Camry Or Accord ?

I spent nearly 3 weeks evaluating cars on paper and then driving them. Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Mazada, Nissan, PT, Buick, Chev etc, drove about 25 and after a while they all seemed OK. I think I would have been satisfied with any of them so I had a lot of data and personal opinion to sift thru. We finally decided on the 05 Camry LE 4 cyl. 5 spd auto, with power windows, mirrors, drivers seat and door locks, cruise control, and radio/cd with steering wheel control in Luna Mist. After a lot of Internet bargaining our out the door price was $18165, MSRP $21444. My reasons for the Camry are based on the following perceptions or facts:

  1. high reliability
  2. lowest depreciation
  3. lowest price
  4. good gas mileage
  5. satisfactory performance
  6. adequate cabin room
  7. best trunk space
  8. quiet and smooth
  9. good warranty
  10. excellent ratings by several consumer reporting agencies
  11. 100,000 mile factory warranty available if I want just before regular warranty expires. .After 6 weeks the car has 5300 miles on it, 3 long trips. Went from Tulsa to Four Corners and Grand Canyon. Went over many 7500 ft. passes and car performed acceptably. I had no problem staying with the flow of traffic and had to restrain myself and slow down many times. the 4 cyl. 5 spd auto is fine with me. With 3 adults in the car and a full trunk the car averaged about 33 mpg at 75 and 80 mph, AC performed great, very good AC considering
100+ days. I'm 6' 4" and 200 lbs and car fits me fine, lots of leg room and I made 840 miles one day, with a stop to stretch every 100 to 150 miles and I didn't feel any fatigue from seat or position

Things I don't like:

  1. spongy feel of brake pedal.
2 odometer reads high by 2.8%
  1. outdoor thermometer reads about 4 degrees too high.
  2. shifter out of park is not real positive
  3. trunk could be bigger
  4. gasoline gauge division don't make any sense except 1/4, 1/2 and full and not real accurate.
  5. the radio has good sound but AM gets images from strong undesired stations.
  6. XM or Sirus was not available as an option on this model and jumping up to a higher price didn't make sense.
  7. I would have loved to have a trip computer that showed mpg etc but again not available unless I jumped to a higher priced mode.
  8. I didn't use the steering wheel tilt at all after setting it. It would have been much more useful had they included telescoping.
  9. The factory trunk mat looks like it was home made.

Prior to the Camry all my similar long trips have been in my 1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD or rented Buick Regals or Chev Malibus. I really like Regals and Malibus but depreciation and reliability is not as good as some rice boxes.

Reply to
Henry Kolesnik
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On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 15:23:10 +0000, Henry Kolesnik wrote: 11. The factory trunk mat looks like it was home made.

I have noticed this. On some models, you get the nice, thick, plush floor mats that feel like they're actually made of something and will stand up to the life of the car, and others feel like those Kraco ones you can buy at K-Mart for $20...

Reply to
hachiroku

Check out the new Mazda range too.

Reply to
top gear

No, don't.

Reply to
S.S.

Yeah, they have the hot cars Toyota has left behind...

Reply to
hachiroku

What makes Toyota and Honda stand out is their exceptional reliability. Mazda are currently beating them, and their designs are smart to look at too. The Accord and the Mazda 6 are not that far off in looks, with more appealing touches here and there, yet the Mazda is cheaper and more reliable.

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Reply to
top gear

What is your source of this claim? I've heard that Mazda is one of the most unreliable Japanese brands today. I guess we can blame Ford for that.

Reply to
S.S.

Maybe you do not need a Toyota, either.

Both Honda and Toyota are Asian makes and they are designed for your fat ass.

Reply to
Paul

And just about anything sold new today in the US has more than enough engine power to merge onto freeways safely. However, most drivers appear to be afraid to press the accelerator more than 1/4 way down. It is annoying being stuck behind an on-ramp slug, especially when you know that the on-ramp slug's car can accelerate much faster than your car.

Reply to
Timothy J. Lee

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?apc128339010848601 They were most reliable in 2003 in the UK, not sure of last year.

Reply to
top gear

OK, but are UK Mazdas made the same as North American Mazdas? I would tend to believe that they may be different.

Reply to
S.S.

We've got a Mazda (3?) on the lot, a little BRIGHT blue 5-door that looks aggressive enough. If it had a 5-speed I'd be trying it out...

'Course, we also have a Lexus IS-300 5-door, and if it had a 5-speed, it'd probably be in my driveway.

Funny that Toyota decided to make this car a Lexus and not a Toyota, where it could replace the long-gone Corolla hatches with a sporty alternative.

Reply to
hachiroku

Um, the US Mazdas are built in the US; where are the UK units built (Hmmm...UK=RHD, Japan=RHD...)

Reply to
hachiroku

Well, there is the Scion tC. :-)

Speaking of Scion, has that arrived in Canada? I saw a silver xB today with Ontario license plates, but I wasn't able to make out a dealer sticker.

Reply to
S.S.

This is true, but I would put this in the Celica class.

Reply to
hachiroku

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