Toyota Camry Problems

It's hard to make recommendations without knowing much about what you want. The choices of vehicles for a family of four are many and varied, as you say. I would consider a Kia Sportage SUV, Toyota Camry mid-sized sedan, or a Ford Falcon is you want a large sedan. You would certainly be better off shopping for a one to two-year-old used car.

It's what's called "seasoning" of the catalytic converter, basically as it burns in during early use. In a lot of cars, especially in the early days of converters, there was a rotten-egg smell from the exhaust gases. So, in my experience, nothing to worry about.

The CVT oil should be changed every 100,000km. As for the fuel consumption it's best to do a check yourself by measuring how much fuel it is actually using. Judging the consumption by how far the gauge falls is very inaccurate, and I wouldn't stake my life on the fuel consumption gauges in the car. Do an actual measurement and you will know exactly what the consumption is. Nissan claims an average of 9.1L/100km, 7.7L/100km on country driving, and 11.5L/100km on city use. I would expect your car would fall somewhere between 9.1 and 11.5L/100km.

The Camry is a good choice, it's well-built and reliable, and won't cost the Earth to service. Another to consider would be the Mazda 6, also a well-built and reliable car of about the same size as the Camry.

Normally I would tell you to cut and run from such a high-mileage car but it sounds like a member of the family. Besides, you won't get much for $7000 and your Camry still seems to be running fine.

Car washes are generally not good for any car and really should be avoided by everyone. Being hammered by high pressure water and swept by brushes doesn't do the paint any favours. Hand washing using clean water and a clean cloth is the best way to look after your car if you can do it.

The towing capacity of the 2012 Camry is 500kg if the trailer has no brakes and 1200kg if it does have brakes. Given your wanting to tow a small aluminium boat I assume your trailer doesn't have brakes, so the 500kg limit would apply. Remember though that it's the total weight that you plan to tow, which includes the weight of the trailer, not just the weight of the boat and whatever you carry in it.

Ford spokesman, Neil McDonald, replies: “We checked with the engineers and both the rear and side widows use tempered glass which can show up the heat-treatment pattern with polarised sunglasses.  You need to get the right angle and the right light but you can see this on every piece of rear and side glass in every manufacturer’s product”.

Yes, I agree that SUVs are a good choice of vehicle for older drivers; as you say they afford you a good view of the road ahead and your surroundings, and they're easier to get in and out of. They are, however, larger and that can make them awkward for older drivers who have a greater tendency to bump into things. If you choose an SUV the CX-5 is a good one. Should you decide against the SUV you could look at the Mazda 6, Subaru Liberty, Toyota Camry, Kia Optima or Honda Accord. All are good cars. Another to think about is the Subaru Outback, a high-riding version of the Liberty.

We test all cars in the real world, on the toughest corners and worst surfaces we can find, and I've been doing the job for nearly 40 years. Hyundai has focussed its suspension work on European-style handling, not a cushy American-style ride, but that's no different from many other brands. For your needs I would probably have steered you to a Nissan Pulsar, but also advised not to buy anything without a proper test drive on road you know.