Review: 2012 Toyota Camry SE V6 (Audi, Honda, airbag, Saab)

[daellis99]

Review: 2012 Toyota Camry SE V6

From Autoblog...Not that good...

[d2mini]

Wow, I've seen them driving around in person and thought to myself that for a Camry, they are not too shabby looking. Definitely better than previous generations. But now that you posted a link to pics, I have to say I did not expect the interior to be that fugly.

[Rawkfist]

I agree with d2mini, the outside looks nice, and a little sporty...the overall shape actually reminds me just a little of the Saab 9-5.

But, the interior doesn't look good at all...and the steering wheel looks like a video game controller! How horrid.

[DVDFreaker]

Originally Posted by Rawkfist

I agree with d2mini, the outside looks nice, and a little sporty...the overall shape actually reminds me just a little of the Saab 9-5.

But, the interior doesn't look good at all...and the steering wheel looks like a video game controller! How horrid.

My thoughts exactly on the steering wheel, a video gamer must have designed it!

[RobertN#1]

Greatly dislike the horn can not be sounded without taking a hand off the wheel. Would be nice if some or all of the gadget buttons could be reprogrammed to sound the horn with a press of the thumb.

[iTsLiKeAnEgG]

Originally Posted by RobertN#1

Greatly dislike the horn can not be sounded without taking a hand off the wheel. Would be nice if some or all of the gadget buttons could be reprogrammed to sound the horn with a press of the thumb.

I dont think Ive owned any car where this wasnt the case.

[trlhiker]

Thats the first bad review of the 2012 SE that I have seen. Most have said that it is a huge step above the 2011.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by trlhiker

Thats the first bad review of the 2012 SE that I have seen. Most have said that it is a huge step above the 2011.

It is. Having driven both 2011 and 2012 fairly recently, the 2012 is significantly better. The interior of the 2011 looks cheap and spartan in comparison. I'm thinking that pic on the review doesn't really do the 2012 interior justice. I remember thinking it was pretty good, although I agree that the steering wheel control design is pretty cheesy, really does look like a video game controller.

Although really the most significant change for me is in the way it handles. The 2011 is soft and sloppy, while the 2012 seems much tighter in handling without giving up any ride comfort that I noticed.

That doesn't mean someone might not find it decidedly mediocre. I mean, the styling is tame, etc. It doesn't take much to be better than the super bland previous gen Camry.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by iTsLiKeAnEgG

I dont think Ive owned any car where this wasnt the case.

I dunno. I think the horn placement is a step back these days. Hondas for example commonly had separate horn buttons located within reach of your thumb. This was considered a downside so they moved to having the full steering wheel hub be the button. Then airbags came and for a while that seemed impossible. My 2000 Integra was built in that time, when it still had a large airbag container and thus has thumb buttons for horn. These are a heckuva lot easier to get to than the center horns of today's cars really. But also my wheel doesn't have any audio controls on it, only the cruise buttons. Audio controls on the wheel are pretty good idea, sometimes they are the most fiddled with (although I probably fiddle more with the HVAC controls on a given drive than the audio). But in some cases it makes the wheels pretty uncomfortable to use just for, you know, steering.