By Ewan Kennedy
The Toyota Camry four-cylinder and Toyota Aurion six-cylinder are currently being built by Toyota in Melbourne, though they will be imported from 2017 onwards.
The existing models have many changes from the original Japanese design to suit them to Australian driving conditions. So they have slightly firmer suspensions and the engines are tuned to give them plenty of grunt off the line.
Although slightly smaller outside than Falcon and Commodore, later-model Camrys and Aurions have almost as much leg room due to the space efficiencies of front-wheel drive. Body types were four-door sedan and five-door stationwagon in Camry until late 2002, when the wagons were discontinued.
The Aurion comes only in sedan format.
These Toyotas are pleasant to drive, with a smooth, refined feel. Driving enthusiasts may find the pre-September 2002 model too soft for their needs; Toyota listened to comments, tightened up the suspension and steering, and the later ones are fine.
Originally, the Camry had a four-cylinder engine. V6s were added to the options line-up in 1997 then discontinued in July 2006 with the introduction of an all-new model. The ‘Camry V6’ was renamed the Toyota Aurion when introduced in October 2006. All Aurions have a V6 engine.
The four-cylinder Camry engine was a 2.2-litre unit until September 2002, when it was replaced by a 2.4-litre four. Not only is this engine larger but it’s also a more modern design and far better to sit behind. A new four-cylinder engine of 2.5 litres was introduced in December 2011. The V6 3.0-litre engine used in the Toyota Camry not only gives you extra power and torque but also improves the feeling of refinement throughout the car. By far the best powerplant is the twin-cam V6 used in the Aurion. Its 3.5-litre capacity gives it the sort of punch that’s needed to compete with the Commodore and Falcon sixes.
Toyota offers five-speed manuals in some variants of the Camry, but the great majority were four-speed automatics until the new model of 2006 when the self shifter was uprated to five speeds. The 2012 models have a six-speed auto. Selling or trading in manuals may not be easy down the line as Australia is becoming increasingly an auto-only market. Yet another variant, the Hybrid Camry, was launched in February 2010. Its four-cylinder engine is backed up by an electric motor that is either charged by the petrol engine or by energy regeneration when the car slows down.
