The Toyota Camry and Aurion are medium-large cars that are Japanese designed but Australian built, in Altona west of Melbourne. Numerous changes were made to suit them to Australian driving conditions, in particular to our rough country roads and the harsh temperatures often encountered in tropical and outback conditions.

The Camry and Aurion share the same body, but the Camry runs a four-cylinder engine, the Aurion a V6. At one time another model, called Toyota Vienta, was also built. It was simply a Camry with a higher level of equipment. At one time Camry tended to concentrate on four-cylinder versions and Vienta on sixes, but differences blurred as the years went by.

               

Toyota Vienta was discontinued midway through 2000 to make way for the six-cylinder Toyota Avalon. Avalon didn’t share its body with Camry and wasn’t a success. Avalon was superseded by the Aurion in October 2006 and has sold in far larger numbers and there are now quite a few on the used-car scene.

Though slightly smaller externally than Falcon and Commodore, these Toyotas have almost as much interior room due to the space efficiencies offered by front-wheel drive. Rear-seat width isn't as good in the Toyotas as in the bigger Commodores and Falcons, however, clever design makes good use of the width that is available. Try it for yourself if there are three kids and they are in their teenage years.

Another big advantage of a front-drive car is substantially increased boot depth because there’s no differential under the back of the car.

These Toyota family cars are both exceptionally pleasant cars to drive, with a smooth, refined feel that most will love. Driving enthusiasts may find the pre-September-2002 model too soft for their needs; Toyota listened to comments, tightened up the suspension and steering and the later ones are fine.

Toyota also sold a semi-sporting variant, that is called Camry Touring in the older cars and Camry Sportivo in the newer ones. There's also an Aurion Sportivo.

            

Body types are four-door sedan and five-door station wagon in Camry and Vienta, Aurion comes only in sedan format. The wagons sometimes lagged a few months behind sedans in their introduction so there is an overlap of old and new bodies. In older models the load area in the wagon is spoiled by intruding rear-wheel suspension towers; this was improved from 2002, but really should have been better.

The four-cylinder engine was only a 2.2-litre unit until September 2002, when a 2.4-litre four-cylinder was introduced. Not only is the engine larger, but also a more modern design so it's far better to sit behind.

The V6 3.0-litre Toyota engine used in the Camry and Vienta not only gives you extra power and torque but also improves the feeling of refinement within the car. By far the best powerplant is the twin-cam V6 used in the Aurion. It's 3.5-litre capacity gives it the sort of punch it needs to compete with the Commodore and Falcon sixes.

Toyota offers five-speed manual in some variants of the Camry, but the great majority were four-speed automatics until the new model of July 2006, when the self shifter was uprated to five speeds. All Aurions have a six-speed automatic transmission with sequential overrides.

Toyota has arguably the most widespread of dealership networks in Australia, largely due to its major presence in the 4WD and light-commercial fields.

Spare parts and servicing are generally reasonably priced and good home mechanics will find these cars are reasonably easy to work on. As always, we recommend that you have a workshop manual to refer to, and that you don’t touch safety-related items unless you're a professional.

              

The Australian heritage of these Aussie-built Toyotas means insurance is generally cheaper than for similar cars imported from Japan.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Engines should start almost immediately, even when cold, and settle into a smooth idle within a few seconds.

During the test drive stop and let the engine idle for about a minute, then accelerate the car hard and look for a smoking exhaust.

Automatics are exceptionally smooth so any roughness at other than big throttle openings should be regarded with suspicion.

Manuals aren’t as refined as automatics, but too much noise, accompanied by baulking or crunching during gearchanges, are signs of troubles.

Drive the car at low speed on full steering lock and listen for noises at the universal joints at the front wheels.

Run your hand over the front tyre tread - more resistance one way than the other means uneven tyre wear. That’s often caused by an alignment problem resulting from a crook parker thumping the kerb - though it could also mean the body’s twisted.

Check over the condition of the interior in case the car has had a rough time, though these cars are normally durable.

Rust is only likely to be present if a car has been badly repaired after a crash. Check the lower body and mudguard areas and if you do find problems call in an expert for a full examination.