I rented a Camry for 10 days and about 1,200 miles this month. A nearby dealer offers rentals by the hour or by the month at reasonable prices. Yours may also.

The Camry got no complaints. It was quick enough to do plenty of passing on I5 between LA and SJ, (I have no idea why the passing lane stays crowded and slow while the other sits empty), comfortable enough, cavernous trunk space. The Sport shift mode woke things up enough. Suspension was not as tight around the interchange loops as I'd like but this car is not meant to be a canyon carver. If I needed a car of that size, it would be considered.

We had a Corolla for a few days as well. The amusing thing was when my family heard the engine, they all said "What's that!?" at the same time as we come from an electric car. Engine noise was too loud, sounded like hamsters. I drove the car hard, as I am morally obligated to drive a rental, and it kept up but I would consider others before it.

Thanks for the information and giving me the idea renting a Camry from a local dealer to try it out

I own a Camry that I bought new and still drive with about 90K miles on it. In terms of reliability, this is top notch car and is very comfortable. I only wish I had bought a V6 version, which runs much smoother. For a car this large, I get over 30 mpg consistently on highway. As long as you don't care to much about image/looks you will not be disappointed with Camry.

I will recommend that you try Honda Accord, which has a stellar record, drives really well and is comparable to Camry. I would definitely buy Honda except I absolutely hate dealing with Honda dealers in my area.

Bland, boring, infinitely reliable, nicely kitted out and exceedingly well put together. I suppose that all fits the bill of 'good car', and if that's what you're after it'll do you just fine.

However! If it's just you alone for 2 x 20 minutes a day, to and from work and - I suppose - a spot of shopping, why bother with a large sedan? Downsizing is the new black, haven't you heard, and it's about finding the size the does the job you need and not much more. So, how about a VW Polo? Or a Mini Cooper? Honda Civic? Merc A-class? There's lots of interesting stuff going on in the 'B' segment, suggest you have a look at that.

nws2002 wrote:

The Camry isn't a bad car, but it's a boring car and not particularly good looking.

The guy is replacing a PT Cruiser which he managed to drive without dying of shame for 10 years. I don't think excitement or aesthetics is high on his list of priorities.

Nothing wrong with a Camry. It would definitely be a big upgrade from the PT Cruiser.

Dreadnought wrote:

nws2002 wrote:

The Camry isn't a bad car, but it's a boring car and not particularly good looking.

The guy is replacing a PT Cruiser which he managed to drive without dying of shame for 10 years. I don't think excitement or aesthetics is high on his list of priorities.

Nothing wrong with a Camry. It would definitely be a big upgrade from the PT Cruiser.

LOL...my wife thinks I should buy a Camero to replace the P.T. but I can't just see it as only drive 30 minutes a day.

Dreadnought wrote:

The guy is replacing a PT Cruiser which he managed to drive without dying of shame for 10 years. I don't think excitement or aesthetics is high on his list of priorities.

That cracked me up.

Back in the mid-2000s, I traveled for work several times. And many of those times, for some stupid reason, I'd end up with a PT Cruiser rental.

I was always horrendously embarrassed getting in and out of it.

B777LRF wrote:

However! If it's just you alone for 2 x 20 minutes a day, to and from work and - I suppose - a spot of shopping, why bother with a large sedan? Downsizing is the new black, haven't you heard, and it's about finding the size the does the job you need and not much more. So, how about a VW Polo? Or a Mini Cooper? Honda Civic? Merc A-class? There's lots of interesting stuff going on in the 'B' segment, suggest you have a look at that.

I can't speak for the OP, but I know that after I owned a Civic and a Mazda 3, I was starting to feel really cramped and just wanted something with a bit more room on the inside.

To the OP, I personally would look at a Mazda 6. But that's what I ended up buying, so I might be biased.

I've paid for my retired parent's last 3 cars. All Camrys. I tell them to go drive the Accord, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata, and the Camry, and then I'll negotiate the deal. (I lease them for 36 months for them.) The last 3, they like the Camry best. Haven't needed any out of pocket work ever. Their next one is coming due next year. My guess...another Camry. There's a reason it, and the Honda Accord are the top sellers.

vikkyvik wrote:

Dreadnought wrote:

The guy is replacing a PT Cruiser which he managed to drive without dying of shame for 10 years. I don't think excitement or aesthetics is high on his list of priorities.

That cracked me up.

Back in the mid-2000s, I traveled for work several times. And many of those times, for some stupid reason, I'd end up with a PT Cruiser rental.

I was always horrendously embarrassed getting in and out of it.

B777LRF wrote:

However! If it's just you alone for 2 x 20 minutes a day, to and from work and - I suppose - a spot of shopping, why bother with a large sedan? Downsizing is the new black, haven't you heard, and it's about finding the size the does the job you need and not much more. So, how about a VW Polo? Or a Mini Cooper? Honda Civic? Merc A-class? There's lots of interesting stuff going on in the 'B' segment, suggest you have a look at that.

I can't speak for the OP, but I know that after I owned a Civic and a Mazda 3, I was starting to feel really cramped and just wanted something with a bit more room on the inside.

To the OP, I personally would look at a Mazda 6. But that's what I ended up buying, so I might be biased.

Thanks for the information. I just drive the PT to and from work so the embarrassment is minimal.

Probably instead of looking at a Lincoln MKZ 2.0H (Hybrid), I should look at a Camry XLE Limited Hybrid but to me, the Camry is so ubiquitous and generic looking (read boring), that I'm not. In too many ways it just seems too vanilla, no matter how good it undeniably is. But the Camry no doubt holds its value better than the Lincoln I'm looking at. Good luck.

dfwjim1 wrote:

LOL...my wife thinks I should buy a Camero to replace the P.T. but I can't just see it as only drive 30 minutes a day.

So compromise and get a Mazda Miata - that would be a nice way to commute.

ABQ747 wrote:

The Camry isn't a bad car, but it's a boring car and not particularly good looking. I'd rather have a Fusion.

The Fusion drives well, but I cannot stand Ford cockpit ergonomics. Too many menus and buttons. I'll take HVAC knobs over a touch screen any day.

nickh wrote:

Chain drive over Belts anytime

-Nick

In theory yes, but a maintained timing belt engine lasts a long time. The "lifetime" timing chains are at the mercy of Nylon timing chain guides which are known to fail. Google "broken timing chain guides " for some videos of some nasty engine noises.

DL_Mech wrote:

The Fusion drives well, but I cannot stand Ford cockpit ergonomics. Too many menus and buttons. I'll take HVAC knobs over a touch screen any day.

Thank you! I thought I was just being an early fuddy duddy. I know lots of people complain about Subaru's "simple / basic" controls. I love them. I love my WRX and the simplicity of everything. A knob. A button. A switch. If I wanted to drive my iPad, I'd buy a Tesla.

PacificBeach88 wrote:

I thought I was just being an early fuddy duddy. I know lots of people complain about Subaru's "simple / basic" controls. I love them. I love my WRX and the simplicity of everything. A knob. A button. A switch. If I wanted to drive my iPad, I'd buy a Tesla.

I knew I was a fuddy duddy when I couldn't find the odometer reset on a rental car (it was buried deep in one of the menus). In the Camry, it is a reset button........Like it should be.

PacificBeach88 wrote:

DL_Mech wrote:

The Fusion drives well, but I cannot stand Ford cockpit ergonomics. Too many menus and buttons. I'll take HVAC knobs over a touch screen any day.

Thank you! I thought I was just being an early fuddy duddy. I know lots of people complain about Subaru's "simple / basic" controls. I love them. I love my WRX and the simplicity of everything. A knob. A button. A switch. If I wanted to drive my iPad, I'd buy a Tesla.

Off topic but I visited Alaska back in May and every other car was a Subaru hatchback.

A Camry is in my near future - the old Caddy has finally passed away with frozen engine. After spending $1,500 for a cooling system blowout I'm passing on spending any more money on it.

And there are some good discounts/rebates available now so we are looking.

Ken777 wrote:

A Camry is in my near future - the old Caddy has finally passed away with frozen engine. After spending $1,500 for a cooling system blowout I'm passing on spending any more money on it.

And there are some good discounts/rebates available now so we are looking.

0% financing for 72 months where I live on the 2016 Camry.

http://www.toyota.com/Camry

Do not send the Caddy to the junkyard......Someone will fix that car. Put it on Craigslist. Also, don't forget to check out the Avalon if the Camry is not large enough.

The taxi of choice here in Melbourne is rapidly becoming a Camry Hybrid. Not so long ago, the taxi fleet was 90% Ford Falcon, the cab operators have had to look into other options with Ford closing their Melbourne plant next month. Also started seeing a few 'exotic' cabs such as C-class diesels, Chrysler 300's, Skoda Superbs & Hyundai Genisis. As others have said, the Camrys are a very dull car to drive, but you just can't kill them. Still see plenty of 80's & 90's vintage models on the road here.