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Honestly after driving a 2014 Impala 2LTX for a week I found the 2012 Camry I own to be sporty by comparison. To each their own, but having never driven a full sized car before I don't want something that feels like I'm driving a tank. The Impala traveled over gravel, railroad tracks, and other road imperfections with much MUCH more ease, though it wasn't much quieter thanks to some sort of hum that seemed to be coming from the back end, along with the typical GM Rotor warping that likes to happen in their vehicles, and the engine was somewhat buzzy sounding for a V6.
There are aspects to the Impala I liked, namely the push button digital cruise control and higher resolution touch screen that provided a bit more vehicle detail, but the Toyota I own has the right balance of sportiness to cushiness for my liking, and there's much more low end torque and the V6 in mine is more powerful than the flex fuel V6 of the Impala, not to say the Impala was weak by any means.
They are both nice vehicles... you can't go wrong if you want to spend the cash on a 2014-2016 Impala in 2LT or 2LTX.. but I'd rather have the Camry. I got a nice "ahh" feeling when I started driving, because I had a bit more feel of the road again. I got all the same features with a lower rez screen and a bit smaller trunk with larger engine for $6K-7K less than what the Impala cost.
It's hard to judge what you might like buy a simple 15 minute test drive. In order to get a true representation you should try asking the dealer if you can test drive vehicles for a whole day or more, used ones obviously, or go rent a few. I might not have chosen the Camry had I had the chance to test drive every known make and model of vehicle in existence for a week.. but who gets a chance to do that?
I kind of miss the Impala.. it wasn't worth me spending $6K more to buy, but the fit and finish blow the Camry away. Maybe in a couple of years I'll trade the camry off for one, since Impalas depreciate quite a bit faster than the Camry does and the gap in price will narrow with time.
The gas mileage on the flex fuel V6 of the Impala is a good, solid 5-6 MPG less than the V6 on the Camry, and the Camry is definitely funner to accelerate with, though the Impala is no slouch. I got 383 miles out of 14.25 gallons on the Camry, and 230 miles out of 11 gallons or so on the Impala.
If you have a choice to get a used Camry vs used Impala for similar prices, I would pick the Impala though. I realize the Camry might be the more reliable vehicle, but it just doesn't feel like it by the way they cheapened out on some of the sound deadening where it is needed along with the much more cushy suspension of the Impala which blows the Camry out of the water.. the Camry XLE could use more cushion.
My 08 Toyota Yaris is an economical and reliable daily commuter appliance and does that job very well. ,probably wouldnt be considered an exciting car but then again how much excitement can be achieved in daily heavy city traffic?
When one buys a Toyota it’s because they want to live life richly in other areas. Unless one is doing six track days a year, simply buying a BMW does not make your life less boring.
I've only driven an older Camry (2002) and a buddies Corolla (not sure of year, but older.)
In my opinion, they were both comfortable daily drivers with decent quality. For the day and age, the interior felt nice, especially when compared to the similarly priced GM equivalents.
Were they fun to drive though? Not particularly. Being the previous owner of an RX-8 and owner of an RX-7, both of which are very well balanced and considered very fun to drive by many, my points of comparison may be skewed.
What I told me friend who owns the Corolla and it stands is that it is not a car that I would scough at. When I think of it, I think it's a wise decision (especially next to my gas guzzling Rotaries) and a very convenient daily driver.
That all said, I have not driven the newer Toyotas and can not say if they're fun or not. I know this is cliche, but if you find it fun to drive, then who cares what anyone else thinks. There's always gonna be a crowd who will hate on you for driving anything you have.
You get a Honda and there'll be a crowd of Mustang owners calling you a ricer.
You get a Mustang and there'll be a crowd of Honda owners ducking for cover everytime you drive by.
You get a BMW and people will think you're a jerk.
You get a Toyota and people will call you boring.
You get a GM car and the Mustangs will make fun of your "302 rip-off" LSx all day.
I think the real lesson here is that Mustang owners are elitists and Mazda is awesome
But really, no matter what you get, there's gonna be hate. Just get what makes you happy.
I had a avalon before, it was not boring as a prius.
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