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Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry

Owner Review · Jun 17, 2020 05:23 PM

** This article is the personal experience of a 2019 Toyota Camry 2.5V owner and does not necessarily reflect the views of WapCar

Facebook: Chen Kah Khin


Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 01

About My 2019 Toyota Camry 2.5V

I bought this 2019 Toyota Camry 2.5V in September 2019. Back then, it retails at RM197k with discounts ~RM 5k. I was 31 years old then, never in a million years I thought that I would be getting an "uncle's" car at such an age.

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Prior to this car, I previously owned a 2010 Proton Inspira 2.0P. That car had everything I need; bullet proof reliability, ride and handling that is above average. Even 9 years on, I still had no problems with it, and it was running well. Changing it would mean that I need to look for a car that ticks all those boxes. What it lacked, was safety. It didn’t come with vehicle stability assists, and my next car would need to have the latest safety features (AEB).

Purchase Decision 

The cars that fall into my consideration would naturally be the Honda Accord (9th generation), the BMW F30 318i and the Toyota Camry XV70. Back then, I had a budget of RM ~ 180k which makes this Camry out of my budget. However, knowing that the Camry would be relatively reliable and problem free in the long run, I don’t mind stretching the loan a little more to purchase the Camry.

I planned my purchase since January 2019, however I only made the purchase in September 2019 as I was initially fix-ed on getting the 10th gen Honda Accord. However, it never seem to arrive and I couldn’t wait any further.

I subsequently arranged for a test drive for the 2019 Toyota Camry in August 2019. Once I test drove it, I know I wouldn't want to wait for the New Honda Accord, and it practically blew away the BMW 318i and the aging Honda Accord. I made my booking and took delivery of the Toyota Camry 1 month later.

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 01

Walking to the 2019 Toyota Camry 2.5V alone gave me smiles, gone were the boring looks of D segment sedans, greeted by strong character lines and a youthful look.

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 02

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 03

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 04

Stepping inside the 2019 Toyota Camry for the very first time was a very pleasant surprise. The electric memory steering adjustment for tilt and telescopic, and memory seats that moves automatically each time I start the engine really gives me the feeling of being "special". The seats were very comfortable too. Driving it home, I know I made the right choice. It feels solid, planted, and comfortable at the same time.

Experience

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 05

I have been using it for 10 months, clocking around 20,000 km. Being a Toyota, it was relatively problem free, except for some on/off rattles.

The Pros :

  • Ride Comfort

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 06

Bridgestone Turanza T005a – 235/45/R18, biased towards comfort

Comfortable ride with good handling. Usually we have to pick either a good handling car with bad comfort, or a comfortable car with good handling. This is not the case for this car. It has the perfect balance between the two.

  • JBL Sound System

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 07

An understated design for an impressive sound quality   

It has an impressive sound system, considering that it comes stock with this car. Nothing in the price range comes close to it.

  • Good Fuel Economy

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Yes, it may be an old engine with old transmission, the 2AR-FE's FC is good, roughly 10-11kml in town driving and may even reach 16km/l on highways.

  • HUD

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 09

HUD display with essential information

Really useful and feels premium, I now rarely look at the instrument cluster and makes driving in bad conditions less stressful and can focus on the road.

  • Electric Power Steering Adjustment with Memory Function

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 10

Easy access in an out of the car, and allows me to have a really nice driving position

  • Advanced Driver Assist System

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Toyota Safety Sense

Adaptive cruise control and AEB, once you are used to having these systems, you won't want to drive another car without these systems anymore.

The Cons:

  • Lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

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It is available as an software update (retrofit by Toyota) in Australia and America. However, it is not offered here despite having the same head-unit model.

  • Adaptive Cruise Control Half Baked

It will disengage at less than 39km/h, even though the hardware is capable for stop/go traffic. (Australia models get All-speed ACC)

  • Non Foldable Rear Seats

Owner Review: Why Did I Get An Uncle's Car? - My Story of Buying A Toyota Camry 13

Reasonable boot space at 493litres

Would be very helpful for the on/off large items that I might need to transport.

  • Lack of 360 Degrees camera

It can be hard to judge the front distance at time, as it is after all a D segment sedan.

  • Absence of Rear dashcam

UMW Toyota made the effort to include a front dashcam as standard but missed out on the rear unit unlike other cars in their line-up.

My journey with the 2019 Toyota Camry 2.5V

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Bi-LED Projector Headlamps with Auto High Beam

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LED foglamps

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Foot well illumination

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Full LED tail lights

I have been driving this 2019 Toyota Camry 2.5V for the past 8 months, with roughly 20k km on the odometer. The ownership of this is relatively uneventful. Service is easy, especially with the Toyota App for appointments. Other than that, I did not have to make any modifications. This is what I was expecting, a good car that is safe, comfortable and free from major issues.

Ratings

Total Score: 4/5

Performance: 3/5

Quality & Features: 4/5

Space: 4/5

Ride Comfort: 5/5

Fuel Economy: 3/5

Price & Cost: 3/5

Owner Review

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