Another week, another car: Toyota Camry

Well, I finally had an opportunity to test drive the most cliche of all mid-size sedans, the Toyota Camry.

I've heard it described as a car so boring that it screams "I've lived my life, I have no interest in having any fun ever again in a car, so go ahead and kill me" or something to that effect.

I must admit a significant personal bias in favor of Toyota. I learned to drive on an '87 Corolla with a manual transmission, and my first (and current) car is a '95 Corolla. My parents also own a Camry ('97 or '98, I think), which I had an opportunity to drive on occasion when I was in High School.

Here's the good and bad, and indifferent:

Good:
1) Fit and finish and apparent quality are quite good.
2) Wow--I can actually see thing off my rear corners! I think I have definitely decided that the modern resurrection of the station wagon concept, as embodied in the Mazda 5 and Pontiac Vibe, is not for me.
3) Sure, it has Daytime Running Lights, but only if you explicitly want them.
4) The sound system is great.
5) It's quiet on the road. Low road and wind noise.
6) It has plenty of low-speed torque, and enough power that accelerating onto the highway (as much traffic in LA allows) is of no concern.

Bad:
1) The key/remote combo has the same issue as the Vibe--the Panic alarm button is right under your thumb when you turn the key in the ignition. It's a flaw you learn to work around, but I think it was just a bad design idea. At least the rental car company only put one key on the keyring this time.
2) The brakes seem a bit mushy. I found myself having to push pretty hard on the pedal at times.
3) The rearview mirror somewhat obstructs the view out the right-hand side of the windshield. It's nowhere near as bad as the Aura, though, and I didn't find it bothering me much.

And, in general:
This is the quintessential family sedan. It's comfortable, it's practical, and it's well-made. Sure, it won't win any beauty pageants and will never be seen on the racetrack. It's not an exciting car, and it's not meant to be. It's just a good car for everyday use, and there's precious little to complain about.

I like this car. A lot. I consider it tied with the Hyundai Sonata as the best car I've driven in the last two months.