TRDFantasy

Lol what? You're joking right? This must be the funniest thing I've heard all week.

Many people don't want/or need a minivan or SUV. Especially in the current state of the world and US economy, most people are living less excessively. For many people, a midsize sedan is a GREAT family vehicle. Just look at the sales figures; the midsize segment is very strong right now.

As for the Camry, it is (still) the most comfortable midsize sedan for 5 people out on the market. Period. Camry still has the most comfortable rear seating area, including good headroom, good legroom and good rear visibility. The rear seating in many of the other midsize competitors is a joke. Comfortable seating for 5, proven reliability and practicality, a refined ride in a variety of conditions and roads, and a large trunk make the Camry an excellent family vehicle.

LexFather

I lol'd

Tons of humor

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

we're not talking about just 'people' we're talking about FAMILIES, which generally means two adults and at least one child. if a family has one small child and goes on a trip, that's two suitcases, bag of kiddy stuff, maybe diapers, toys, ok that works. if a family has 2 children, the camry is now stuffed full on a trip. 2 teenage kids? or even 3? forget it. you now have 4-5 suitcases plus electronics, maybe coats, other stuff - camry cannot hold all this, you need a cuv/suv where the extra cargo HEIGHT means the suitcases can stand upright.

so yes, the camry and other 'family sedans' works for small families with 1 or 2 small children. but when they're teens, fuggedaboutit.

yes, and will continue to be, because many people simply refuse to see themselves in a cuv/suv, but i predict fam sedan segment will continue to shrink as more sales go to cuv/suv.

the other big win of cuv/suv even for fams with small children is ease of ingress/egress and getting kids in and out of child seats.

5 people going shopping or for dinner, fine. 5 people going on vacation - no way.

TF109B

SUV/CUV's use too much gas, and with gas prices still high, they won't sell nearly as well as a Camry type car. Camry is more than a car, it's a name. No SUV or CUV besides maybe the F series and Detroit pickups are close to it's sales. So all this talk about SUV's and crap is nice, but no one cares and it's way off topic. This is about how the Camry does in CR's reports and if it'll be recommended.

spwolf

i dont know how we europeans do it - for us, Prius is family sedan. Heck, Yaris is often an family car.

How do we get around dear lord, without those 5000lbs beasts to carry our luggage around.

LexBob2

Since this discussion is about what to call the segment (Family Sedans), what would be a good name for it? Mid-sized Sedans doesn't work any more since some of the cars (Accord for example) are considered full sized now. IMO, the term Family Sedan seems like a resonable reference name vs. how the vehicle is actualy used.

Toys4RJill

I vote for midsize sedan, the Camry is not full size in any way. A Toyota Avalon, LS460, Crown Vic, Ford 500, Buick Lucerne, Caddy DTS are all large sedans.

TRDFantasy

Lol

Some facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...fertility_rate

US fertility rate is at about 2. So therefore, the average US family has 2 kids. 2 adults and 2 kids will comfortably fit into a Camry, including all of their stuff.

4-5 suitcases? The average US family does not often make such big or long trips where so much stuff would be needed.

Also as spywolf mentioned, how do Europeans manage with sedans and hatches, having several kids and having stuff like suitcases?