The final verdict, as rendered by our diverse staff, is that the Toyota Camry is a hardy, stalwart sedan that can be depended upon to do what most people want a car to do most of the time. From our logbook: "Toyota has done a fine job with the Camry. Inoffensively styled, reliable, fuel efficient, powerful, reasonably comfortable for shorter hauls, and a decent handler, the Camry's only real downfall is a poor value/content ratio."

Our LE V6 was equipped with optional amenities like a one-touch-open power sunroof, traction control and alloy wheels, but was missing some items our staff felt should be standard on a car costing upwards of $25,000. "Where's the CD player?" asked one driver. "This car has no reading lights," griped a passenger. We didn't get automatic climate controls, a trip computer, leather upholstery, or even a power driver's seat. So don't expect to get excited over extras when buying a Camry LE V6.

It won't raise your pulse in the performance department either, thanks to numb steering, a flaccid ride-tuned suspension and all-season tires, but it is powered by perhaps the finest V6 engine available today. This 3.0-liter, dual-overhead-cam, 24-valve beauty is constructed using an aluminum block and head. It makes 194 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 209 foot-pounds of torque at 4,400 rpm. Despite these lofty power peaks, the 3,200-pound Camry V6 accelerates quickly. Power delivery is smooth and quiet (more so when premium fuel is used), and gear changes are nearly imperceptible. Silky shifts and the responsiveness of the stellar motor make the Camry a joy to drive, because the driver never needs to worry about having enough power to merge with traffic or pass slower vehicles. It is, as one driver put it, "deceptively fast."

As our experience proves, the Camry's engine is surprisingly frugal with fuel, as long as you're not spending much time hammering the throttle between lights in Los Angeles traffic. It's also dependable. In fact, our Camry was infrequently out of service - just seven days out of 730, and four of those days were to have regular maintenance performed. So uneventful was our time with Toyota's best seller that we often accused the car of being dull, boring and "a snooze."

Certainly, it's not going to win any beauty pageants, but neither will this car look dated 10 years from now. Sheetmetal is contemporary in style, and the interior is an ergonomic masterpiece, except for too-tiny stereo controls and the remote keyless entry fob, which uses the same unmarked button to both lock and unlock the car. As one driver scrawled into the logbook, "The Camry might be lacking in the personality department, but it makes everyday life so much easier."

Take, for instance, the standard full-size spare tire. We drove over a nail and punctured one of our original Dunlop SP Sport 4000 tires. Getting the flat tire fixed wasn't critical, since we didn't need to worry about excessive speed or accumulating too much mileage on one of those silly temporary mini-spares. Eventually, we got the car into the shop, got the tire plugged, and mounted it to the spare rim, while the spare was wrapped around the alloy wheel for full-time use.

Camry also makes life easy thanks to a roomy, split-folding rear seat and a commodious trunk. Parents with babies appreciated the space for child seats and the assorted paraphernalia that gets dragged along on family outings. Headlights that extinguish themselves when the car is shut off keep the battery healthy and you out of the repair shop. Design simplicity means clean-ups are quick inside and out. Large cupholders handle a wide variety of drink containers, and are placed so that they do not interfere with or drip onto any controls.

One area that demands immediate attention from Toyota is front seating. Specifically, padding and support for larger drivers. A pattern quickly emerged and generally held true with few exceptions during our test. Of those people who took our Camry on cross-country trips, drivers over 175 pounds abhorred the front seats. Drivers under 175 pounds found them quite comfortable. For 1999, a power driver's seat swathed in cloth is available on the Camry LE for the first time, and we suspect this will help with support to a certain degree. But padding is the primary issue. As one driver commented, "After an 800-mile day, the seats feel as though they've been filled with concrete."

Build quality was frequently commented upon in a positive manner. From our logbook: "I find it interesting that the Camry is the oldest vehicle in the long-term fleet. It has been the most used, and probably abused, vehicle we have, but its list of mechanical problems is basically non-existent." After 30,000 hard, auto-journalist miles, our Toyota doesn't creak, squeak or leak.

However, there were four problems with our Camry's hardware during the two years we drove the car, but none was serious. One was associated with a recall for a potentially faulty solenoid that would allow drivers to remove the ignition key before `park' had been engaged fully. Our car did not suffer this problem, but Toyota dealers were on the ball, and we had the solenoid replaced not once, but twice, by eager-to-please service departments.

Two other mechanical maladies we experienced remained mysteries. One involved a grumbling noise and vibration when the Camry was driven on soaked or flooded roadways. We heard this noise, which was dependent on engine revs, on four occasions during our first year with the car. The other revolved around the brakes. We logged three complaints from various staff members complaining about grinding noises and a difficulty stopping and slowing from speeds in excess of 30 mph. Concerned, we took the car in twice for brake inspections. Both times the dealership found more than 80 percent of the pads remaining up front and no problems with brake-pedal modulation.

The final gripe was limited to one regular driver who felt sure that something was loose in the front suspension because on harsh pavement, rattles emanated from the front of the car. A thorough inspection turned up nothing out of the ordinary. The hardware suspending the front of the Camry "rattles so much it sounds like it might snap in two one day," insists this staff member. Nobody else in our office complained about this.

Otherwise, the car ran flawlessly, aside from a cold-start problem experienced by one vacationer when the Camry was new. Premium fuel solved that issue. We had some minor trim problems taken care of under warranty. A panel under the dash snapped free of its moorings early in the test, and a rear door panel was replaced to rid the car of a rattle. A front speaker was also replaced when it went ka-blooey, and our fuel door had a tendency to stick in cold, damp weather. This last was more irritating than almost any other malady the Camry suffered, because it forced us to walk back and forth from the fuel release in front of the driver's seat to the fuel door, pulling, pounding, and prying usually in a bracing wind. This design flaw needs immediate attention, Toyota. Give us a door without a release, please.

The paint took a beating during the two-year test. It faded, scratched, and generally aged more rapidly than paint on a $25,000 car should. Also, the brushed-aluminum alloy wheels lost some of their luster, but gray-painted wheel ports that hid brake dust kept them looking shiny even when they weren't. But we treated our car to automatic car washes, L.A. ozone and one Denver winter. It was stored outside as much as it was inside. We didn't wax it until detail-day before the lease return. Most Camry owners likely care for the finish better than we did.

The Camry is not perfect, but it's close. Buyers pay a premium for Toyota engineering and the promise of reliability. In exchange for that premium, Toyota supplies a refined, eminently competent family sedan that goes about its business unobtrusively, never wasting your time with numerous trips to the service department and fulfilling all your basic needs in daily transportation, with the thrill of rapid acceleration serving as the icing on the cake. It is not a sport sedan. But most people don't want a sport sedan; they want point A to point B transportation that skips point C (the repair shop) 99.9 percent of the time. One logbook entry summed up the Camry's essence: "If every car turned into a Toyota Camry one night and that was all anyone had to drive, most of us would still be able to meet our vehicle needs (not wants or desires, but needs ). How many cars can you say that about?"

What Edmunds.com says about the Camry:

Cons: Lousy front seats for heavier folks, delicate exterior finish, fuel-door design, dull to drive, high price

Best Logbook Quotes:

"My wife feels so bad about the Camry leaving that she's nearly mourning the loss." - Christian Wardlaw

"There is so much power in the Camry. Woooo weee!" - Sommer Marie Batchelor

"I am good at filling my trunk with junk and have not managed to do so in the Camry." - Evvy Mankowitz

"I want my cars to be more than just transportation. I want them to reflect me. I don't view myself as a regular, middle-class kind of guy and that's what the Camry says I am. I am not ready to shuffle silently into that Dockers-clad night." - Grant Whitmore

"If you have no concerns about driving passion, road feel, or individuality, this car makes perfect sense to own." - Karl Brauer

What Owners say about the Camry:
Email Commentary:

"Hate the lower back nonsupport of the driver's seat. Am considering an aftermarket seat." - J. Pluto, Van Buren, ME

"I don't think the finish is as good as on (my 1993 Camry). It was irritating to have to replace the original General tires at 30,000 miles because they just wore out." - D. Bisbee, Milford, NJ

"I love my reliable Camry (but) I did not like the General tires which came with the car (and) wore way too fast. This was my first Toyota and it will not be my last." - R. Hadley, Blossburg, PA

"The car runs like a dream - but I have had the car into the dealership on five different occasions trying to correct a noise in the struts. You hate to pay the price for (the) XLE and have a car that is this noisy (with) the manufacturer telling you they can't correct (the problem because) this is normal operation of the vehicle. I filed a complaint for arbitration..." - R. Blansett, Fort Smith, AR

"I've changed oil, and put gas in it. Vacuumed it and washed it. Waxed it once. Other than that, I have had no work done to repair it. It needed none. Our next car will be a Toyota." - P. Barker, Cincinnati, OH

"At the time I was car shopping, I was sitting on $3,000 in GM (Visa) card credits toward the purchase of a new GM vehicle. I read many comments on your sedan bulletin board about the numerous problems people were having with their Malibus. After a test drive in the Camry, my mind was changed!" - W. Corbin, Harrisburg, PA

"An automobile is more than a means to go from A to B. It must impart some thrills and excitement so that going from A to B is more than just a drive but also an experience to savor afterward. The Camry fails miserably on this front." - T. Cheng, Toronto, Canada

Summing Up:

Final Odometer Reading: 31,740
Best Fuel Economy: 31.3 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 10.6 mpg
Average Fuel Economy: 22.7
Total Body Repair Costs: $695.08

Total Routine Maintenance Costs: $605.14
Additional Maintenance Costs: $21.52

Warranty Repairs: 3
Non-Warranty Repairs: 0
Scheduled Dealer Visits: 5 (we missed a 5,000-mile service)
Unscheduled Dealer Visits: 2
Days Out of Service: 7
Breakdowns Stranding Driver: 0

Recalls: