enjoyed by the Commodore, the Camry is expected to attract more buyers as Toyota strives to regain its number one spot.

On paper it looks as though Toyota has done enough to redress Camry's inadequacies. Bigger, roomier, faster, more economical and more performance oriented than before - that should be enough to woo Australian buyers.

But it's the intangibles that separate Toyota's Camry from the Commodore and Falcon. It's the personality built into every kilo of the vehicle, the driver enjoyment, the driver satisfaction that wins hearts, and ultimately sales. It's not for fun that Ford and Holden battle it out on racetracks around Australia every weekend. Apart from improvements to the breed that competing at the top level can bring, it's also about inspiring future owners.

After all, everyone likes to be part of the winning team. And even though it wasn't you behind the wheel, if you drive a Falcadore you're part of the club. Why else is HSV so successful? Why else is Ford doing the same with FPV? Why else did Mitsubishi set up Ralliart?

Toyota should know this better than any car company. Aspirations, inspiration, dreams - those intangibles do more for four wheel drive sales than real offroad ability.

Unless Toyota gets serious with Sportivo, and stops churning out half measures, it won't be able to make Camry a truly desirable motor vehicle. And it won't be able to mix it with Commodore and Falcon, no matter how good it is. And this new model is good, don't get us wrong. It's better than any Camry ever before. Daylight is a clear second.

Previous models have been written off as whitegoods - appliances without personality. Toyota Australia boss John Conomos reckons this Camry is hot. We reckon it's smack in the middle of the two.

Read more on the fifth generation Camry changes and model range ...