2007 Toyota Camry Sportivo Road Test
15 Nov, 2006
28 Comments 
2007 Toyota Camry Sportivo – Road Test
Test model: Toyota Camry Sportivo with five-speed automatic transmission
Options fitted:
- Leather trim $1500 – It’s nice and supple and at this price you might consider it if you had small kids
- Moonroof $1650 – Again, this is on the low side as far as electric roofs go, and adds another level of luxury to the car
Recommended retail price: $34,500 (without the options above) although you can get the Sportivo with a manual transmission for $33,000
On road price: Around $37,800 but Toyota plays in the volume game with Camry, so it would pay to shop around.
Warranty: Standard Toyota 3 Years, 100,000km. It’s not the industry leader, but with reliability a core brand value of Toyota, you shouldn’t have any worries.
Where the car sits: The new Camry comes in four varieties and the Sportivo sits ahead of the softer riding Altise and Alteva but under the lush, Grande variant.
“Is there a four-cylinder car out there which offers a better overall package in terms of affordability, comfort, driveability, reliability and style than the new Camry Sportivo? NO!”
You’ve got to admit, it’s a good looking car this new Sportivo, from all angles. I thought the superseded Camry Sportivo was a bit of a non-event in terms of sports styling and driveability, but this new model appears to be a quantum leap, and rightly so.
Toyota is a hugely successful car company by any standards and with huge resources, both in technical and head count terms. Back in 1986 they had just clocked up the 50 millionth car produced in Japan and by 1999,Toyota had produced 100 million cars with annual overseas sales exceeding 3 million units. That’s a lot of Yen!
So successful have they been in fact, that the famous Harvard Business School has written a number of papers trying to work out why Toyota is so successful at building cars in comparison to their US counterparts.
Camry has been part of that success for many years, reaching 10 million units in 2005. The model can also boast as the top-selling car in the United States for eight of the last nine years, and that’s no mean feat in the land where ‘made in America’ stands for patriotism.
Success of the Camry four-cylinder continues in Australia with average annual sales of 23,500 cars since 1991. It’s a double barrelled success in Australia as the cars are made here for the both the domestic and export market. The USA is the largest manufacturer of Camry in the world with Australia coming in second ahead of Japan, and that “means a great deal to Australia”.
You’ve got to wonder as to who’s buying large family cars like the Commodore and Falcon these days, given the high cost of automotive ownership usually proportional to size, both body and engine size, that is. Toyota has aimed Camry squarely at the medium segment which in reality is probably the new ‘large’ segment in Australia.
It goes without saying, Toyota seems to have impeccable timing when it comes to launching new models and they’ve hit the jackpot with the new Camry. With recent fuel prices at record highs and a per litre cost steady at $1.10 plus, Toyota releases their new family size Camry as a four-cylinder econo-model only. Touché
I’m sure you’ll agree that we as Australians are pretty careful when it comes to money. I mean, we appreciate value for money, and that’s exactly what you get with Camry. We’ve been getting that deal from Toyota for more than few years now, but what we haven’t been getting from them, is style and good looks which the European car makers provide in spades. Finally, Camry has delivered the gold standard when it comes to affordable family cars. We can probably thank Toyota’s super-premium Lexus division for the some of the design accents on the new model, but with this car, you get the whole box and dice, particularly with the Sportivo.
Whereas previous Camry’s were all fairly conservative, the sixth generation of the model steps outside the square, offering smooth flowing lines and perhaps a hint of BMW styling at the rear end of the car.
There’s no mistaking the Sportivo with its distinct black honeycomb-style grille, aero body kit, 17 inch alloys, tinted headlight covers, rear lip spoiler and chrome exhaust tip. It’s interesting to note though, that in the US, the equivalent Sportivo version (SE) is also lowered by 10mm providing a more serious stance to the car.
Inside, you’ll notice the alloy sports pedals and scuff plates on both front door sills. It really does look the business.
Whilst Toyota has upped the power slightly to 117kW, which is about all they can get out of this tried and proven 2.4-litre powerplant, they have worked even harder on the suspension setup. Springs, shocks and stabilizer bars have been stiffened and there is a rear suspension stabilizing brace behind the rear seats which translates into way better cornering manners than its predecessor.
This car is rock solid over poor roads with absolutely no rattles and a ride quality beyond its price point. Of course, you can’t have everything, and with increased handling capabilities you’ll have to forfeit some practicality and do without the 60:40 split fold rear seats, much like Mitsubishi’s 380. All this added suspension work means the Sportivo tracks well and provides excellent steering feedback and is a vast improvement over the previous model.
There’s even a dose of Toyota Formula One built into the Sportivo. The car’s underbody has been designed with aerodynamics in mind and is relatively flat, providing increased downforce and excellent high-speed stability which is a good thing if you jump on our highways every now and again.
It’s a pity that Toyota chose not to increase the power of the Sportivo over the Altise and Alteva, even slightly, as the chassis is clearly capable of dealing with a few more Kilowatts. It’s not quite ‘all show and no go’ in fact, once underway, the Sportivo has plenty of ‘go’ for general duties, but has to work hard if you need to move quickly from a standing start.
It’s quiet too. Even under load, this car seems well insulated from engine and road noise and at highway speed limits, the car is surprisingly quiet and smooth, given its four-cylinder powerplant.
Multiple-speed auto transmissions are all the rage these days with Lexus taking first prize with its world’s first, eight-speed automatic transmission which it employs in the super-luxury LS460. The Camry Sportivo gets a new five-speed auto transmission which along with the electronic throttle, provides quick shifts and smooth gear changes. The transmission is mated to intelligent control software which allows the driver the option of driving in the ‘D’ mode or manual style using the gated shift.
The “new” Camry styling continues inside and while the interior won’t leave you breathless, you’d have to say its “nice” and highly functional. There’s a generous dose of patterned metal highlights throughout the car, including front stack and doors, which provide an upscale feel. Clearly, there’s been some intelligent thought into the design of even the basic features. I particularly like how the power window controls are angled toward the driver (and passengers) and the fact that the digital clock is mounted high on top of the dash allowing a glance without losing site of the road. It’s also easily read in extreme sunlight.
Overall, the centre stack and general instrument display has a quality feel and look to it, that’s on par with the Honda Euro and Mazda 6. Worth a mention too, are the self-lit Optitron gauges which have been a Lexus feature for a few years and now grace the Camry range.
You won’t need to tick many options boxes on the Sportivo, it comes with all the good stuff! For starters, there’s a six disc in dash CD changer with MP3 capability and six speakers (although an auxiliary jack receptor to plug an iPod into would seem fair play these days). Nonetheless, it’s a clever system, with good quality sound and you’d be excused if you thought a reasonably sized sub-woofer was on board given the strong bass. No subwoofer, just Psychoacoustics, and that alone simulates a decent base sound.
There’s power everything as you expect these days, with the added bonus of power seats for the driver and front passenger. The Sportivo also wins a multi-functional leather sports steering wheel that provides a good grip, as well as leather gear shift knob and park-brake handle. Auto on/off headlights is standard across the Camry range and a tick for that, although for me, the auto wipers-on function which is standard on the Grande, should be part of the same package, given the safety benefit of that particular function.
Sadly, rear parking sensors are not standard on any of the new Camry’s, not even the lush specked out Grande. In fact, they are a $900 plus option! After market parking sensors can be purchased for as little as $150 for four, and require about an hour’s labour to install. So come on Toyota, how about rear sensors with the next facelift to protect that investment.
With comparatively inexpensive family cars like Camry setting the benchmark for automotive creature comforts by providing so much standard equipment, we tend to be a little spoiled. As such, I’m hoping Satellite Navigation might find its way into the next Camry Sportivo. Well why not, when Aldi supermarkets are advertising portable GPS systems with all the bells and whistles for $399!
The leather Sports seats in the test car look no different to some of the premium Recaro seats on the market, although for some strange reason, I couldn’t get quite comfortable in them. I suspect that this was more to do with the lumbar adjustment than seat design.
Head and leg room are more than sufficient in the new Camry which has more front seat adjustability and travel than the previous model. In fact, the new car offers more overall interior space but with similar proportions to the car it replaces. That’s clever packaging, as the worldwide trend away from large cars looks set to continue for some time yet.
Storage nooks and cup holders of various sizes are plenty, front and back, with a couple of useful little pockets large enough for phones etc mounted each side of the centre stack. There’s also heaps of lighting in the car with illuminated glove box and boot along with map reading lights which are all very convenient and help make this car very easy to live with.
Camry has ‘upped the ante’ in the safety department and the Sportivo gets front side and full length curtain SRS airbags, in addition to the driver and front passenger bags found in the Altise. Other Passive safety features include a new body, which is designed to minimise cabin damage in front and side impacts, together with front seats which employ WIL (whiplash-injury lessening).
Best to avoid accidents altogether though, and on board all new Camry’s is “Active Breaking with intelligence (AB-i) which combines Anti-skid Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA). What this all means, is that under emergency braking, this car should stop in the shortest possible distance while at the same time, allowing you to steer away from the object you are heading towards, even with your foot hard on the brakes.
The top-spec Grande also gets Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Traction Control (TRC) but these are two systems I’d like to see on the Sportivo given its sports driving DNA.
At 1470 kg with the automatic transmission, the Camry Sportivo is not a heavy car in comparison to the likes of Commodore and Falcon, which weigh considerably more at close to 1700kg. The advantage here of course, is petrol consumption, and the Sportivo will give you back 9.9 L/100km without really giving anything away to the other cars, other than more power through the gears, but you pay for that privilege every time you fill the tank.
Toyota did exhaustive testing of the new Camry in the harshest Australian conditions and perfection in every area was what the boffins required.
My opening statement stands fast!
Click to view the full specifications of the 2007 Toyota Camry
Anthony Crawford
Location: Home / Toyota Camry, Behind the Wheel / ...
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December 10th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
I think that the car looked great!!
But im thinking maybe you all could come out with something more high-tech.
Say for instance, the car should be shape like an oval, and should make it where a car could drive like a car,drive like a motorcycle,and like a airplane, and make it where a car could talk back to you.
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December 14th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
hah :)
Actually you’d be surprised a lot of cars these days do talk to you
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December 28th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I can appreciate it is a good car and more advanced than the Commodore or Falcon mechanically but its still front wheel drive and I can’t say I like the fussy styling - the Japanese do fussy well.
Still looks ‘weak’ for want of a better word. Has that sort of knock kneed, limp wristed look.
The old Sportivo still makes me chuckle when I see one, I mean who styles these cars…someone over 70? You feel like running over to the driver and giving them a complimentary biege cardigan, tweed hat and some loafers.
Maybe some better wheels/rubber and a lowered ride height will help?
I dont think it will sway too many traditional Falcon and Commodore private buyers. The Falcon and Commodore still remain remarkable value for what IMO are two of the better looking family cars available for the money anywhere in the world.
Forgetting the fleets, which is where I suspect Toyota do well with their sales. How do they compare in sales with Falcon and Commodore to the private buyer? This is surely the best way to judge a car rather than on the fleet discount offered by the manufacturer?
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January 8th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Guys all of us know that car companies usually just change the body and makes a little bit more attractive, theres not much different in engines and who knows maybe next year this car be the last in the best list. give it some more time to prove itself.
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January 9th, 2007 at 7:41 am
I am keen to read a comparison road test between the Aurion sports luxury variant and the Calais.
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February 11th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Lol someone mentioning FWD being an issue in a car with 114kw and safety systems to prevent understeer etc… I have a FWD with 140kw and no help like traction control etc, I can floor it around a corner and I dont get understeer… FWD is not an issue on these low powered cars. As for looks, the Camry looks very nice. In saying all this… you would have to be stupid to buy a Camry, the Aurion has more power, same fuel efficiency, more features etc. Yes it costs alittle more, but you get ALOT more as well.
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February 11th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Paul, if you’re happy with FWD and can floor it around a corner then thats fantastic and very exciting.
I think my pulse just stopped so I’d better go and have a good lie down and stop thinking about Camrys.
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February 11th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Lol no, Im not ‘bragging’, Im just saying that 114kw… the car being FWD is hardly and issue, esp with the systems it has in place. And Im really not bought on the RWD thing, I know the pro’s and con’s of each… but from my personal experience driving my car and a commodore with similar power (both prity much slow), I will take predictable understeer any day of the week. Remember, the camry is hardly a car marketed to hoons who want to push their cars tail out around corners, understeer is safer!
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February 14th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
steane: “I dont think it will sway too many traditional Falcon and Commodore private buyers. The Falcon and Commodore still remain remarkable value for what IMO are two of the better looking family cars available for the money anywhere in the world.”
Well, with a Commodore you have to pay $36,000 for the base-model Omega with air-con. Camry starts at $28,000. Of course, Commodore has V6 and V8 with more power than Camry but are you willing to pay the extra $8000 for that? Plus you have worse fuel economy. Camry uses about 3 litres less per 100km. If you’re willing to pay more for power then instead of getting the 4-cyl Camry you can get the V6 Aurion. Aurion produces 200kW of power whereas Commodore produces about 180kW of power. And Aurion is cheaper and as has the same fuel economy as the Camry.
steane: “Forgetting the fleets, which is where I suspect Toyota do well with their sales. How do they compare in sales with Falcon and Commodore to the private buyer? This is surely the best way to judge a car rather than on the fleet discount offered by the manufacturer?”
Check out http://www.drive.com.au/Editor.....leID=19729
“According to figures obtained by Drive, the No.1 selling car among private customers this year is the Toyota Corolla (above left), followed closely by the Mazda3 (centre), with Toyota’s Yaris (right) and the Echo model it replaced No.3. Commodore comes in at No.9.”
paul: “you would have to be stupid to buy a Camry, the Aurion has more power, same fuel efficiency, more features etc. Yes it costs alittle more, but you get ALOT more as well.”
It depends on how much you value power. Some people are willing to sacrifice 600kW or 700kW of power for $8000. The Camry or Aurion option allows them to buy or sell power according to whether they value power or cash more.
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February 15th, 2007 at 8:35 am
texas ecological sodomite - I guess the $8,000.00 you save buying a Camry over a Commodore is a bit like the $400.00 you could save choosing the ugly street walker over the attractive escort…you get the same service but it doesn’t hit the hip pocket quite as hard. However, if you’re unlucky enough to have any shred of self respect left at the end of proceedings you’ll probably want to chew your arm off.
If someone is that worried about fuel economy, and not interested in a bit more power and don’t mind the fright you get when you see your Camry each morning then a car is just an A to B proposition for them and they should buy a Camry or a Skoda or similar.
Which is fine but you would assume those people would be reading Blogs like DIY flower arrangements, saving whales or how to ride to work in tight fitting spandex, not getting passionate about the latest Camry because it’s cheap, runs on the smell of an oily rag and has no power to speak of.
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February 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
^
Lol… apart from its lack of power, the camry looks decent, dunno how you can knock its appearance. And I think its more about choosing the Camry over the Aurion as opposed to the Commodore, because we would be talking about Base model here, youd have to be brain dead to buy the Omega. BUT what we didnt touch on is the people that buy the $34k Camry Sportivo instead of the $35k Aurion AT-X. Now that is stupid, yes not as sporty, but who cares, for $1k you get 80kw… in the modding world thats an amazing gain for price lol.
Eitherway, I think the point is, the Camry is more for odler people who dont care about power… the Aurion is for younger people who value abit of power. Simple.
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February 15th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Hi Paul. Looks are a subjective thing so I guess we will all have varying opinions on different cars. I don’t think the Camry is ugly, just plain and unexciting IMO.
Kind of like going out with Hillary Clinton when for similar money you could have dated Drew Barrymore, had a bit of a giggle.
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February 15th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Ahahah Steane
thats hilarious!
The interior of the sportivo is VERY nice for its price, apart from the steering wheel, I can almost say that its got a better interior than the 06/07 Model WRX,
BUT, Toyota seems to keep missing the point, just a sideskirt and some bigger wheels doesnt make a car sporty (in fact it will prob make it slower cause its heavier)
I am looking forward to the TRD Aurion and Camry, rumours suggest that the TRD Camry might be turbo charged!
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February 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I agree with Paul. Who in their right mind would buy a Camry Sportivo, with a weak engine and a sporty body kit but no performance, instead of an Aurion ATX with the power and performance and a good range of standard features ??
If you are after performance and a ’sporty’ image, it makes more sense to get the Aurion Sportivo (which of course costs more).
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April 6th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
how doyoudo
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April 17th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
ii love blue and ii definently luv that blue car…maybe when ii get a little older i’ll but iit and ride up there…I’ll find thisz website again and comment on how well the car drives and such…….until then
—————————-payda———————————–
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May 17th, 2007 at 4:46 am
I LOVE MRS TOYOYA
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July 16th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
After reading the comments here I have to say many people are missing the point about todays cars. The important requirements in todays cars are safety, comfort and economy. The roads are more congested and with more idiot drivers around safety is very important. Todays fast life style needs a comfortable and quiet car to balance out the more stressful times of the day. With rising fuel costs we need a balance between economy and car size with excellent reliabilty. The Toyota Camry fits the requirement extremely well so I am sick of those people who think that cars are all about power that you can rarely use legally anyway. I will stick with Toyota.
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September 5th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
I’d like to express my opinion in hope that a TOYOTA will read this because I am thinking of purchasing a camry sportivo but i have a few issues i would like to get off my chest. The camry sportivo is a very good looking car as it resembles a lexus IS250. I think it’s a better looking car than the Aurion. But why isn’t the sportivo worthy of a increase in engine power over its other camry variants? You managed to release a Corolla Sportivo a few years ago which had a 1.8 litre engine producing 141kw (more power than its other corolla variants), so why can’t you do the same with a camry sportivo?
The corolla sportivo is a small car and I’m sure the camry being a larger car could handle the extra power. Also, the camry sportivo only has a 5 speed manual gear box whereas the new 2007 corolla has a 6 speed manual gear box and is also a smaller car. Does anyone agree with me that Toyota has not done something right here? I think the camry sportivo should have a 6 speed manual gearbox for fetter fuel economy especially during highway driving.
Don’t get me wrong, the Aurion is also a nice looking car but it is only sold with Automatic Transmission. And i’m sure im not the only one who prefers to have manual transmission. If The Aurion was sold in Manual,i would consider the Aurion as an alternative, as it has many similarities to the camry excluding the performance which Aurion wins on this. One good thing is you have finally produced a camry sportivo that’s visually appealing and is actually a pleasure to look at. After all, why would you have a camry branded as ‘Sportivo’ if it’s going to have the same performance as an altise camry variant. I would rather buy an camry Altise variant and throw some nice wheels on it as, I think it’s not worth buying a sportivo because no extra performance exists. So come on Toyota, do better market research and see what people out there want in a sports version car. Performance is just as important as safety features.
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September 5th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Yeah its alittle disappointing the Camry is now really so underpowred and I question the point of even having the Sportivo guise for it! They should have upped its power to make it more temptin for buyers (afterall its prity much the same price as a base Aurion). I do agree to in terms of looks, I like both, the best way I could describe it is that I see less little things in the Camrys design that I dont like. If it has alittle more grunt Im sure it would be a hit, something that isnt entirely impossible given as you mention more power has been extracted out of smaller engines!
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January 10th, 2008 at 7:08 am
Jessie…
Thought provoking post. Very interesting items and have enjoyed immensely. Please visit my site also….
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January 10th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
business sale nz…
Have heard from it before, but is indeed a very good comment. Thanks….
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January 11th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Allison Hannigan…
The pen is really mightier than the sword, as you have proven here….
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January 12th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Bud…
Every once in a while I come across a blog where I waste a whole afternoon reading all the back-posts.I don’t know whether to thank you…or curse you….
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January 12th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Ralph…
I think you are absolutely on track here!…
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January 23rd, 2008 at 8:48 am
haha lol my anti-spam word is “faster” hey even the site agrees the sportivo is slow. but seriously, i think the sportivo is more suited for a family man with some kids, definitly not young ppl around 20’s.
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July 17th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Is it me or the sports model camry’s have the same dashboard as the Altise? There is no differences like Holden Omega to SV6 or Ford XT to XR6. Pretty boring really.
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September 1st, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Yeh, dashboard is same as altise, but you get a 6stack CD system and 6 speakers instead of 8. noticable changes are the chromed door handles and silver door accents. other than than pretty much the same. OH and the speedo layout is a bit diff too…
my parents baught this model camry in ‘06 (sportivo), and i am learning to drive in it. i have to say, i really enjoy driving it, its smooth, easy to drive and very comfortable, even if it may be a little underpowered. it looks good too, our friends reccon it looks like their 5series bimmer (i wouldnt go that far) but yeh…
needs 18″ wheels, not 17’s, and lowered, even if its only by 20mm. EVEN THE AURION HAS 17″ WHEELS! whats the go with that,….
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