2005 Toyota Camry 2.0E review from Malaysia

1. Received the car from the dealer with minor scratches on hood. This was fixed during 1,000 km service.

2. Received the car from the dealer with uneven paint work on the hood (just one small spot about 1 sq. cm.). This was fixed during 1,000 km service.

3. Noticed that the rear left door garnish (stripe) was not properly fastened to the door. (apparently Toyota only uses double sided tape to attach this to the door). This was fixed by dealer when I brought the car back 2 days later.

4. Gently feeding the accelerator, either from idle or at speed, resulted in a mild jerk from the car. This was significantly reduced during 1,000 km service.

5. Driver side wiper creaking when in use. Fixed during 1,000 km service.

6. After a week, buzzing sound from center console. Complained about this during 1,000 km service. Not fixed. 2 days after the service, the sound went away on its own.

7. After a week, buzzing sound from front passenger door, but only happened for a few seconds and did not come back until 2 days after 1,000 km service.

8. Received car from dealer with a patch of white, noise insulating material exposed in the front left wheel well. Fixed during 1,000 km service.

9. Undercarriage anti-rust peeled off. Noticed this 3 or 4 days after getting the car. Highlighted during 1,000 km service. After the service, forgot to check if job done. 2 days later, only realized that they did not fix it.

10. Black streak/grease marks (can barely notice) on the inside of the front driver door. Noticed only 2 or 3 days after taking delivery of car. Cleaned during 1,000 km service.

11. Dark gray colored styrofoam (?) in front right and left body panels (in front of driver and front passenger door) was loose. Highlighted during 1,000 km, but was told it was normal. Not so sure about that...

I use this car for my daily commute to work, as well as the occasional "take the client out to lunch/golf" excursion. In that respect, the car is excellent, with the exception of the minor defects I described above.

NVH - cabin is fairly quiet at any speed (just to qualify, I've never driven it above 140 km/h). Any odd sounds from within the cabin will catch your attention. The buzzing sounds I heard coming from the front passenger door and the center console would not be noticeable in my other car (Hyundai/Inokom Atoz) but in this car, you can hear it, and it gets annoying as you don't hear anything else, except the aircond blowing, low humming of the engine and muffled droning of the tyres. If there was an area to improve, it would be the tyres. Came with Goodyear NCT5. I think there are quieter tyres out there.

Spacious - Seats five adults comfortably. Plenty of legroom and head room. The boot easily fits 4 golf bags.

Upholstery can get dirty easily - It came in cream colored, fabric upholstery. It looks really nice, but I would have liked it to be a darker color.

Annoying reverse sensor/indicator audio feedback - When you engage reverse, you'll hear toht - toht - toht... not unlike the sound made when a garbage truck is reversing. As you reverse closer to a wall, for example, a quick succession of teht-teht-teht-teht-teht is introduced on top of the toht - toht - toht. And it gets quicker as you get closer to the wall. When you get close enough, it becomes a solid teeeeehhht!, all this while, you still hear the toht - toht - toht. What I don't like about it is that it is almost a sensory overkill and really makes me nervous when reversing because of all the noise I'm hearing.

Smooth Ride - really, nothing to comment about here. Its just plain good. The car/suspension takes in all the bumps, and minor potholes, and dips in the road with ease. While in the cabin, you feel or hear very little.

Great handling for normal driving - either when negotiating city roads and traffic, or cruising on the highway. Comes with ABS and that should help when maneuvering in emergency braking. Granted, this is not a high performance car or race kart so you don't take a 40 km/h bend at 80 km/h and expect the car not to roll violently and the tyres not to squeal in protest as you understeer your way off the road. It handles well for what it was designed to be - a large sized, 4 door sedan built for comfort. As for the power delivery, it was not very smooth when I first got the car. Most times, when I accelerated from standstill, whether slow, moderate or fast acceleration, I would feel a jerk. Its hard to describe, but it feels like the accelerator freeplay area is not consistent. Sometimes, I press just a little, the car accelerates smoothly. Other times, I apply the same pressure, the car does not move. I press a bit more, the engine responds, but the car is only starting to move, and then there is a jerk, and the car accelerates normally. But this was fixed after 1,000 km service.

Interior finishing - In Malaysia, the Camry is positioned more for the mid class/up market users. So you get businessmen or company execs using this car. Therefore, the cabin finishing has this near-luxury feel to it. Granted, plastics are used to imitate the look and feel of wood trimmings, it still is a nice touch.

Excellent Reliability - So far, no parts failing. Everything just works. If the reliability track record from my previous Camry is anything to go by, this car will last another 11 years.

No Vibration / Jerking - either when idling in N or D. The dashboard does not make a sound, nor does the steering wheel vibrates/trembles (note that this is different from the buzzing sound I explained earlier). Even as you engage D or shift from D through to P, there isn't the slightest hint of a jerk to indicate that you changed gears.

So-so Sound System - comes with standard Toyota labeled radio/CD player (2 din). Can play MP3. Has 6 speakers. Nothing great. Thinking of changing it already.

Useful features - climate control, rear aircond vent mounted on center console, steering controls for radio and trip computer, electric seat controls for driver, trip computer, immobilizer, cruise, etc.

Bad experience with Service Center - I sent my car to UMW Toyota for my first 1,000 km service. To start, the receptionist manning the registration counter was down right rude. Second, I got into a queue to register for my appointment, just to find out after 20 minutes that I had to take a number. In the waiting room, they were playing music with lyrics filled with profanity. To top it off, when I got back my car, the left front and rear doors were damaged. There was a 6" long Gash on the front door and a 1.5" scratch on the rear door. This being a brand new car, left me pissed out of my mind. I would decide to not go to any Toyota service center in the blink of an eye were it not for the 3 year warranty. To their, credit, they did fix up the damage for free, although it meant me leaving my car there overnight. The next day, the car was like new again, but as I was driving home, something hit my car on the driver side. I heard a loud 'donk!' and my car was scarred again - 1 inch scratch, and a dent to match. And this when my car is all of 12 days old.

All in all, this is an excellent car. This is my second Toyota. Both have been Camry's. Product wise, I'd have no problem buying another Toyota. Their customer relations for their after sales service however, is a joke.