• The Car

• Our Opinion

• Mechanical

• Data

• Buy with Confidence

• Legal Disclaimer

The Car

The Car

There are six Camry wagons with the choice of a 2.2-litre four-cylinder or 3.0-litre, quad-cam V6 engine.

Luggage area length with the rear seat folded has been increased to 1860mm. Rear door opening height has been increased by 100mm to 1800mm to improve access and head clearance.

The Camry is equipped with three rear lap-sash seatbelts, all with an automatic locking retractor (ALR) mechanism to secure child safety seats/capsules.

The 2.2-litre engine can be matched to a five-speed manual or electronically-controlled four-speed automatic transmission.

The Camry CSi wagon has the options of driver's or dual airbags, anti-lock brakes and cruise control.

The front end features Australian-developed H4-type headlamps with integral driving lamps and new parking lamps and turn signals to improve visibility.

The four-cylinder CSi and CSX models have 14-inch wheels while the CSi V6 and Vienta VXi ride on 15-inch rims.

A reduction in drag co-efficient from 0.33 to 0.30 has resulted in improved fuel economy and lower noise levels.

Special attention has been paid to minimising NVH at the source and to eliminate the droning and booming noise prevalent in most wagons.

Camry wagon was designed to meet all current passenger vehicle safety standards, including the 40 per cent offset deformable barrier test.

Handling has been enhanced thanks to improved chassis rigidity and revised suspension calibrations.

The power-steering has been revised for greater ease of parking and increased on-centre feel at highway speeds.

Our Opinion

Our Opinion

We Like:

Balanced chassis, smooth V6 engine

We Don't Like:

No interior release for tailgate

Toyota followed up its overtly American-look 1993 to 1997 Camry station wagon with a far more subtle version in May, 1998. With its stylised shape, the Camry wagon loses a quantity of practical loadability compared to its more boxy predecessor. Thankfully the flat-folding rear seat means it is still possible to load 1.8m-long objects - ideal for those weekend trips to the furniture store. Surprisingly, there is no interior release for the tailgate. The split fold seats also have a lap sash belt for each passenger and a head rest while child seat webbing straps can be clipped into the back of the seat upright rather than strung from the roof or the rear of the load floor. Intrusive suspension towers rob the wagons of useful floor space compared with, say, the Mitsubishi Magna. A handy load cover which is easily and quickly removed is a boon as is a higher opening tailgate, which for taller people means fewer unfortunate meetings of mind and metal.

The best news from a driver's perspective is a balanced chassis, which did not happen of its own accord. Intensive tuning by Toyota's Australian engineers has provided the wagon with benign road manners, allowing the driver to make full use of the grunt available without dissolving into unseemly lurching and wallowing. Although the four-cylinder, 2.2-litre engine can be found wanting in terms of outright power and overtaking acceleration on the open road, the super-smooth quad camshaft, 3.0-litre V6 is as polite and refined as you will find. It produces off-the-line and mid-range acceleration that could leave you wide-eyed in awe. There is a penalty to pay in terms of some muted torque steer on the V6 model but the speed-sensitive, power-assisted steering is better balanced on this car than the regular power assisted set- up on the four-cylinder. It is still pleasantly firm but can be tiring after an extended period slogging through the city. Both models are quiet and well insulated so suspension noise does not intrude, although tyre rumble is noticeable. The adaptive shift automatic transmission fitted to the V6 car is a handy addition, offering slick up and down changes, and instinctively picks up the tempo when the driver fancies a bit of a rev. Inside, you would be hard pressed to spot the difference between the base four-cylinder CSi (the V6 is optional) and the significantly more expensive V6-engined Vienta VXi. The extra cash all goes into the power and drive train. In the interim, you could also look at the models in between - the CS-X which comes in above the CSi but only as a four-cylinder or the dual-airbag, ABS-equipped Conquest (a kind of Holden Acclaim competitor), available in four-cylinder or V6 form.

As well built as Toyotas are, our V6 test car came with a minor trim panel rattle and the door handles on both test cars are still the same slippery customers encountered on the sedan. The lift-up flush handles are too shallow and slippery on the underside to get a good grip and it was not just female manicures that felt the sharp tang of fingers flying violently off the handles. 

Overall, the Camry wagon is a well fettled and, in V6 guise, a genuinely desirable drive. Whether the new styling suits your purpose is up to you but there should be few complaints from drivers looking for an agile chassis or refined, playful engine.

Mechanical

Mechanical

Data

Data

Engine:

• 2.995-litre transversely-mounted quad-cam multi-point fuel- injected V6

• Power: 141kW at 5200rpm

• Torque: 279Nm from 4400rpm
  

Transmission:

• Adaptive four-speed automatic
  

Suspension:

• Front: MacPherson strut, L-shaped lower arm, double-acting damper with stabiliser bar

• Rear: Independent MacPherson strut, dual lower links, double- acting damper with stabiliser bar
  
  

Steering:

• Power-assisted rack and pinion

• Turns lock to lock: 2.98

• Turning circle: 11.2m
  

Dimensions:

• Length: 4755mm

• Width: 1780mm

• Height: 1450mm

• Wheelbase: 2670mm

• Track front: 1545mm

• Track rear: 1520mm

• Kerb weight: 1430kg
  

Standard Equipment:

• Power steering 

• Remote central locking 

• Power mirrors 

• Immobiliser 

• Four-speaker radio/cassette

Buy with Confidence

Buy with Confidence

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Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

Buying Guides are intended merely as a guide or review for members when considering what products or services they may be interested in bidding on or purchasing. eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the accuracy of the information or content contained in these Buying Guides. Furthermore, eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the nature or performance of the products or services appearing in the Buying Guides. eBay is not affiliated with nor does it endorse the use of any particular product or service.

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