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My main complaint has always been the loose as a goose steering. It's easy to turn but hard to go straight, I feel like I'm constantly over and under correcting to go straight. There's also 1 inch give in the steering before the wheels turn.
I haven't experienced that problem on my wife's 2010 Rav4, nor my 2012 Corolla. But I did have that problem on a 2009 Forester, until I realized that the tires were a little over-inflated. Once the pressure was close to the low minimum the steering got much better.
But the primary reason for such a problem is if the tires aren't rotated around every 5,000 miles.
Or an 2002 Solara with the v6. That is the my daily driver. Flawless with 134,000 miles. While not totally exciting, the leather and heated seats are welcomed.
Agree.
The lack of power these days has to do with meeting the CAFE standards. Now, talking about being underpowered, that was a 2009 Forester I owned (170HP for such a heavy vehicle). But the 2010 Rav4 V6 produces 269HP and is a rocket. It's a shame that Toyota does not offer the V6 on the Rav4 any longer.
Now, I am still quite happy with the 2012 Corolla LE, regardless if it's boring to drive or not. It's quite good on ice and snow with a set of Blizzaks, good fuel mileage, and dependable. No complains here.
My Camry hasn't needed anything but minimal maintenance to get me where I've needed to go for the last 15 years. It doesn't ask for much of my time & money & it does all the things I buy cars for. Saving money on something that was expensive in the past isn't boring to me.
I often find myself passing cars w/ 2 & 3 times as much HP because the people are either on the phone or applying makeup. What's the point of a high HP car if you're always texting while you're driving anyway.
The only "fun" I can think of while driving is good stero system in which case quietness plays a big part so one can listen to music/news better.
Everyone has different ideas of what fun is.
My idea of fun involves the radio off, the windows down, and hearing a V8 engine purr as I shift through the gears in a manual transmission with the exhaust barking out behind me.
Every review/article I read says the same thing about Toyota car, "its good car but its boring". I don't understand what people mean by "fun to drive" or "boring ride". The only "fun" I can think of while driving is good stero system in which case quietness plays a big part so one can listen to music/news better. But surely thats not the main concern.
I want to ask Toyota drivers if u feel bored in your car and what do people mean by blend boring ride
Extremely boring. The week before my first date with my wife she bought a 1996 Camry. Was a good reliable car. But boring to drive and you felt invisible.
We were short money then so when we had first kid I bought an equally boring used 1998 Mercury Sable wagon. Was a good reliable car, but very boring.
We Sold the Camry after nine years, still ran fine. Wife bought one of those GMC Denali type trucks with all the bells and whistles loved it.
I inherited Sable which got totalled a few years later and bought a mint BMW 525XI.
I LOVED MY BMW - was it as reliable or economical as my Camry or Sable - NO. Did I love it yes.
A few months ago my wife bought her second GMC truck. This is a girl who was little Japanese cars her whole life.
Right now I have a Caddie CTS as my BMW got totaled in Sandy. it is a very nice looking car, but miss my BMW as it handled much better, but dont miss the maint costs.
And my brother has a fully restored 1967 Firebird Convertible with a V8, guess what least reliable of them all. But last summer I borrowed it to go to beach and man I LOVED IT>
Every car is boring if you are doing 55 on the highway or in stop and go traffic. The only time you will find cars to be fun is on a winding road.
This.
I love my GTI (despite it's faults...but that's another thread). It handles great, has great pickup (not blinding but fun) and it puts a smile on my face...occasionally.
Most of the time it's just a car. The more fun, or less boring of a car is a euphemism for, bumpy ride, loud engine, no space for anything, people wanting to ask you questions about the car, etc... The GTI is actually a good balance of fun and practicality and anonymity.
Our Prius is boring (in terms of driver engagement), yes, but it is also the best car I've ever owned. Its our road trip car and we have a lot of memories with it.
I've also owned an S2000 and that was a fun car, but it was also my commuter. Again, after a while you just want to get to point A to point B.
I'm working the theory they understress the engines, which naturally leads to greater longevity. Thus, underpowered. I'm deeply suspicious of any engine that does not develop at least 100hp/liter of displacement, without forced induction, but damn few automakers outside of European brands actually live up to that kind of promise. A shame, that.
My Tacoma XRunner is the opposite of boring, but it did require forced induction (supercharger) to wake it up. Took me throwing near $6K at it, including installation, to tease out tolerable HP from the definitely-boring 4.0 liter V6, though. What's not boring is that it never breaks, as in: never...breaks. I commute 25 miles R/T every day at the moment, up to a hundred in years past, and it just keeps rackin' up the miles. Works for me.
Most of their cars are dull as donuts. Hanging around the dealer I like in south Bellevue, they had a cool decked out 4Runner 4x4: red, TRD accessories, ready for a mud march. That, too, is the opposite of boring. Exactly what I'd own in Africa or to do some serious work up in the Cascade Mountains. Wonder if they make it in a diesel here in the U.S.
I'm a fanboy of the brand, because they usually just work and are at least mildly interesting if one focusses a bit on, say, some of the TRD extras.
I've rented a fair number of Toyotas and test driven even more, and to me they were boring.
I absolutely could not accept the idea of every month writing out a check for a car that was that boring.
Toyota owners seem to value them as an appliance for transportation, so they continue to sell well and be succesful. But nothing about any Toyota I have ever driven has shouted at me "you want one of these" , even cars like Supras and Celicas, the "sporty" models, that still manage to drape themselves in a funk of biege.
Toyotas have always been underpowered, overpriced and even underbraked relative to the market. But, they used to have exceptional interior quality, sensible ergonomics, and excellent, confidence-inspiring manual transmissions. That's not the experience I get driving a new Corolla or Yaris in 2016. The feeling of capability and trustiness is gone. That's why I prefer Honda these days - at least if I'm going to be invisible on the road, I can secretly be having a blast driving the thing.
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