2005 Toyota Camry Sportivo review from Australia and New Zealand

Nothing, nothing at all!

This car is big and comfortable. The seats are firm and supportive.

The suspension in the Sportivo is much better than the standard model, and I would recommend it. It is firm while still maintaining a comfortable ride.

The steering provides just the right level of feedback, making it crisp and responsive.

The engine while not a strong as some of the local big 6's, is impressive for a 4. It pulls the car along well, with much more power than I was expecting. The variable valve timing starts to kick in around 3k rpm, giving the engine a more aggressive tone, and more kick. It is plenty for passing, and is enough to trick you into thinking it's a sporty car (sometimes).

My only real gripe (apart from more power - every car needs that) is that sometimes it is hard to find reverse gear. If this happens, I go to one of the forward gears and then back to R - no problems, but still it shouldn't happen.

I have driven the same car in an auto for work (the reason we looked at one of these in the first place) and found the auto was responsive, even and exact. It didn't sap to much of the power from the engine. The local Falcodore transmissions are rubbish in comparison.

I find the Camry a rewarding car to drive, it reminds me of my old Saab. Usually when you describe Toyotas, the good points stop at reliability. I have driven the standard model and found the car was putting me to sleep. Toyota have done a great job with the Sportivo variant.

The car returns good fuel economy, much better then those local 6's I mentioned earlier. It also has a 5 star safety rating (apparently better then the C-class Merc of the same year).

Finally the car is produced in Australia (your model may not be if you don't live in Australia), what more can you ask for?

I think quality issues for Toyota may very from country to country. Cars like the Camry and the Corolla are produced in many different locations around the world. I think despite its best efforts, Toyota has trouble maintaining quality over such a large and varying manufacturing base. In other words - the same model might be better if it was produced in country A rather than country B. Just my 2c.