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Inside, though I would gladly swap the fake pine for brushed metal, the cabin is nicely done overall with swathes of tan / gray plastics and high-grade cow hide. Interior space is class-leading and the overall feel is airy and refreshing—it’s something I won’t be embarrassed to be seen in. The dash, though not exactly organic (and the wood doesn’t help) manages to flow throughout the cabin—echoing the Camry’s slippery exterior. The center console is laid out well, with all the major controls within easy reach. Like all the Toyotas that I’ve driven before it, the Camry has nice and tactile switchgear that feels unbreakable. The automatic climate control is fairly straightforward with large, chunky buttons and an clear layout. It’s fairly effective, too, at adjusting to minute changes in exterior temperature. It follows the preset temperature, with the same tenacity as Saddam Hussein’s foot soldiers—no fighting with a ‘more intelligent A.I’, it becomes hot as hell or cold as the Arctic when I demand it. The coupe-de-grace is the funky 2-DIN Kenwood CD / MP3 player that’s linked to a 6-speaker system. Unlike other MP3-capable head units that I’ve tried before, this one searches through tracks faster and more efficiently. In addition, it can use ID3 tags to classify your tunes whether they’re from Kenny Rogers, April Boy (your chauffeur might want a track or two in there) or Ozzy Osbourne. The large volume knob is welcome, but apparent lack of radio preset tunes removes some points. I managed to gallivant around the range topping 2.4V. The 1.59 million entry price means that there’s absolutely everything in here from automatic climate control to power everything (including the folding mechanism for the side view mirror). That said, I’m still in aghast that the Camry lacks certain features, which I’m sure company bigwigs would be keen to look for: power adjusting seats, back-up sensors (though it’s got that rather useless irritating beep when you go into Reverse) and maybe a moon roof. The only other gripe I have with the Camry’s interior is the less than perfect seating position. I find that the steering wheel, which is set too back and the pedals, which are set too high are to blame for this. Driving the Camry to Batangas and back made me feel either like a short, disproportioned individual or an extra from the set of Planet of the Apes. It takes the perfect driving shoes, which luckily I have, to drive this car comfortably over long distances. There’s also a question of the lack of seating adjustment (only six ways for the driver, compared to other vehicles, which commonly have eight to ten ways). Back and bum support seems to be in the wrong places as well. |
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