2002 Toyota Camry SE V-6

2002 Toyota Camry SE V-6 2002 Toyota Camry SE V-6
Long-Term Road Test

Three weeks after our long-term 2002 Camry SE V-6 landed at our Ann Arbor docks in March 2002, copy chief Patti Maki pulled the logbook and noticed something peculiar. No one had written down a single comment or driving impression. None. Nada. Zero. She was confronted with blank lined paper, which seemed to stare back at her and beg, "C'mon, please, something- anything!" So she jotted down her initial impressions and concluded, grumpily: "Too bad the Camry has been here three weeks and this is the first comment."

Indeed, 21 days is a long time for our ballpoints to remain still, especially when we're evaluating an all-new version of the bestselling car in America. But the Camry is a car that escapes notice. It blends, even when brand-new. It's as if its parents had passed along a dominant languor gene. "It's almost invisible and certainly not memorable," wrote art director Jeff Dworin.

Introduced in early 2002, the fifth-generation Camry received an all-new platform (the first in 10 years), resulting in a bigger exterior and a roomier interior. Toyota claimed reduced noise, vibration, and harshness and improved ride, handling, and value. Toyota described its 2002 model as moving "from sensible . . . to sensual. And like no Camry before it, it will be a mass-market car with a niche-market feel." Sounds intriguing, eh? Only one way to find out if the experience would match the sales pitch. Anyone for 40,000 miles?

Because we're a sporty bunch, we wanted the sportiest Camry, the $24,185 SE V-6. It came with a 192-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 mated to a four-speed automatic, higher spring and damper rates, a low-flow power-steering pump, a front strut bar, and V-rated 215/60R-16 Bridgestone Turanza summer tires framing four-wheel vented disc brakes. On the outside, our Lunar Mist Metallic Camry wore a rear wing and fog lights, and inside, a three-spoke steering wheel, metallic accents, and silvery gauges. We opted for the $3115 Package No. 4, which added a power driver's seat, keyless entry, leather, a premium stereo with an in-dash six-CD changer, and a power sunroof. Since the Camry would spend a winter with us, we checked the box for the $315 heated front seats for our bums, and because icy roads can wreak havoc, we chose vehicle skid control and front side and curtain airbags-all part of the $1150 Package No.7. A $389 "VIP" security system and a $179 carpet and cargo-mat set rounded out the options. Grand total for our loaded Camry SE V-6 was $29,333.

With 506 miles on the odometer, we took the Camry to the test track, where it scooted from 0 to 60 mph in 8.2 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 16.4 seconds at 86 mph. On the skidpad, the SE chassis delivered 0.78 g, and it required 190 feet to stop from 70 mph. A Honda Accord EX V-6 (October 2002) did 0 to 60 in 7.0 and the quarter in 15.5 at 92 and managed to pull 0.74 g and halt in 209 feet.

After clocking nearly 2000 miles, we shipped the Camry to Brock Yates in Wyoming, New York. Yates promised to rack up the miles, using the Camry as cross-country transportation for the 2002 One Lap of America. All told, Brock put about 6500 miles on the Toyota and returned it with the following impressions: "This is simplicity and mindless function raised to a high art. As a silent servant on One Lap of America, this amazing sedan ran 100 mph without complaint, hauled three people and gear day and night, and never missed a beat. An extraordinary machine."

Those would be common impressions of the Camry's highway ability, as staffers regularly signed out the Toyota for long excursions. The compliant ride with a hint of sportiness, the light and direct steering, and the 209 pound-feet of torque all made the Camry a desirable road-trip car. Descriptors ranged from "wonderful" and "comfy" to "stealthy" and "competent." Editor-at-large John Phillips summed it up: "There are few cars that can eat cross-country miles as effortlessly, and that includes at least six luxury cars that are twice as expensive."

Praise was sprinkled evenly on the smart, albeit monochromatic, interior that most felt was "richly appointed" and the epitome of "understated luxury." We found the instrument panel easy to read and the radio and climate controls simple to use, although some found the center-stack buttons and dials to be a bit of a reach.

The Camry's first service was scheduled for 7500 miles, at which time the dealer changed the oil, rotated the tires, and inspected the usual nuts, bolts, joints, and filters-all for $42. Two identical service stops, at 22,500 and 37,500 miles, cost a very modest $39 and $65. The pricier services occurred at 15,000 miles and 30,000 miles. The former cost $125 and included an oil change, a tire rotation, an air-filter replacement, and an inspection of all systems; the 30,000-mile stop set us back a hefty $479 and incorporated a complete examination as well as new oil and coolant, air and A/C filters, and automatic transmission fluid. The five scheduled stops totaled $750, which is $475 more than our long-term 1999 Mitsubishi Galant GTZ pulled from our wallets.

Toyota projected fuel economy at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway, and those figures were dead on. Over 40,000 miles, we got 24 mpg and a total fuel tab of $2487.

We then took the Camry back to the test track, where it improved on its initial numbers-0 to 60 now arrived in 7.9 seconds and the quarter-mile in 16.2. Its skidpad number went up to 0.80 g, and its braking distance shrank to 173.

Over 14 months with the Camry, we experienced zero mechanical failures and zero interior maladies. In short, nothing went wrong with this modern version of ol' reliable. Aside from the center stack being too far away for some, complaints were few. With a car as carefree as this one, some of us were reduced to hunting for culprits. An editor or two found the seats to be numbing on long trips; another had trouble programming the radio, which continually skipped his desired station. We all found the Camry's nature to be one of appeasement. It's a car that gets taken for granted, and it never wants to be the source of any unseemly excitement. It is reliable and competent transportation that did just about everything extremely well. It simply kept going and going with not so much as a peep, squeak, or rattle. Sounds like a bestselling recipe to us.