Perfecting the Ideal Family Sedan

While it's the best selling car in the U.S. and one of Canada's top-sellers, the Camry still gets no respect from "real" car

While it's a best seller across North America, the Toyota Camry still gets no respect from "real" car enthusiasts. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

enthusiasts. A Toyota spokesman recently said that "non-owners make assumptions about Camry," which is probably true. After all, I'm a non-Camry owner and I've always considered it the automotive equivalent of sliced white bread, more middle-America than a Chevy Impala and many times more popular. There's a reason for that, of course. Toyota has created a car that does everything that most new car buyers want better than "the heartbeat of America." Without beating Chevy up too badly, it's almost unfair to compare the two cars. Ask any Camry buyer, and they wouldn't even consider the domestic offering, or

While trying to make a car that's all things to all people, has Toyota made the Camry dull? (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press, Canadian Auto Press)

any other import either; they're that loyal. The Camry might just be the ideal family sedan. But has Toyota's attempt of creating a car that's all things to all people made the Camry dull? Ask any automotive journalist worth his or her salt what 4-door family sedan to buy and it will most certainly be rated high on the list. Ask the same person what sport sedan to purchase and it won't, simple as that.

Just the same, Toyota is out to move its award-winning luxury-biased family hauler farther up the sport sedan buyer's list, and after testing out its new and improved 2005 variant, especially in 3.3-liter V6 SE trim, I'm beginning to see their point.