spwolf

gotta say I visit some camry forums and people are pretty happy with their cars, and they are known to complain a lot... toyota users are entitled bunch, as they should be, so every issue is blown out of proportion, usually.

84Cressida

There are some areas where it clearly is better, and others where it isn't. The carpet and headliner in the old Camry were definitely better than in the new one, which uses cheap, thin carpet that traps dirt easily and isn't nearly as durable, and the cheap recycled paper headliner. The rear door panels also lose some of the soft touch padding from the front doors in the new one.

It isn't nearly as bad as MotorTrend calls it, but Toyota could improve it and I hope they do.

TRDFantasy

Exactly. Plus the internet generation and auto forum people don't understand at all that most people who are happy with their cars will never post online. Most people period just don't post online. Only the vocal minority does, and those with other agendas such as being paid shills to hate on competitors.

We have enough real-world facts and data to see what cars are actually good, and what cars are not, but a lot of times auto forum posters like to ignore these details, because it's the internet.

TRDFantasy

Yes there are those minor areas, but the most glaring flaws of the previous generation were fixed in this new car.

The dashboard is greatly improved, as are the seats from what I hear. The overall build quality is more solid, and the car drives more confidently. It's less prone to pulling to the side and side winds overall, due to the changes in the spring setup. Fuel economy is way up across the board, and the SE is much sportier than the previous-generation SE.

84Cressida

The dashboard in the Gen 6 wasn't bad at all, the entre upper portion was soft touch. On the new one, the section closest to the driver is the stitched leatherette, but there isn't really all that much padding in it. I'd have rather skipped the stitching if it meant we had a one piece dashboard that was thickly padded. Both the Gen 6 and the new one could use more padding on the top of the door panels. There's a vinyl material there, but very little foam underneath.

Build quality and panel gaps are definitely better, as is the fabric material and overall color scheme (far less grey in the new one). It definitely isn't uncompetitive for the class, but the things like the carpet and headliner need to be improved soon, since every car in this class now has better carpet/headliners. The stuff in there now isn't even acceptable for the Corolla.

I liked the Camry's interior a lot until I saw the effort that was put into the new Avalon. Yes, that is a more expensive car, but the US Engineers who designed that car clearly put the interior quality and overall design at the top of the priority list. I feel there is a huge disconnect with Toyota's Japanese Engineers (sans Lexus engineers) in just how much the competitive landscape has changed.

TRDFantasy

I understand what you're saying, and yes the new Avalon is a huge leap forward. Expect to see a significant mid-cycle update for the Camry. Toyota knows exactly what they need to do.

While there was a disconnect previously, I doubt that there is one now. Akio Toyoda has given the company a clear, laser focus and has given a lot of freedom and more money to engineers and product developers. Akio Toyoda, when he first took the top job, made it clear to shareholders and bean counters that Toyota's profit margins would shrink in the next several years as the company would be focusing on building great products, not focusing on great profit margins.

With that said, given what a huge leap the new Avalon is, and what a big leap the new Lexus models are, I think we should be all excited that there will be big improvements coming for the Corolla and the Camry.

Remember that the Avalon got a pretty good refresh just 2 years ago that still kept it looking new and competitive, and now the Avalon is getting a HUGE redesign. This is how Toyota will be in the future. Nice, significant refreshes followed by big redesigns that are huge leaps forward.

spwolf

There is $12k difference between base Camry and base Avalon.

I would personally much rather have fake leather on the dash than plasitic of any kind... Fake leather is also used in most luxury cars while everyone else has plastic. My IS doesnt have much give in its plastic but it looks good.

I like new Avalon a lot too... but with cheaper cars, cost needs to go out of somewhere.

speedflex

This comparison is as lucid and balanced as can be compared to Car&Driver's. You think you've seen Accord love-fests from C&D in the past. You ain't seen nothin yet.

Brian@Vossen

I just lol'd So true.