Toyota Camry 2002 Review

The exciting new generation Camry has been created with a deliberate aim of attracting younger drivers to build on its already extensive list of loyal owners.

Toyota Australia has spent $350 million and taken four years to create a car it believes is right for the 21st century.

With a starting price of $26,990, features ranging from a smooth new body to backseat air conditioning vents just add to the sportier focus on driving enjoyment.

"Camry spearheads Toyota's drive to regain number one position in the Australian market," says Toyota Australia's senior executive vice-president, John Conomos.

"Export success is already assured. Demand from our existing export customers is strong and we are in the process of an investigation of new markets in China and South America."

Young Australian designers have played a key part in creating the all-new Camry, the fifth generation to wear the badge Down Under.

Toyota's manager of local manufacture strategy, Adrian Weimers, says the company has broadened the overall concept of the car to attract buyers in the 25-40-year-old age group as well as retaining its traditional owners who were on average over 40.

A key part of this lifestyle-focus change is the creation of the first true sporty Camry, the Sportivo.

With its contemporary lines and sporty aero kit it is aimed at creating a unique driving experience attractive to younger people.

The Sportivo is the first Camry in the world to have a body kit fitted as standard. The kit consisting of front and rear spoilers and side and rear skirts was designed in Australia.

"The design of the vehicle is slightly more aggressive on the Sportivo," Weimers says.

"Inside there is a leather steering wheel and gearshift knob. There are also lots of splashes of metallic finish, with black pearl featuring strongly in the badging."

Toyota expects that up to 20 per cent of all new Camrys sold will be the Sportivo.

These models also boast tighter suspension settings, Michelin tyres, alloy wheels, sportier bucket seats and foglamps.

The V6 Sportivo also has climate control air conditioning, side airbags and alcantara synthetic suede seat trim. "Sportivo is pitched very clearly at winning converts," Weimers says. "The car has been given a distinctly sporting hue."

It is also the result of a worldwide survey of driving styles, which showed Australians - despite tight speed limits - have a sportier style and corner more briskly than Americans, Japanese or Europeans.

The Toyota research found Australian driving patterns are more similar to those in Europe than America or Japan. It found Australian drivers rarely exceed 120 km/h because of speed limits, but on the open road they are loathe to drop beneath the legal limit so cornering speeds are higher and more aggressive than even in Europe.

Backing the new car is an extensive promotional campaign. Sportivo has its own advertisement emphasising its position.

"You could drop any European brand into that advertisment and it would look right," Weimers says.

And, he adds, the across-the-board changes over the previous model Camry are profound.

"It's a really important part of our launch strategy to get people to understand that the standard specification of the new car is significantly above that of the superseded Camry," Weimers says.

The Camry body was designed in Japan, and the American version is already heading for number one in the US, but the local model is very Australian.

The "Australianisation" includes everything from the headlamps to the suspension.

There is also a new 2.4-litre four-cylinder motor, claimed to be the lightest of its type in the world, which is being built at a new $90 million engine factory in Melbourne alongside the Altona assembly line.

The heart of the Camry is its chassis - billed as the "Toyota Modular Platform" because of its flexibility and potential for development of extra models. The chassis is already shared with the Avalon and there is talk of an all-wheel drive model at some time in the future.

Topped by a swish new body with lower drag, the Camry boasts a bigger (and quieter) cabin and a boot that's bigger than a Falcon or Commodore.

The headlights make a striking statement and, thanks to intensive local development, mean much brighter Camry nights.

The lamps are part of a program which has boosted local content to 77 per cent, a Camry record, and covered everything from the seats and sound system to the brakes and suspension.

"Toyota Australia has had local engineering input in locally manufactured product for more than two decades, but nothing matches the scale of involvement in this new Camry," says Toyota's divisional general manager Max Gillard.

"This reflects the confidence Toyota Motor Corporation has in TMCA's technical division."

The work of the engineers and specialists involved in the car, is reflected in the final line-up. There are 11 Camry models, each of them offering a value-added boost to the final specification.

For example the starting-price four-cylinder Altise offers twin airbags, four-wheel disc brakes, air-conditioning, CD player, power windows, electric mirrors, remote central locking and a power socket. And there's a choice of nine exterior colours.

All up, the new Camry provides a driving package that deserves the serious consideration of new car buyers.