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The Toyota Camry. Call it boring. Call it soulless. Call it vanilla. It’s no Alfa Romeo. Not even close actually but then, no single Alfa ever found ten million homes to park itself in. Call it vanilla, now. You could hold Toyota responsible for making the Camry match the quintessential definition of ‘a car’ but then they made it so dependable, you could buy it with your eyes shut.
Here’s a question. If you were to build a car that you, your uncle, your third cousin and his maternal aunt’s nephew bought, would you play it safe or build an Alfa clone? If you answered the latter, check your family tree to see if a certain Mr Bangle is related to you. If not, you could have some Italian genes. The point I am trying to make here is, you don’t mess with a very, very good thing. And here’s another bit. The current Alfa boss is so impressed by Toyota that he has asked his troop to look at Toyota as an example. So there.
Speaking of Bangle, that beardy sure is having an influence on automotive design. Call him names, but every manufacturer worth its salt is coming up with its version of flame surfacing. But when a Toyota Camry features his design touches you know he has arrived.
Which is the first thing that strikes you about the Camry – the ‘who left the boot open’ er... boot line. With regards to the front, the grille is a bit exaggerated but the rest is all good. The thin and wide headlamps (source: Toyota) and chiselled hood are ample evidence that finally there is a more focused design philosophy to this camry. What it has also done is reduce the visual bulk of the car. It’s rather imposing too and it’s certainly worthy of more than a second look. I am liking it.
The biggest or rather the most drastic change that has happened though is on the inside. The earlier Camry resembled, at best, a cab. This one resembles a Lexus and far as competition is concerned, it takes the game well forward. Put the key in, and the entire facia lights up like a discotheque, just like in the Accord. However the Camry goes a step ahead by using a two layered display that has the gear position and multi-information display in the foreground and the speedo and tacho in the background. Just like the Accord, there’s a multi-function steering wheel but you can also adjust the AC with this one. Rather helpful I thought. Ergos are perfect and the quality of materials is brilliant. Having said that, there is a bit more of faux wood than I would have liked to see.
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