Thanks everyone for your input. I looked again at the Mark X. It has some good points but in the end I decided to forget it and also Camry and hang out for the right Aurion. After realising that our set budget was only covering the rougher end of the market we added another $1k and the next car ticked all the boxes. I've now had it a month and am very happy with it. The 6 speed is very smooth and the car sits at 1500-1800 revs on the level highway that I drive every day. Fuel economy has surpassed my expectation. It's my first change of car in 11 years and was a very interesting process, but one I don't expect to do again for a while. The internet makes looking and buying over a wider area so much easier, but I was amazed at how some cars described by dealers as virtually immaculate could be so rough. They don't do themselves any favours when you go out of your way to look at a car that turns out to be disappointing because it is less than described. One cheaper car was well described as needing work and was set at a price that would allow for a full respray, but still hadn't allowed for the body repair it needed, and the interior was too scuffed. So was another rejection. The 2008 one we bought is only slightly less than perfect, was well represented by the dealer and was still a bit less than average price for the model. It was well worth the wait.
ianab,
Jan 2, 10:44am
It should serve you well. My Blade has the same engine and gearbox. 1800 rpm @ 100ks, so fuel economy is pretty good if you keep your foot off the gas. But when you want to pull out and pass that camper van, you can :-)
mimik3,
Jan 2, 8:48pm
Jazz is that you? Welcome back
sw20,
Jan 3, 12:30am
Buy a Lexus IS350 with the same engine.
vtecintegra,
Jan 3, 12:39am
If you can fit - I'm not exactly tall but I struggle with space in the IS (and even GS)
nanju,
Jan 3, 5:55pm
One of the best cars I ever owned, and I've owned more than 50, was a 2005 Camry V6 Sportivo. Excellent to drive, economical, comfortable, and fast.
marmar1,
Jan 3, 7:24pm
Fast, LOL.
raewyn2,
Oct 20, 6:46am
Long story short - I'm in the market for a car and decided I want an Aurion, the 2007 onwards model. What I'm finding is that cars that look really good in the dealers' photos are pretty rough when I go to see them - ie excessive stone chips and scratches, marks on the interior trim etc. It seems that the car attracts travellers and others who don't give a damn about caring for their car. So I'm thinking whether I should go back to looking at Camrys instead - I see low mileage Jap imports that look good but are not the 3.5 V6.
My first question is how much I will notice that the engine is smaller? I want something that is comfortable and doesn't have to work hard at 100.
My second question is about the 5 speed transmission on the Camry. I read that it can be rough changing gear but I'm not sure to what extent - is it all cars a bit rough or just an occasional bad one? If the fault is there will I notice it on the first drive, or does it develop over time?
Thanks
tamarillo,
Oct 20, 7:06am
My experience of Camry is with using lots of rental cars, including in the 2007 range. Performance is perfectly adequate and it doesn't struggle at all at open roads. In fact it's one of the most relaxing of the 2-2.5 litre class. So depends on your preferences. I love driving and am an enthusiast so I never liked them. Dull steering, handling that fell apart when pushed, lack lustre engine. BUT most owners don't expect or want them to go as I wanted. If comfort, space, reliability, safe handling, decent performance, is your thing it is great. Never found the auto problematic at all. As said its a smoother more relaxing ride than others in class. Used the Arion once only. Much liked the extra grunt and v6 manners. But it was frankly wasted as it's just not a performance car and it struggled getting torque down through its basic front wheel drive when pushed. For most the Camry is enough. I'd look for NZ new and some fleet cars are well looked after, just need to search. I've had dozens of company cars that are very well looked after by me. I'm anal, I wash and wax company cars! They are mostly ex company cars I guess as that was Toyota market. Don't dismiss ex rental from one of the big players.
monaro17,
Oct 20, 7:20am
Many car rental companies use the aurion and camry as their cars and so too do many lease companies so you will tend to find they have stone marks on them.
As for performance- yes there is a marked difference between the two engines. And yes you WILL notice a large performance deficit going from the V6 to the 4 cyl. I would also hazard a guess to say the V6 wouldn't be much worse on fuel at all. in saying that the 4 cyl is not a slug and will comfortably cruise all day at open road speeds- it just won't have the large amount of excess power for hills and passing maneuvers.
franken1,
Oct 20, 1:56pm
I've driven plenty of Camry's as rentals and had an Aurion as a company car. Personally not a fan of the look of either and consider the Camry as a rather bland car all round. It does what it does and is reliable. Always happy to give them back to the rental company. The Aurion is a different beast. It's looks weren't inspiring but it's engine was. After 6 months of driving it, I was sad to see it go. There is asignificant difference between the 2 cars. If you enjoy driving, go Aurion.
richardmayes,
Oct 20, 8:33pm
It's not really a sports saloon for "point and squirt" type driving on twisty roads.
More of a big comfortable barge for cruising on the highway, with plenty of power for overtaking.
I think the Lotus Evora uses the same engine?
321mat,
Oct 20, 11:10pm
The Toyota Aurion 3.5 V6 can be summed up in 3 words: Vicious Torque Steer.
If Toyota made this a 4WD, like the Caldina, it would be a show-stopper!
richardmayes,
Oct 20, 11:20pm
I don't know. I was in a situation once (entering a motorway on an uphill on-ramp) where it seemed appropriate to give her full throttle in 2nd gear at about 60km/h. The engine just pulled straight ahead, dragging the car along behind it. I'd have been pretty hesitant about doing the same thing in a RWD, in case it decided to think about swapping ends.
vtecintegra,
Oct 21, 12:39am
That Lexus is an IS which is a much smaller car. Also imported Lexus can have a lot of interior stuff in Japanese which can be an annoyance.
Great little cars though.
unclejake,
Oct 21, 1:27am
This sums it up nicely. They go like stink
woodypc,
Oct 21, 1:36am
What about a 380, would drive better than both and it is great value for money.
mk1_jaguar,
Oct 21, 2:04am
Camrys are a piece of shite, better to get the Corolla, Toyota has been going down hill for last 15 years.
And they don't care !
jmma,
Oct 21, 2:08am
and you can back this statement up with. ?
mk1_jaguar,
Oct 21, 2:12am
Having driven 3 Camrys over the last 10 years, a 1999, 2005, 2008 .
Having encountered the staff at 3 different Toyota outlets over that time.
I believe it qualifies me to have an opinion, how about you ?
jmma,
Oct 21, 2:22am
Toyota owner for last 35 years, was Foreman in Toyota dealership for years, but then I guess I'm bias. But thanks for your answer (o:
bigmacnfries,
Oct 21, 2:27am
Qualifies you as something alright. The 2.5 Camry is a great car, but the Aurion is the bees knees if you like to drive!
mk1_jaguar,
Oct 21, 2:36am
Excessive oil consumption, absolute shite suspension and ride
Nothing to do with the Camry's in our market - got any other blanks to fire?
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