ReviewCars.com Announces 2007 Car of the Year: Toyota Camry
03-29-07, 08:56 AM
#1
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Thread Starter
ReviewCars.com Announces 2007 Car of the Year: Toyota Camry
Toyota Camry Wins by a Narrow Margin over Ford Mustang and Saturn Aura
CHICAGO, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- 2007 Toyota Camry added another Car
of the Year award to its impressive resume. ReviewCars.com announced that
Toyota Camry won the award by beating two hot contenders in a highly
competitive category. Ford Mustang and Saturn Aura came very close, but in
the end it was the consumers' Overall ranking that sealed the deal.
"We analyzed reviews and user research patterns of over half a million
consumers," said Edward Choi, President and Publisher of ReviewCars.com.
Consumers especially liked 2007 Camry's significantly improved design, good
gas mileage, quiet and smooth driving, improved engine power, and roomy
interior.
Along with the Car of the Year award, ReviewCars.com also announced Top
10 Cars of the Year as well.
2007 Top 10 Cars of the Year are:
1. Toyota Camry
2. Ford Mustang
3. Saturn Aura
4. Ford Shelby GT 500
5. Honda Civic Si
6. Nissan Altima
7. Toyota Prius
8. Volkswagen Rabbit
9. Dodge Caliber
10. Hyundai Sonata
Consumers submit reviews of their own cars or cars they test drove, and
they rank each car on Performance, Exterior, Interior and Overall
categories. Reviewers also submit pros and cons of each vehicle, and
ReviewCars.com's editors summarize these submissions into top 5 pros and
cons.
Toyota and Ford each have two vehicles in the Top 10 list. Ford
continues on with the tradition of building affordable muscle cars, and
Shelby succeeded in reigniting the passion that the Ford brand used to
elicit. Toyota, on the other hand, couples Camry with Prius, which is a
laudable effort on the high tech side. Prius became synonymous with fuel
efficiency, and it leads the hybrid culture well into the 21st century.
"What is so impressive about Toyota is that they find ways to improve a
leading car like Camry. Industry analysts continue to wonder if Ford and GM
can extend Mustang and Aura into high volume brands," Choi added.
SOURCE ReviewCars.com
CHICAGO, March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- 2007 Toyota Camry added another Car
of the Year award to its impressive resume. ReviewCars.com announced that
Toyota Camry won the award by beating two hot contenders in a highly
competitive category. Ford Mustang and Saturn Aura came very close, but in
the end it was the consumers' Overall ranking that sealed the deal.
"We analyzed reviews and user research patterns of over half a million
consumers," said Edward Choi, President and Publisher of ReviewCars.com.
Consumers especially liked 2007 Camry's significantly improved design, good
gas mileage, quiet and smooth driving, improved engine power, and roomy
interior.
Along with the Car of the Year award, ReviewCars.com also announced Top
10 Cars of the Year as well.
2007 Top 10 Cars of the Year are:
1. Toyota Camry
2. Ford Mustang
3. Saturn Aura
4. Ford Shelby GT 500
5. Honda Civic Si
6. Nissan Altima
7. Toyota Prius
8. Volkswagen Rabbit
9. Dodge Caliber
10. Hyundai Sonata
Consumers submit reviews of their own cars or cars they test drove, and
they rank each car on Performance, Exterior, Interior and Overall
categories. Reviewers also submit pros and cons of each vehicle, and
ReviewCars.com's editors summarize these submissions into top 5 pros and
cons.
Toyota and Ford each have two vehicles in the Top 10 list. Ford
continues on with the tradition of building affordable muscle cars, and
Shelby succeeded in reigniting the passion that the Ford brand used to
elicit. Toyota, on the other hand, couples Camry with Prius, which is a
laudable effort on the high tech side. Prius became synonymous with fuel
efficiency, and it leads the hybrid culture well into the 21st century.
"What is so impressive about Toyota is that they find ways to improve a
leading car like Camry. Industry analysts continue to wonder if Ford and GM
can extend Mustang and Aura into high volume brands," Choi added.
SOURCE ReviewCars.com
03-29-07, 01:20 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
I believe the Camry is currently riding on its reputation. If the same car was released with a GM badge it would not be nearly as well regarded. The new Camry is no longer exactly leading in the industry in its category (as it used to) in engine refinement, build quality, fuel mileage, reliability, and interior material quality. And to top it all off, it's still a boring car to drive, so it's not like they at least sacrificed all of the above in order to make it a more engaging car to drive.
03-29-07, 01:47 PM
#5
Threxx, I do not agree. The Camry's 3.5L V6 is arguably the best 6 cylinder powerplant in it's segment and that says a lot considering the VQ and Honda J-Engine are among them. Any way that you want to cut it, this is an impressive engine. 268HP or 272HP on premium fuel, 0-60 in 6.1 or so and the quarter mile in less than 15 seconds, and it still garners more than 30MPG on the highway in real world driving. The 4 Cylinder is also a solid engine and is very smooth and refined, but is overall less impressive than the V6. I think the problem for these cars has been transmissions, where the 6AT has been dropping gears just like the ES 350, and the 5AT had a TSIB for a software upgrade.
It also might sound foolish, but I think that the Camrys built in the first few weeks are different than the ones built now. My dad had a Camry as his loaner car for work when they first came out, and I was NOT impressed with the gaps and quality of plastics. We leased an XLE V6 two months ago, and it's a decidedly different car than the first few we had (as loaners). The interior gaps are WAY tighter and the materials actually feel a bit better than the first ones. That may be the difference between an XLE and LE, but I do know that at least some of the gaps around the center console and glove box are non existent in our XLE. That said, I do find the design of the new interior to be leaps and bounds over the old car.
The Accord is old, the Altima is nice but a CVT is not for everyone (myself included), and the new Aura is a step in the right direction, but is truthfully a few steps behind these three.
It also might sound foolish, but I think that the Camrys built in the first few weeks are different than the ones built now. My dad had a Camry as his loaner car for work when they first came out, and I was NOT impressed with the gaps and quality of plastics. We leased an XLE V6 two months ago, and it's a decidedly different car than the first few we had (as loaners). The interior gaps are WAY tighter and the materials actually feel a bit better than the first ones. That may be the difference between an XLE and LE, but I do know that at least some of the gaps around the center console and glove box are non existent in our XLE. That said, I do find the design of the new interior to be leaps and bounds over the old car.
The Accord is old, the Altima is nice but a CVT is not for everyone (myself included), and the new Aura is a step in the right direction, but is truthfully a few steps behind these three.
03-29-07, 02:00 PM
#7
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I believe the Camry is currently riding on its reputation. If the same car was released with a GM badge it would not be nearly as well regarded. The new Camry is no longer exactly leading in the industry in its category (as it used to) in engine refinement, build quality, fuel mileage, reliability, and interior material quality. And to top it all off, it's still a boring car to drive, so it's not like they at least sacrificed all of the above in order to make it a more engaging car to drive.
Considering sales are increasing, it's definitely not just "riding on it's reputation". The Camry's V6 is arguably the best overall V6 in the segment, and the Camry has better ride and refinement than the Accord, not to mention the rest of the competition.
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03-29-07, 02:32 PM
#8
Lexus Champion
Considering sales are increasing, it's definitely not just "riding on it's reputation".
The Camry's V6 is arguably the best overall V6 in the segment
and the Camry has better ride and refinement than the Accord, not to mention the rest of the competition.
03-29-07, 03:35 PM
#10
Threxx- Another thing to consider about this car is that there is something for everyone within the Camry line. The base LE is a basic people mover, the XLE is a cut rate Lexus, the SE has no problem tangling with an Altima SE or Mazda 6, and the hybrid will appeal to those seeking even greater gas mileage.
I feel that the Camry has the "best" V6 in this segment considering it's power rating, fuel efficiency, and also power delivery. It's not as high strung as the Accord's V6 and not as raspy and loud as the VQ.
When a car can do 0-60 in about six seconds flat, and blasts through the quarter mile in 14.5 seconds at almost 100MPH, and return ~33MPG on the highway, that's pretty remarkable. It also manages to sound just as powerful but less coarse than the Nissan. Perhaps there is something at Honda, Nissan, or elsewhere that you prefer, but I find the Camry to be best.
I feel that the Camry has the "best" V6 in this segment considering it's power rating, fuel efficiency, and also power delivery. It's not as high strung as the Accord's V6 and not as raspy and loud as the VQ.
When a car can do 0-60 in about six seconds flat, and blasts through the quarter mile in 14.5 seconds at almost 100MPH, and return ~33MPG on the highway, that's pretty remarkable. It also manages to sound just as powerful but less coarse than the Nissan. Perhaps there is something at Honda, Nissan, or elsewhere that you prefer, but I find the Camry to be best.
03-29-07, 05:48 PM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Why do you consider the Camry a "boring" car to drive"?.........what is so boring about it? What is wrong with refinement, smoothness, noise isolation, and a silky drivetrain? Some people, me included, just don't care to ride on rubber-band-profile tires and pound over bumps all day long just to get a little more steering response, or want to listen to boom-your-ears exhaust all day through coke-can-size pipes. And the sheer numbers of the people who buy this car proves that I am not alone with my opinion either. THEY sure don't find the car boring.
