Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Turbo's are great for diesels but early death for gasoline.
. . .
As to engine size. There is seldom a need for a V6 when an inline 4 cyl. is offered for a car. After all the 4cyl is designed to power the car at a sane speed limit.
. . .
Quote:
Originally Posted by trlhiker
If you are more concerned about power over gas mileage, then absolutely get the V6 Camry or even the Avalon for even more comfort on your long commute. Both are very reliable and will last much longer than any other V6 car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch
I don't know about the more recent Camrys, but, most transverse mounted V-6 engines are a PITA to change the rear 3 spark plugs. While most I-4's plugs are very easy to get at.
. . .
As for the turbo on a gas 4 cyl, I can tell you my experience. Engine died at 57k miles. Oil was changed regularly at mfr recommended intervals - namely 3,000 mi. If I had changed the oil at 2k mi intervals it would have been better. Somebody would have to do a lot of convincing to get me to seriously consider a turbo (or a VW) again. I might look at it if Toyota made it.
4 cyl vs 6 cyl. Like others here, I've been driving 4 cyl for decades. I have slightly different conclusions. We bought a used Camry at auction back in the late 90's. It had under 100k on it. By then we had had an early Accord and a Nissan box over 200k. We had a Mitsubishi Expo pushing 200k when somebody turned into me and totaled the vehicle. That Camry turned out to be the most reliable car I have ever owned. It was a '95 4 cyl. That engine is the gold standard of reliability. I just sold that vehicle at 339k miles, and the buyer drove it over 2,000 miles cross country less than a week later.
In my driveway now are a 2004 Camry 6 cyl and a Highlander Hybrid with 6 cyl.
So, my comments are thus:
Toyota is fine by me.
The 4 cyl Camry has enough get up and go to merge and do all that stuff safely.
The 6 cyl Camry has enough get up and go to really zip along and to merge more than a bit more aggressively. She zooms.
The 6 cyl Camry mileage is only marginally less than the 4. That is approx 25 vs 27 when the old Camry was at her peak. She had not been at her peak for a long time, so the mileage was pretty similar.
The Highlander Hybrid is no better at gas mileage than the 6 cyl Camry. (To be honest, I don't drive the HiHy, my wife does, so I'm just looking at the records I see, and I may be a little off here - but it won't be by a whole lot).
When I consider the premium paid for the Hybrid, including maintenance, (Because often enough you have to replace the batteries. And, THAT is expensive.) I don't think they are worth the extra trouble.
Now, the DIY bit and spark plugs. That point is probably correct. Those 6 cyl in the Toyos are like a white horse in a sock. Can you spell t-i-g-h-t? But you know? Spark plug changes are so infrequent these days, I don't care if I can't DIY.
I'll add this: I love the 6 cyl Camry. She is fun. The old Camry had my deepest respect. This new one, (which isn't new, I bought her at 197k) is worthy of love. She is reliable AND fun. I get out on the freeway, and I can hit the gas and zoom into a safer opening if I want to. Her handling is softer than I'd like, but she was designed more for a soft ride than handling. When it comes time to replace her suspension struts, I'll be going with something stiffer.
For a midsize vehicle - This car will travel approx 60-70 miles a day. This car needs to last at least 150k miles and preferably 200k without major repairs like the Germans do. Half of that will be rush hour highway (mostly smooth 70mph but of course, sudden stops and braking can occur due to accidents, etc) and the other 50% will be pure stop and go driving with tons of traffic lights. Mostly with 1-2 passengers and not much other heavy luggage. Need a midsize vs small like Corolla/Civic, so don't suggest those.
Looking for reliability first and also looking for something that is not "weak." Meaning, if I want to merge onto a highway with traffic going 55-70mph and I'm at a standstill then I need the power to do that because this happens a lot in NOVA/DC. (Hey, don't blame me for ridiculous highway designs in the DC/NOVA area, although I know it has *become* like this due to higher traffic demands rather than being designed).
The other thing is that hardly anyone offers a normally aspirated V6 on the regular midsize option. I was considering the Hyundai Sonata, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Subaru Legacy and others. The reason for my normally aspirated V6 is the reliability and the smooth power, but you can try to convince me otherwise for the longevity of turbo 4 cyl engines.
I'm sure there will be posts on other cars as suggestions with this many miles, that I need electric or some other options. I'm just not sold on the Tesla Model 3 with reliability issues. Even though I know electric motors have way less maintenance than gas engines.
Any suggestions?
If you want smooth, power is only part of the equation. The other parts being braking and shifting. In such traffic, a CVT (or similar setup in a hybrid drive train) would be the smoothest driving in stop-and-go you can find.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the Toyota Avalon Hybrid Limited 2.5-Liter 4-Cylinder ECVT Hybrid. Punch in that selection here and see if the numbers work for you.
Long commute?
Avalon over the other Toyota sedans. It's a far better highway cruiser.
Your back will thank you.
The Avalon is a bit of a "stretch" Camry. Pretty much same/same, just a little bit longer and bigger inside. Might be a tad more comfortable - but the Camry's are the very definition of comfort already! You know, I never bought a Subaru? Why? Because, in spite of their superb reputation for quality, every one I've sat in was too tight in the cockpit. I didn't used to be an overweight guy, today I am, but even when I was in athletic condition I found their cockpits small. (I'm 6 ft, btw.) But the Camrys? Like I said, the very definition of comfort. AMOF, the only car I could unequivocally say was MORE comfortable, that I've driven, was a Rolls Royce.
Although, I once owned a TR4, another car I loved. And I thought it, in its spartan way, was also a comfortable car!
The 6 cyl Camry has enough get up and go to really zip along and to merge more than a bit more aggressively. She zooms. ...
The 2007 (and up) V6 Camry has much to recommend itself. For those who might care, I regularly get 14.8s in the quarter mile - with me driving. And seeing as how I'm not the world's best driver (hard to imagine... but true!), somebody with more skill might be able to dip into the mid-14's.
There are however three caveats. The first is the lazy automatic transmission. It takes its merry time to downshift. In the interest of brevity, I refer to my other posts on the subject. The second is throttle-lag. It's nowhere nearly as bad in the Camry as in many other modern cars, but it does exist. Sharp, aggressive mashing of the throttle pedal doesn't always result in commensurate sharpness of opening of the throttle blade. The third is FWD. Nothing that's FWD will take full advantage of the friction-circle. Any situation requiring simultaneous steering and acceleration places FWD at a severe disadvantage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddm2k
If you want smooth, power is only part of the equation. The other parts being braking and shifting. In such traffic, a CVT (or similar setup in a hybrid drive train) would be the smoothest driving in stop-and-go you can find.
I'd have to disagree. CVT is laggy, resulting in a "rubber band" effect. For smoothness it's hard to beat a conventional manual transmission with a hydraulic clutch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hiero2
...I didn't used to be an overweight guy, today I am, but even when I was in athletic condition I found their cockpits small. (I'm 6 ft, btw.) But the Camrys? Like I said, the very definition of comfort.
The Camry excels in comfortably hosting a wide range (no pun intended) of body types. The one detriment with the seats is inadequate lumbar support. Well, there is one other detriment: if you're the weightlifter type, you will feel simultaneously your buttocks "floating" in a seat that's too wide, and your lats/shoulders confined in a seat that's too narrow. Perhaps the Camry ergonomics-engineers didn't consider weightlifters to be their target demographic.
... In some cases, the Hybrid version of the (Camry) actually is quite quick for a short burst like getting on a badly laid out expressway ramp.
The Camry hybrid IS quick, as you not only have the 4 cyl gas working for you but also the electric motor, both at the same time. If the OP hasn't tried one out he should.
My 2015 Prius is a little slow accelerating in the 50mph+ range, but I sure like the $$ savings. I've got 125,000+ on it now, and it's the most reliable car I've ever owned. Other than fuel, oil, filters and tires, nothing has gone bad on it. Even the brakes look like they should last another 125,000 miles before they need replacing. It's an amazingly cheap car to operate.
The Avalon is a bit of a "stretch" Camry. Pretty much same/same, just a little bit longer and bigger inside. Might be a tad more comfortable - but the Camry's are the very definition of comfort already!
They're not the same.
One of the biggest differences is the seating package in the Avalon.
The Camry's seats are not comparable.
But the Camrys? Like I said, the very definition of comfort. AMOF, the only car I could unequivocally say was MORE comfortable, that I've driven, was a Rolls Royce.
I have the same powertrain in my 17 Lexus ES350. Not the most fuel efficient option for such a commute, but the Toyota v6 equipped with the 6-speed auto is amongst the smoothest and reliable powertrains out there.
And quite good on fuel consumption, too. Even the V6 on the 2010-2012 RAV4 is good on fuel considering that it has a 5-speed transmission. This V6 produces 270HP, does around 29MPG on the open road, and around 20 in the city.
For a midsize vehicle - This car will travel approx 60-70 miles a day. This car needs to last at least 150k miles and preferably 200k without major repairs like the Germans do. Half of that will be rush hour highway (mostly smooth 70mph but of course, sudden stops and braking can occur due to accidents, etc) and the other 50% will be pure stop and go driving with tons of traffic lights. Mostly with 1-2 passengers and not much other heavy luggage. Need a midsize vs small like Corolla/Civic, so don't suggest those.
Looking for reliability first and also looking for something that is not "weak." Meaning, if I want to merge onto a highway with traffic going 55-70mph and I'm at a standstill then I need the power to do that because this happens a lot in NOVA/DC. (Hey, don't blame me for ridiculous highway designs in the DC/NOVA area, although I know it has *become* like this due to higher traffic demands rather than being designed).
The other thing is that hardly anyone offers a normally aspirated V6 on the regular midsize option. I was considering the Hyundai Sonata, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Subaru Legacy and others. The reason for my normally aspirated V6 is the reliability and the smooth power, but you can try to convince me otherwise for the longevity of turbo 4 cyl engines.
I'm sure there will be posts on other cars as suggestions with this many miles, that I need electric or some other options. I'm just not sold on the Tesla Model 3 with reliability issues. Even though I know electric motors have way less maintenance than gas engines.
Any suggestions?
Get a 4 cylinder. I had a Kia Optima with a 2.4 liter and I drove the hell out of it. The first year I owned it I put 40,000 miles on it. It wasn’t a turbo motor. When I sold it it had 145,000 miles I never felt that it did not have adequate power.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
