Have been looking at the '07 Camry as a possible next vehicle. They are available in the 4 and V6, of course. The salesman says the 4 performs just fine and the 6 at #2000+ is probably not worth the money. Mileage about the same and no huge difference in performance. Have test driven them both, but a test drive for a few minutes is not a good indicator. Looking for some opinions of the two choices. I know the 6 comes with a 6 speed and the 4 with a 5 speed. Any pluses or minuses there ? ? Any/all comments would really be appreciated. Thanks ! ! Zork
I think it was snipped-for-privacy@worldnet.att.net (Zork) who stated:
We chose a V6 when we got our '05 Camry SE. It's smoother and quieter and (of course) more powerful.
But (also of course) it was more expensive and uses more gas.
The V6 passes with great ease, usually without downshifting, and just seems more relaxed than the fours that we test drove. That was true of all the V6 models . . . .
We drove several brands of cars with 4s and 6s around the same several-mile test loop one after the other -- the Camry SE V6 was easily the most pleasant of the bunch.
I'm pleased with our choice, but probably would have been happy with the 4 too, because of the lower price and better mileage. (How's THAT for a mixed message? ;^)
I suggest a longer test drive in each one and ask yourself what attributes are MOST important!
The 4 cyl has some attractive features: its simpler to work on, it has adequate power, you just have to rap it out a bit more, Recently we did a
200 mile round trip with 4 passengers. On overtaking a semi-trailer I foundif I floored the throttle in 4th gear (its a manual 5 spd) the car reached 140kph (90mph) with ease. Now the V6 would get the same speed and get there faster, but the point was the 4 cyl had more than adequate performance to do the job. Economy is very good on the 4cyl, and its this that I would miss the most. The only thing I do wish I had the 6 for, is local driving where traffic lights are plentiful. The 4 makes harder work of these if you want to keep up with rest of the cars.
=== That was the deciding factor for me. Have been able to learn to perform all maintenance and keep the car in top condition at very reasonable cost. For example, open the hood and look for the spark plugs. On the six, changing them is a challenge, on the four it's simple. I imagine if someone else does all the work this would be less significant, you'd just pay slightly more.
Yes indeedy,..nothing worse than trying to get to an accessory (plugs, alternator, PS pump, AC comp et etc) which requires an hour of stuffing around, where on the 4 its sitting there looking at you :-)
OK.....I see the many advantages of the 4 over the 6, most importantly the 4 seems to have more than adequete power. Last question then....how about the engine noise of the two ? ? As the
4 apparently has to work harder to maintain both city and freeway speeds, is the cabin noise higher with it also ? ? Revs usually equal noise. Thanks all !! Zork
On my 4-cyl, the wind noise overwhelms the engine noise at highway speed. The engine only revs at about 2500 under those circumstances.
I can't really compare the 6 with the 4 in the city because I only drove a 6 once on a test drive back in 1999. I concluded that I didn't need the 6, bought the 4 and never looked back.
Consumer Reports prefers the V6. They gave it a better reliability rating, commented on how much smoother the engine was, and claimed it only got 1 mpg less than the 4.
I would hope that both engines would be very reliable, but as was pointed out, the four will almost always be easier to work on, as well as require less oil, two less spark plugs, one less valve cover gasket, etc.
Of course the V6 is smoother than the 4 cylinder, I would be shocked if it was not given similar quality levels.
The gas difference is also not surprising, but I will bet that you can make the V6 use a lot more than a 1 mpg difference when you run both engines hard.
In 1999 I test drove the Corolla and both the Camry 6 and 4. Back then, no contest, the 6 kicked ass, so I bought it. Life's too short to quibble about a measly $2,000. The extra money was well worth it. As far as repairs, *I* pay OTHERS to deal with those back spark plugs, for example. The 6 had less wind noise, too.
I wasn't recommending one versus the other, just pointing out the differences, such as the fact that a V6 is almost always smoother than a
4 cylinder, and that a shade-tree mechanic can keep a 4 going more easily and less expensively than with a 6.
There are pros and cons to each engine even if they do not apply to you. Toyota has millions of other customers to consider.
To some people, it is a great compromise between economy and still getting a great sedan to buy the four. To others, like yourself, the six is well worth it. Some people would not be caught dead in either one and some people dream of owning something as good as a well-used 4 cylinder Camry one day.
Lots of different situations and income levels for different people.
I don't know many shade tree mechanics that can actually fix a modern engine. For that matter, in the last 20 years the most significant engine repair I've had to deal with is replacing a coil pack. That would be easier on a four, but since I've replaced 1 coil pack in 20 years and 650,00 miles of driving, I don't think that is a major concern.
In my opinion the only reason to buy the four is to save on the initial purchase price. At the most the difference in gas mileage is going to cost you a couple of hundred per year.
My SO bought a 2007 four cylinder RAV4 (same engine as four cylinder Camrys). Low cost and utility were her main criteria. Well low cost as long as it was a Toyota. I can't explain the illogic of spending $3k to $4k extra to get a Toyota and then buying the 4 cylinder model to save money. There are many comparable vehicles available that are far cheaper. Never the less, the RAV4 four has plenty of power to handle her needs. I've driven it several times. When we drove down I-95 earlier this year, it easily kept up with high speed traffic. I never felt that it lacked power in any meaningful way. True I wasn't going to out drag many cars, but I wasn't holding up traffic either. On the other hand, fuel economy was unimpressive.
I know that given the choice between the four and the V-6, I'd go with the V-6. But that is just me. The majority of Camry owners buy the four.
Maybe the V-6 has a white noise effect :) Or maybe if you get the V-6 Toyota adds active noise canceling like Honda does with the Pilot V-6 (if you didn't know, Honda uses the stereo system to create white noise to mask engine noise of the V-6 with cylinder deactivation).
I know a few. I also know a couple that are better than the average certified mechanic that I have seen working, simply because they care about the work and are not ever ripping anybody off when helping out a friend or family member with a car problem.
We also are not just talking about advanced engine work, but the additional room offered by the four underneath the hood that makes most parts easier to access when work needs to be done, whether this be working on the A/C compressor, replacing an alternator, replacing spark plugs, etc.
I have done considerably more than that, on various 4's, 6 cylinders and V-8's. Almost without exception, if two engine choices are offered, the car with the smaller engine is easier and less expensive to work on.
This can be a factor for someone who has bought the car used on a budget or has inherited the aging family sedan as their high school or college car. It obviously is not a factor for you, which is great since they offer a V-6 option.
No question, it sounds like the six is definitely what suits you best and it is good that you got that one.
Well, now we are talking about a vehicle that just makes me want to cringe when I see one. Buying a Camry, yes. Getting any year RAV4 with any engine configuration, never, not for me.
That probably does have to do with initial purchase price more than anything. I'm really not sure which one I would buy.
I currently drive a 4-cylinder, non-Toyota roadster that has a far better power to weight ratio than any production Camry, so I definitely like power, but I maintain a family member's '94 Camry and when it needs work under the hood, I am usually glad that it is a 4 and not a 6.
When I drive the '94 Camry, it seems to have adequate power for what it is being used for. It accelerates onto the highway just fine and it has never been a car to race around in.
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