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2002 Toyota CamryToyota redesigns one of Americas best-selling cars for 2002. Camry has new styling and a 2-inch longer wheelbase than its 1997-2001...
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Toyota redesigns one of Americas best-selling cars for 2002. Camry has new styling and a 2-inch longer wheelbase than its 1997-2001 predecessor. Its slightly taller and longer overall, too, but little heavier. Base LE, uplevel XLE, and sporty new SE models are offered. Standard is a new 2.4-liter 4-cyl engine with 21 hp more than the 2.2 it replaces. A V6 is available on all models. V6s and the 4-cyl XLE have standard automatic transmission and ABS; both are optional on other Camrys. New options include front torso side airbags and curtain side airbags; V6 models can combine these features with a newly available antiskid system. Also new is an optional navigation system with dashboard touch screen. The SE includes a firmer suspension, fog lights, rear spoiler, and special trim. Optional power-adjustable foot pedals were to be a midyear addition for automatic-transmission Camrys, but have been delayed to the 2003 model year. The ES 300 from Toyotas luxury Lexus division shares Camrys basic new design.
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59 Reviews from Shopping.com
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This year's Camry is the BEST car out there!
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Pros: SAFETY, quiet ride, reliability, roominess, full size spare, ergonomics
Cons: No telescoping steering wheel
The Bottom Line:
This Camry, in my opinion, is the best car of the 2002 class. Detroit, when are you going to wake up ?!?
Hello all! I'm here to write about my new Camry!! I love it!
I never was a Japanese car buyer. I had a Honda Civic once, but it's in another class. It was too small. When my Chrysler gave out this year, I wanted something safe for my family, and reliable (I've become a heck of a mechanic fixing my Chrysler and Ford all the time). So, I concentrated on the more reliable brands. What's reliable? Well, do your own research... magazines, web sites, and word of mouth are your best bets. Get alot of references from these sources, and you're bound to have covered all the bases.
The Camry is only one of two moderately priced cars I've seen that has side curtain airbags as an option. Oh, sure, most BMWs, Volvos, Mercedes, Lexus', and Infinity's have them standard, but do you want to pay $40k+ for just airbags? Stability control was also important to me- one of my friends at work was in an accident because his car slid while he was trying to navigate a curve, colliding with an oncoming vehicle. A stability control system could have helped to prevent the accident.
The Camry has excellent crash test ratings this year- just as they have the past 4 years in their class, according to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Association, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. How would you like to have these safety features?:
Stability Control w/ Traction control
Brake assist (assists the driver in emergency braking situations)
Dual front airbags (front)
Dual side airbags (front)
Front and rear head (curtain) airbags
Front and back adjustable head restraints
seat belt pretensioners
3-point (lap and shoulder) seat belts
ABS
auto-locking doors (8 mph)
pinch-control driver window and sunroof (it retracts if something is in it's way)
Homelink programmable garage door opener (no batteries to go dead)
security system (panic button)
keyless entry
full-size spare
I'm most excited about these safety issues, and also the reliability. Toyota is one of the best!
My wife, however, LOVES the interior styling and the comfy ride. I was looking at Subarus, Hondas, Volkswagons, and Lexus. The Lexus was too expensive, the Subaru was a different animal all together, but the Honda and Volkswagon were the most comparable vehicles that I was considering. However, the Honda just did not have the safety qualities the Toyota did, and the Volkswagon did not have the reliability reputation of the Toyota or Honda, so.. looks like I was leaning towards the Toyota. My wife pushed me over completely when she fell in love with it.
The ride is smooth, fluid, the closest to a luxury car I've driven in the bunch, probably tied with the Passat. The road noise is minimal and the wind noise is nonexistent.
I plan on keeping this car for a lonnnng time, and I wanted one I wouldnt regret. This has everything you would want. It's a great family car with power and class, reliability and safety. And to those people who think it looks run-of-the-mill or boring.. HA! This is one of the sharpest family sedans out there.
I believe the only 2 other family sedans who could even claim to be on level ground with the Camry is the Volkswagon Passat and the Honda Accord. The Passat has been redesigned for 2001, offers front, side and curtain airbags, stability control or AWD, V6 engine, and ABS. But Volkswagon, although rated well in recent years, does not have the reliability of a Toyota or Honda. According to some magazines I've read, that I wont mention, the Passat's reliability is "Above Average". But in the same article this magazine mentioned that the V6 Passat shares most of it's components with the Audi A6, which was rated "Poor" a few months prior. The Honda, on the other hand, has excellent reliability and reputation, but doesnt have the safety ratings or features that the Camry has... and for thousands less. I've heard that Honda is redesigning the Camry for 2003, which may be worth the wait. But if I were to subscribe to that philosophy, I'd always be "waiting" and never "buying"...
I'm very happy with my Camry thus far, 500 miles after my purchase. I hope it's everything I've read and heard about Toyotas.
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