Has the Moves, Stops Short
Musician Lupe Fiasco once extolled the virtues of fiscal responsibility in his lyrics, condemning the typically vain reasons for wanting a Ferrari and praising the economic validity of Camry ownership in its place. Though Mr. Fiasco makes sound argument, he almost uses the Camry as the butt of his point. The Camry is a safe, solid, reliable choice of transport. It’s never been about sportiness or excitement. But can this one-size-fits-all car stir that irrational part of us that gets excited about going for a spirited drive? Toyota’s going to try.
The current generation of Camry, visually at least, isn’t as soft around the edges as it once was. But this TRD trim takes the same approach without a hint of subtlety. The starkly contrasting rear spoiler, aero pieces, side skirts, black 19-wheels over larger brakes and fat twin exhaust pipes all look like the kind of tuner options you’d find tacked on in the late 90’s/early 2000’s car scene. They’re not subtle and far from seamless. It almost looks intentionally aftermarket. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For me at least, it tapped into that excitement I used to feel watching the early Fast and Furious movies or playing Need for Speed Underground 2, when I’d fantasize about one day driving a regular road car, with all these extra go-fast pieces added on.
The interior’s leather-like upholstery adds a small air of luxury to the TRD, but the eye-catching red seatbelts and other accents and contrastingly subtle TRD badging reminds you of the hopeful intent here. But sorry manual lovers, there’s no choice except a paddle shifter in this ride. The interior is fine, really – if a little dated (looking at you, touchscreen). It’s nicely equipped too, but you will lose ventilated front seats. There is some concern to be had with the amount of hard plastic surfaces and less-than-premium feel however.
We’ll get this out of the way quickly – outside of sports mode, the TRD Camry is honestly perfectly fine. It’s quiet, comfortable and far more fuel efficient than a V6 has every right being. But a car like this was made to be drive in its sportiest setting, so let’s focus on that. Toyota’s engineers opted to leave the 3.5L V6 of the XSE as is, putting their focus on suspension, handling and brakes. Things are stiffer, thicker and tauter – which is not a euphemism. They’ve also tuned the shocks and springs, and that aforementioned exhaust improves sound and flow. Though the numbers on paper aren’t all that exciting, the way it makes you feel makes up for it.
The aggression from the exhaust sings as the car sprints from 0-100 in under 6 seconds. TRD’s tuning virtually eliminates any annoying left or right steering pull (torque steer) you typically get in a front-wheel-drive car. It’s a surprisingly exciting experience. The Camry does well in curves and corners too. There’s really no complaints to be had – especially with those larger brakes doing wonders to keep things stable and safe. After a little while, I opted to let the transmission do its own shifting, as the paddles began to feel a little more sluggish than I care to put up with.
Let’s talk about value. The TRD Camry fills that lovable, but dwindling market for sporty sedans. Yes, you have your BMW 3-series and Mercedes-Benz C-classes, but like I said, value. Nissan’s Maxima, once affectionately called a 4DSC, starts at a higher cost than the $37,340 TRD Camry. The step below it in the Altima, doesn’t even offer a V6. Honda ceased offering the V6 on their very good Accord too. Mazda’s 6 is an excellent offering and is a joy to drive, but doesn’t have the hard focus on sportiness the TRD Camry wants to. So this fits a niche in an already niche market – and presents a decent value too. It’s not bad on gas either. Keep it out of sport mode and you can easily beat Toyota’s official return of 9.4L / 100km. But we didn’t, because this car is a lot more fun than a family sedan needed to be.
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