2012 Toyota Camry | Longterm test | Part 4

Going over my past long term reviews of the 2012 Toyota Camry SE that we received two months ago, I realised that I have been praising the car left right and centre. To be honest, I have been really impressed by the car so far and finding faults with it has been next to impossible. Everything works perfectly and the fact that this is my last week with the Camry has brought about this feeling of gloom that is growing every minute.

2012 Toyota Camry

Last week I completed 4,000 kilometres in the Camry and that called for a little celebration. With all the money I managed to save thanks to the Camry’s frugal engine, I invited some friends for dinner and the next few hours saw the Camry packed with four young guys, each resembling a rugby player to say the least. This is when I realised that the Camry should have been a bit more powerful. As I have mentioned in my earlier reviews, the only thing I think the Camry lacks is power. Overtaking becomes a challenge when you have all five seats occupied and have some luggage in the boot. The engine lets out a loud whine but the car struggles a bit to increase speed. I think I’m expecting a bit too much out of this economical family car but that’s a feeling I’ve got more than once.

2012 Toyota Camry

The Camry has also crossed the 10,000 kilometres mark and that means it needs to go in for a routine service. I have felt the smoothness of the engine and the transmission fade away a bit and the wheel alignment also seems to be a bit off as the car has this slight tendency to drift towards the right. Fuel consumption too has gone up a bit but I’m confident it will return to its normal state once the car gets a service.
Facts and figures
Date acquired: 08/05/2012
Total mileage: 10,058 kilometers
Mileage since last update: 2048 kilometers
Fuel consumed: 176 litres
Average fuel consumption: 11.63