Reliability
Smooth ride
Fuel economy
Build quality
Roomy interior

Paint seems to chip and scratch a little too easily, but this is a car that's never seen a day in a garage.

It is what it is. I bought a used, bare bones, 1995 DX 5 speed in 1996. The only option was A/C. It was to replace my wife's 2 door Accord (great car!) after our first child was born. The car was "certified" and had 24k on the odometer. Now, almost 5 years later, it has almost 60k miles on it. The most remarkable thing is that NOTHING has gone wrong with it. Other than gas, oil changes, a new battery this year, and routine preventive maintenance, I haven't put a dime in it and it's never left me stranded. Sure, it's about the most boring car on the road, but so what? It's still as tight as drum after almost 5 years as a mommy car (3 kids now). With the 5 speed, acceleration is adequate and handling is O.K., but not spectacular. It cruises well at any legal speed, but the lack of cruise control prevents its use on long trips. If you want a roomy, comfortable and RELIABLE (what's this crap about oil sludge? Are these people GM operatives?) car, used Camry's are a bargain. Especially the 5 speeds.

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Honda Accord coupe. Subaru Legacy wagon. Compares well to both.

Smooth ride, dependable...
I've taken care of this car...it's reaching 45K on the odo and it's still error free. give it oil changes ever 3000 miles with penzoil full synthetic...and my engine purrs. some people that are complaining should get a car manual for this car and read it. I'm thinking of putting in a TRD supercharger...anyone have any opinions?

the seating could be more comfortable,
could be a little more sleeker, like it's cousin the Lexus ES 300
just started noticing little rattling sounds coming from the dash...does anyone know what that is?

A pretty reliable car, the camry 2000 xle v6 has been pushed to the limit. I've been driving this car for appox. two years now, and it has given me any problems. It's a nice car that will take care of you, if you take care of it.

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None

Good feeling of confidence, security and you cannot stop thinking: "this is a nice ride" while driving.
With all the small complaints in the "Weaknesses" this is an excellent car and it will be hard to find an equal for the price.
Also, it will keep a high resale price over the years.
Compared to our old '92 Camry LE:
- more power and less engine noise
- much better automatic climate control (amazing in the Canadian winter)
- much better sound system by far(JBL + CD)
- better breaking (4 disks + ABS)

Not so well built as my old 1992 Camry LE (4 cyl):
- no warning lights in the doors' side when opened
- the electric front seats are limited in adjustmens, offer much less legg support and you can get tired on long rides (I consider this as a really BAD one).
- the seat material looks cheaper
- there is some rattle noise coming from the dash over road bumps (never had one in my 1992 Camry)

We have traded-in our '92 Camry LE and we decided for the XLE to get more power, but also to get some of the features of the '92 which are nonexistent now in the current LE model.
We have this car for 11 months now and we are very pleased. It is very quiet, powerfull and has a very smooth ride. Very well equiped. Nice look. Nice sound system. Feels good.
If this car will be as reliable as the old one, our next car will be a Camry too.

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Camry LE 1992 (4cyl) - better built, better road handling (sportier), less power
Ford Taurus 2000 - Not bad for long rides, but noisier, with problems and not such a smooth ride

Reliability. Integrity of body structure.

Exterior door trim below passenger door rusted.

(pre 1997 Model) - My Camry is a 1988 model, 4cyl with manual transmission. It has been stone reliable from day one. There are no body squeeks anywhere. I have never had a failure of any part outside of headlight lamp and normal rust through of exhaust parts. I would buy another Toyota product in a heartbeat. My Camrey has been my daily driver for almost 12 years, and 134K miles.

Smooth ride

ENGINE SLUDGE
exterior color choices
valves rattle intermittently
terrible service departments at dealerships

My previous cars have been a Chevy Monza I had for 7 years, a pontiac V8 Trans Am I had for 5 years, and a 1989 Honda Accord I had for 10 years and put 160,000 miles on it before trading it in. The Honda was such a reliable car I was only going to consider another Honda accord or a toyota camry. I thought that Toyota would be the same good quality that the Honda had been. I test drove the 99 Honda but there seemed to be few style changes from the 1989 model. So unfortunately I decided to try a Toyota Camry this time. My friend who was also previously a Honda Accord owner and who subsiquently bought a toyota corolla warned me that the toyota service department was terrible. But I wanted something different so I bought it anyway thinking it was just the dealership in her area. WRONG. Same story as all the other sludge owners. I was a little luckier than some, my sludge happened at 45,000 miles. I went to 3 toyota dealerships and none will honor the warranty. The first 2 dealerships said I needed a new engine for $6,000. the third said I needed some valve seals and sludge cleaning for only $4,800. I have only had this car for 3 years. This has never happened in any of our other cars. My husband currently has a 1991 Honda CRX with 100,000 miles and no sludge. I called my Honda service department to see if they could work on the Toyota (they can't) but they told me Toyota has internal documents that discuss the sludge problem and a fix for it. Searching for documentation on it to present to the dealer if anyone knows where to get it email me please.

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Honda Accord. Camry is prettier but Accord is much sounder mechanically.

nice speed,good brakes also. nice space in rear,it also has a good factory stereo.a/c gets very cold

glove box will not unlock
hubcaps fall off

good car only had to replace transmission @ 150,000 miles.i had no major problems with this car besides the transmission. Then @ 197,000 replaced the muffler.

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2000 chevrolet prizm no match

Of course Toyota reliability. Sophisticated and mannerly V6. Quiet, oh so quiet. Cold A/C. Decently appointed with the usual creature comforts. Adequate space for maps, CDs, slurppy, et al. Cushy American style big car ride. Full size spare tire. Yah, Baby!
Excellent braking characteristics with 4 wheel discs. Better than average resale value. Oh did I mention Toyota reliability or Toyota reliability.

Few, but here I go...The paint albeit nicely applied, seems to scratch and chip easily. The body panels seem a little thin and prone to dents, but that seems to be the case with most modern cars.
My two biggest gripes would have to be with the interior and the 15” alloy turbo wheels.
The interior exhibits cheapness, mostly in areas somewhat hidden away. For example; the garage door opener/sunglass holder is disappointingly flimsy, even Hundai does a better job in this area (sorry Toyota). The access panels under the instrument panel, specifically the one by the steering-column is loose and poor fitting, held on by badly molded integral clips (shame on you).
The Volkswagen Jetta “Wolfsberg Edition “ interior, very, very nice, and it’s about the same price as a nicely equipped LE V6.
Now, about the wheels. I like the wheels, however, the clearcoat is delicate and within less than a year, with reasonable care my wheels are showing signs of pitting (sigh). Toyota must be using the same stuff on the rest of the car. Maybe they should rethink their formula with regard to that application.
As for the tires, adequate if not indy car tenacious. I think Toyota could have spec’d better tires, maybe Michelin or Toyo, but no biggie.
Oh...I almost forgot, considering that the car generally costs more that it’s competitors, it really should have both driver and passenger power seats.
Last but not least, options add up very quickly; V6-$2300, sun/moon roof-$1000, alloys-$385, floor mats-$90.
Those were the one’s that stood out in my mind, but the list is extensive and expensive.

The Camry is true to its aim and target audience.
It is a very capable people mover, especially with the V6.
With its floaty ride and over boosted steering, not to mention whisper quiet V6 and ample noise proofing, it is more reminiscent of a large american turnpike cruiser such as a Sedan Deville or Crown Vic, than a utilitarian Japanese sedan.

Camry easily negotiates most road imperfections and tracks competently at highway speeds even with it’s somewhat disconnected road feel.

Who buys a Camry anyway? a teenager?, a BMW/Mercedes/Audi enthusiast?, a hot-rodder? probably not.

The typical Camry owner is a somewhat budget minded, practical, family oriented individual who cares more about going to the supermarket or picking the kids up from school than street corner duels with cars sporting name plates like M3, Z3, A6, Camero and the various generic GT and Spyder designations. But it’s nice to know that you may be able to keep up with some of those Euro rides, at least part of the way with the V6 under the hood and have room for 4 or 5 if you’re feeling cozy, not to mention 6 bags of groceries in the relatively cavernous trunk.

Oh... and about the seats, I found them to be firm for sure, but quite reasonable, even on long trips. In fact, I thought that they were much more comfortable than the ones in my wife's 98 Accord.

All told, I would give the Camry five big ones *****. You can try to find flaws and if you look hard enough, maybe you will, but it’s hard to really fault Camry. It is a car that seems to satisfy just about everyone in some way.

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Honda Accord, Cadillac Eldorado, Cadillac Deville
I guess it’s not really fair to compare the Camry to a caddy, but what the heck.
The Camry is a much more reliable machine, except for the Accord which to be fair is as reliable, and has an arguably nicer interior, if not as stylish or comfortable as the Camry, (in my opinion).

-quality and reliability
-interior styling
-smooth 4-banger
-quiet interior
-big trunk
-comfortable seats

-price
-soft suspension
-placement of muffler
-needs more hp (XLE V6 way too expensive and CE V6 comes with limited amenities)

After 4 years, this car still drives great. The 4 banger isn't that strong at 132hp, but acceleration in city and highway is respectable. And it's quite quiet in operation. The suspension is way too soft, causing the car to bounce excessively over small bumps. Also the muffler is placed too low, it's always hitting speed bumps. But the interior quality is great, although a buzz in the front vents has surfaced. Rear legroom is ample and the seats are comfortable. The overall wedge-shape is nice, but bland. And the paint scratches too often during highway cruising. Also, the body gets dented very easily. But my overall driving impression is nice.

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'97 Accord-redesigned for '98, so not considered
'97 Maxima-nice V6 and upscale styling, but too expensive, even for base model
'97 626-exterior looks cheap, and poor 4-banger (V6 too expensive)
'97 Altima-good power (for 4-cylinders) and price, but too small and unusual rear-end styling
'97 Stratus-price and nice exterior, but cheap interior
'97 Malibu-price and good looks, but ancient powertrains offered and reliability problems
'97 Contour-exciting exterior and cheap, but no interior room

Gas mileage is OK, radio still works, interior heats up fast in winter. Good visibility.

Poor mechanical quality, average or less interior quality, uncomfortable seats for distance driving, very lame dealer, poor warranty response, uninformative and arbitrary 1-800 contact in Torrance, CA. Good luck if you call them.

Front rotors warped and shot at 48K miles, replaced by independent garage at $300/brake job. At 51250 miles, car broke down on road trip, couldn't get local Toyota service, had car towed to my guy. Toyota won't honor "emergency clause" in warranty, said I had to go to Toyota, even though the dealer I visited didn't know about 60,00 mile warranty. I get the feeling that Toyota wants to brag about their reliability, but they don't want to fix cars under warranty. I'm still fighting, will go to arbitration as needed. I for one am very dissatisfied with Toyota "quality" and even more unhappy with their attitude toward their customers. They also need to train their dealers as to warranty policy. Not a car that I can recommend to anyone for any purpose other than tossing money away.

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98 Olds Cutlass (better car), 95 Taurus (also better)

Very nice ride, quiet, handles good, really good stereo, comfortable.

Service department sucks, cheap paint, cheap tires. I believe, but can't prove, that the salesmen abused this car before I picked it up. The clutch was burned when I got it and every salesman I ran into on the way in told me how much I would love the car because it was very fast. Since V-6, 5-speed Camrys are as rare as hen's teeth I wonder how they knew?

LE, V6, 5-speed, sunroof, leather, 6-speaker stereo. This is a pretty nice car - very quiet, smooth, handles good, great stereo (I never even listened to it before buying it - I already had an appointment with a stereo shop to install a new stereo when I realized I didn't need one). But I've had a lot of problems with this car. The first things I noticed were the clutch, which was very rough, and the paint, which was very cheap. I never could get the paint cleaned up very well. The car is black and you can see water spots on it that just won't go away no matter how expensive a cleaner you use. The car is now completely covered with chips. Also, the pinstripe was pealing off after only 2-3 months so I pulled it off. It looks better without it anyway. The next thing was a rattle/squeak in a panel between the doors. It drove me nuts for weeks before I could take it in, but they fixed it for free. The next problem was more serious - it pulled pretty hard to the left. After taking it in 3-4 times it is still pulling. I've taken it to two different dealers and they both claim it is the tires. Pretty convenient for them since by the time the tires are replaced the warranty is out. We'll see soon since I have almost 50,000 miles now. And speaking of the tires, they (Dunlops) hydroplane like crazy when it rains. The first time it happened I pulled over in the rain to check all the lug nuts - I didn't know what was going on so I thought the tires might be falling off. Much more serious than the tires was the clutch. The throwout bearing started rattling within a week or two of picking up the car. I took it in 2-3 times to have that looked at but every time they told me nothing was wrong. I finally took it to another dealer and they said that not only was the bearing bad, but the clutch was burned too and needed to be replaced (which they did for free). I have a Mazda that had over 200,000 miles on it before I needed a clutch so I know it wasn't my fault. That would explain why it was so rough when I picked it up. To add more irritation they forgot to tighten up the motor mounts after putting it back together so that caused yet another trip. Then there was the exhaust leak and a new windshield washer motor. The later took two trips because they got the wrong part in. I now have 47,000 miles on it and it appears everything except the pulling and cheap paint fixed, but it has been really aggravating because I bought the Camry almost solely on Toyota's reliability record. I will not be buying a Toyota in the near future, and certainly not from the dealer I used. I cannot recommend this car. Since it's not a sports car or a luxury car the only real reason to want it is it's reliability and I'm not very impressed with that.

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'91 Mazda MX-6 (yeah, I know they aren't comparable) The Camry is much quiter, especially on the highway. It is smoother, more comfortable, much better stereo. In other words better in almost every way, except reliablity. The Mazda has over 210,000 miles and has been in the shop less than half as many times as the Camry after 1 year. I bought it new and the only real weakness was a cheap, easily breakable speedometer gear drive (which has to be removed to check transmission fluid). All the accessories (air, alternator, water pump, etc) have never been replaced and work fine. I will consider myself luck to get 100,000 miles out of the Camry.