1997 Toyota Camry CSi review from Australia and New Zealand
"It's the perfect car for me"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Seatbelt reels are starting to become noisy and lock up often for no reason. This is not a safety concern, as they perform their duty perfectly well.
Had to replace leaky coolant bottle the week after I bought the car. It was relatively cheap to buy from the dealer.
A few minor squeaks, but it is 13 years old so who cares?
Bad seal in the tail light, where it mounts to the luggage compartment lid. Water gets into the light sometimes, then pours into the luggage compartment when the lid is up.
Hoodlining (ceiling fabric) is beginning to fall down in places.
General comments?
For a family sedan, the Camry is incredibly economical. Tank is 70 Litres, and I get almost 800km from a full tank on a long trip. Runs nicely on ethanol blend fuel, too.
Build quality could have been better, but it's way above Commodores and Falcons of the same age. Plastics are well finished and last a long time.
It's fun to drive! I'm sure you don't believe me, but it's quite punchy and flexible through the gears. Engine feel and sound is not unpleasant.
I also like the clean styling of the body.
Recommended reviews
| Comfortable, reliable, relatively fun family sedan |
|
| These Camry's are built like tanks! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1997 |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 2009 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2009 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.2L 4 cylinder twin cam Manual |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 10 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 198100 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 202200 kilometres |
| Previous car | Holden Commodore |
| Date of Entry | 24th October, 2009 |