We’ve driven a lot of 2012 Toyota Camry variants over the past six months. Ever since its launch in the UAE, the local dealer Al Futtaim Motors has given us a lot of seat-time in this car, to the point where we’re actually driving one over this summer as a long-termer. That long-termer is gone now, but we’re now so acquainted with the new model that we can tell you exactly what has changed in this new model compared to the old one.
The gadgetry found in the top version of the latest 2012 Toyota Camry is the most advanced it has ever been for the Camry. Generally, GCC-spec cars for various brands are stripped down for maximum profit while keeping the price low, but Toyota has finally gone ahead and offered up a fully-loaded version of their bread-and-butter midsizer in the form of the SE Plus. So no one can complain about lack of features any more, as long as they’re willing to pay for it.
The Toyota Camry is back this year in an all-new aggressive skin, complete with an angry chin and rear lip spoiler. These are clear signs that the Camry SE is vying to be something more than just a commuter car. With more power under the hood and revised suspension for tighter handling, the Camry SE Plus is a much better drive than before. But is it good enough to hang with sportier cars? Can it take on something like the Hyundai Genesis Coupe? Will this be an epic battle, Hindi movie-style, where the quiet office-worker suddenly transforms into a martial-arts fighter,
We got our Renault Safrane serviced last month, it having hit the 30K mark this summer. It is carrying on without any drama.
Those who’ve followed my exploits since the beginning might already know that I’m from Bangladesh. However, I grew up in Dubai so this is the place I’ve always called home. Aside from the usual racist taunts from underachieving idiots and the general lack of respect from people who think they’re destined for heaven, life here has been pretty smooth. I might be the only Bangladeshi in the regional automotive media, and I might be the only Bangladeshi in the world to bag a McLaren test-drive, but I am aware of what the automotive culture is like in my home country.
Our Lexus IS 300C has now gone back to the dealer, having spent two months with us. While we still contend that it is not the kind of car that car guys like us would buy, it is still an excellent car in its own right, and we enjoyed driving it. At times, we had up to six cars on our fleet to pick from when heading out to events, and we’d pick the Lexus because it was the luxury car of the bunch.
So why the hell are we comparing the 2012 Toyota Camry to the 2008 Mitsubishi Galant GTS? Because we actually own the Mitsubishi. Throw in the fact that for the price for a brand-new basic Toyota Camry, you can buy a brand-new top-of-the-range Mitsubishi Galant V6, and this starts to make even more sense.
The Lexus IS sedan first debuted in its current iteration back in 2006, and has changed little since then. So when the Lexus IS 300C convertible debuted for 2010, it got saddled with tech that was already half-a-decade old. That’s not to say it is bad in any way. In fact, we prefer it more than the new gimmicky gadgets in newly-designed luxury cars.
Hey look, our Toyota Camry went to Las Vegas. Or rather, as close as you can get to Las Vegas without leaving Dubai soil. But why are we talking about Las Vegas anyway? Considering we neither drink nor gamble, the only interest we have in Las Vegas is that CSI TV show.
If you recall, we first drove this Lexus IS 300C back when it was fresh off-the-boat, with only 20 km on the clock. We used it during that last Eid-Al-Adha to haul recently-alive fresh beef, but we were hesitant to push it too hard, considering it was not even broken in. So when we got it back again now, as a long-termer, with a four-figure number on the odometer, we were in a good position to compare its straight-line performance, before and after.
