Toyota's new Camry joins the fray

The lines have been drawn in the sand. Australia's four big automakers will be going hammer and tong over the next few months in a bid to rise to the top of the family car leader board.

Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Holden all want a piece of the same pie - but who will win?

Ford is currently going 'gangbusters', as the PM would say, promoting its new BA Falcon with a steady stream of information, and the strategy seems to be working.

Mitsubishi will be the last marque out of the blocks with its updated Magna (aka Diamante in other parts of the world), which is due to hit in early 2003.

In an attempt to keep interest up with the Mitsu brand until the new-look Magna arrives, the Japanese car maker is currently offering the new hi-po Ralliart Magna and a more powerful 163kW Verada GTV.

Then we come to Toyota. After dismal sales for its 'big Aussie car', the Avalon, the company is pushing the new 380N Camry into the limelight as Toyota's primary family-sized car.

And why not? The new Camry is very pleasing to look at, having more in common with a Lexus than your garden-variety Toyota, which is often an important factor for family car buyers.

Take the outgoing AU model Falcon, for instance. Reliability was outstanding, while power was class-leading, yet many Ford traditionalists were quite upset with the styling, which some blame for its not-so-rosy sales figures.

The new Camry is bigger in almost all aspects when compared to the outgoing model - it's taller, longer and wider, which is sure to please those who thought the current model was too cramped.

Toyota is aiming to attract a younger buyer to the 2003 Camry as well, and, apart from the sleek new look, a big aspect of this is the locally-tuned suspension setup.

Toyota Australia's chief of locally manufactured vehicles, Adrian Weimers stated: "Essentially, we can't change anything with Avalon, it is pretty much fixed. But the opportunity came up with Camry to push it in a particular direction."

That particular direction is a more focused handling package, with Toyota comparing the standard suspension of the new Toyota Camry with that of the outgoing Touring model.

As well as locally-tuned suspension, special sports seats are on offer, which are limited to the Australian model. Furthermore, 2003 model-year four cylinder and V6 Sportivo Camry will also get a revised brake package, developed here from local components, which are expected to reduce the 380N's stopping distance from speed considerably.

The new 380N Camry gets an all-new suit, with stylish-looking headlights, new bodywork and rear end, which is somewhat similar to the new Corolla's.

Four models are on offer, from the top-of-the-range Azura ($48,990), to the enthusiast Sportivo ($30,990), family Ateva ($31,490) and entry-level Altise ($26,990).

Talking about the new Camry range, Toyota senior executive vice-president John Conomos stated: "The two automatic four cylinder models, Altise and Ateva, are the spearheads of a particularly aggressive, and sustainable, value attack.

"There's no doubt the four cylinder range is our value leader. Some four cylinder models of the new range are priced by as much as 4.3 percent below their predecessor models, and they contain specification value more than 10 percent above those vehicles. It is an exceptional story of high value," concluded Conomos.

Toyota has an excellent new family car in the form of the new Camry, but will this 'value' that Conomos talks about shine through in the face of tough opposition?

The new BA Falcon, for example, is looking like the car to beat at present, though thanks to an all-new look, the Camry will attract a lot of attention. And thanks to its sleeker lines, the new car is also more aerodynamic, dropping from a .30 to a .29 drag coefficient.

Underneath the sharper-looking Camry is a fettled version of the Avalon platform, which again has been developed locally. This was chosen over the internationally used platform to both reduce local pricing and to more easily adapt manufacturing protocol.

While the standard suspension on all new Camry variants, including both four and six cylinder models, has been tuned for a more rewarding drive, the Sportivo model is geared even more towards driving enthusiasts.

Will we see Toyota in the national V8 Supercar competition in the following years? Quite possibly...

Along with the four model variants on offer, two engines will available - the existing V6 and a new inline four. The dual overhead cam V6 engine is worth some 143kW @ 5300rpm and offers up a healthy 283Nm of torque.

Of more interest, however, is the new lighter, smaller, all-aluminum four-cylinder engine, which many believe will be the big seller. Toyota's new Camry 2.4-litre, four cylinder engine has significantly improved performance over its precursor.

Toyota claims that the 2.4-litre four-banger is more than a whole second faster than the 2.2-litre job from rest to 100km/h. It now completes the dash in just 10.6 seconds and the quarter-mile in 17.4 seconds.

112kW of power is now on tap @ 5600rpm and, like we mentioned in our first look at the car in 2001: "[It] is sure to impress both Toyota loyalists and newcomers to the car, alike." The VVTi-equipped engine makes 31Nm more torque than the outgoing 2.2-litre mill - a very substantial improvement.

Toyota will be offereing better crash performance, more room, new suspension and brake packages, dual airbags on all models, upgraded audio systems (including standard CD player), revised seats and that intriguing new look with its new Camry.

But can it perform in what looks like becoming one of the most hotly contested vehicle segments in Australia? An interesting question, to be sure, but it would appear that Toyota is more intent on lowering the average age of new Camry buyers from 52 to 48 - which is more tricky than just adding on 17-inch alloy wheels and a spoiler.

In what will be sad news for many, a station-wagon variant of the 380N Camry isn't on any release schedules, which will disappoint fleet buyers and those with who were hoping for a wagon update.

While the new-look Camry has been on sale in foreign markets for over a year now, the extra time Toyota Australia has spent fine-tuning the new model could be its saving grace. Perhaps slow and steady really will win the race...