Faults:

Radio just went out, however the CD player still works.

General Comments:

I have had Chevrolet products my whole life except for my first new car, which was a 1983 Ford Escort. The worst car I ever owned.

In 2004 I purchased a brand new 2004 Toyota Camry LE. I still have the car because it has been the best car I ever owned. I have kept up all the maintenance and hauled grand kids for the past three years. The seats do not show any wear, however I have to clean the carpets due to the kids. I don't have the rattles people mentioned unless I leave change or toys in the doors. I have had no problems other than general maintenance.

Faults:

Nothing mechanical.

Remote fuel release jammed, fixed myself.

Passenger visor ripped out holding clamp when pulled out. Fixed myself.

Paint on front bumper is vulnerable to stone chips. Needs to be resprayed, quoted $400.

General Comments:

I'm really impressed with this car.

So far everything I've heard about Toyota has proven to be true. The car runs faultlessly and everything on it works the way it should.

It is beautiful to drive, with a flexible, great sounding engine. The gear change could be a little less notchy, but it's easy enough to live with.

Mine is fitted with factory sports suspension, which makes the ride a little more abrupt than the base car, but it is never harsh and it's worth it to get more precise handling.

I like the styling, I think the elliptical theme is a lot more interesting than the styling on the current model.

Nothing I can do will make this car use more than 12 litres/100km, which is an improvement over my Volvo 960 that used 14 litres/100km no matter how carefully I drove it.

Servicing is well priced. At a major Toyota dealer the customer service is efficient and competent, but a little impersonal.

My only real criticism is the tyre noise at cruise. The tyres on my car are Dunlop SPs, not the standard Michelin Vivacy. In any case, the only reason I notice the tyre noise is because no other part of the car makes any noise at all.

Owning this car has spoiled me. I'll never put up with half arsed design ever again.

General Comments:

The 2.4 manual transmission is quite peppy and excellent on gas. The SE model contains an upper stabilizer bar which gives the car a sportier stiffness around corners, without compromising a very smooth ride. The interior is very comfy and I love all of the leather/power/sunroof options. The stereo delivers great sound, to complete the perfect ride!

My only complaints are:

- Cheapness of some interior parts; the faux chrome is wearing around the inside door handles and is unsightly.

- The sun visors are very loose and tend to swivel around corners

- Sunroof rattles a little

- Orange on grey instrument panel took some getting used to.

Although the car is over 5 years old, I'm hoping to get at least another 7-8 years out of it. It was challenging finding a mid-sized 5 speed of this caliber within my price range. The next owner of this car will be the scrapyard, hopefully many years down the road.