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Next, we realized on the forum that touring need sporting-luxury tires like the Pirelli Cinturato P7's gave a much softer ride and more quietness, albeit at the expense of handling.
Although the 4.5GS midlife refresh is softer, it is only medium soft, and not genuinely soft like our 3.5GS.
Hence, right now, I'm actually thinking of further downsizing via Minus 2 to 17" with Pirelli Cinturato P7 Series II at 225/55 R17 on 17" x 7.5" rims with the regular +45 mm offset.
Yep I wanted the Pirelli P7 plus 3 or Michelin Primacy MXV4 but they’re not available on my size.
Im going to replace the Continentals with Vredestein Quatrac pros before next year. They seem to get good reviews. And will hopefully give me a quieter smoother ride.
Yep I wanted the Pirelli P7 plus 3 or Michelin Primacy MXV4 but they’re not available on my size.
Im going to replace the Continentals with Vredestein Quatrac pros before next year. They seem to get good reviews. And will hopefully give me a quieter smoother ride.
The P7 Plus II's are fractionally more comfortable, while the Plus III's are better winter and treadwear.
Meanwhile the Vredestein Quatrac Pros are better in the wet than the Pirelli Cinturatos.
Hey, folks, I didn't get to attend the press drive event last week, but Toyota was kind enough to get one of the prototypes from that event into my hands this week. So here are my first drive impressions on the ninth generation 2025 Camry XSE -- https://www.clublexus.com/articles/2...y-first-drive/
I have it for a few more days, not sure if I'm going to make a video tour or not, but let me know if you have any questions about the updated 5th Gen AWD Hybrid system and/or the XSE grade, and I'll try to answer for you.
Cheers!
I’d rather have the Tesla model 3. Better in every way and cheaper to maintain according to consumer reports.
the shiny piano black accents is what elevates the elegance of the interior. I love it. Glad toyota realizes this too.
Piano black is awful. That picture is literally the only time it will ever look good, because it's a brand-new vehicle that no one has ever driven. Within a month or two, it will look like this:
Piano black is awful. That picture is literally the only time it will ever look good, because it's a brand-new vehicle that no one has ever driven. Within a month or two, it will look like this:
on its way to eventually looking like this:
it’s not the Piano black that’s awful. It’s the scratches as your picture shows. It’s a lack of sufficient lamination that’s the problem. That’s what needs to be addressed, because Piano black itself looks elegant.
the shiny piano black accents is what elevates the elegance of the interior. I love it. Glad toyota realizes this too.
Originally Posted by Tdes395
it’s not the Piano black that’s awful. It’s the scratches as your picture shows. It’s a lack of sufficient lamination that’s the problem. That’s what needs to be addressed, because Piano black itself looks elegant.
There is a huge difference between piano black lacquer wood as in that Rolls Royce, and piano black plastic as in the Camry. Piano black plastic feels cheap, and it scratches to all hell, shows every fingerprint and spec of dust. They use it because it looks high end at first glance, when in reality its the cheap way out. It scratches way too easily to be used in often touched and cleaned surfaces in a car.
The piano black console in my Pacifica for instance is already scratched all to hell after 8,000 miles, and in the Pacifica it replaced which had a nice matte black plastic in that same area that area looked brand new with 30,000 miles on it.
There is a huge difference between piano black lacquer wood as in that Rolls Royce, and piano black plastic as in the Camry. Piano black plastic feels cheap, and it scratches to all hell, shows every fingerprint and spec of dust. They use it because it looks high end at first glance, when in reality its the cheap way out. It scratches way too easily to be used in often touched and cleaned surfaces in a car.
The piano black console in my Pacifica for instance is already scratched all to hell after 8,000 miles, and in the Pacifica it replaced which had a nice matte black plastic in that same area that area looked brand new with 30,000 miles on it.
completely agree. Which is why it needs better lamination. That’s what the problem is. Rather than wishing the whole thing away, they just need to fix what’s already there to make it more durable.
completely agree. Which is why it needs better lamination. That’s what the problem is. Rather than wishing the whole thing away, they just need to fix what’s already there to make it more durable.
It really can't be fixed. The reality is that plastic is very soft, and it scratches very easily. High gloss surfaces are prone to showing scratches, especially black...plastic can only be made so durable...urethane coatings on wood can be made to resist scratches better.
It really can't be fixed. The reality is that plastic is very soft, and it scratches very easily. High gloss surfaces are prone to showing scratches, especially black...plastic can only be made so durable...urethane coatings on wood can be made to resist scratches better.
Trim can only be so costly on a lower end car.
it can be fixed and rather cheaply too. A thicker clear laminate above the black plastic trim would protect the black plastic trim from scratches and allow the shine to remain over the years. It’s like jewelry behind glass.
it can be fixed and rather cheaply too. A thicker clear laminate above the black plastic trim would protect the black plastic trim from scratches and allow the shine to remain over the years. It’s like jewelry behind glass.
There is no clear plastic laminate used on any of this trim, it’s just plastic. What you describe is expensive, you’re not going to find that on a relatively inexpesive car. Even S Classes and BMWs don’t have such a laminate over the piano black plastic.
You can have your own piano black plastic protected with paint protection film which a lot of people do, but it’s not cheap.
04-27-24, 10:27 AM
