I've had a 2009 Camry LE for just over 5000 miles now - about 6 months.  I finally got tired of being nickeled and dimed to death by my aging Mercedes 320E - where nickels equal $500 and dimes equal $1000 per ever-increasing repair.  I wanted reliability above all, but with a reasonable level of comfort and - dare I say it? - style.

I like the more assertive styling of the new Toyotas, with their angular lines, slightly pugnacious snouts, and boxy trunks.  Evidently other people do too, because it was only after I tried to find my silver Camry in a parking lot that I realized what should have been obvious: these cars are really popular.  I mean, I knew this in an abstract way, but I failed to fully consider how, um, ovine I would feel driving a car that's indistinguishable from roughly 25% of the others in the lot.

So although driving a Camry will hardly confer a sense of rugged individualism on you, it's still not an entirely bad idea.  The car is wildly popular for good reason.

Good features:
- Gas mileage.  Around town I'm averaging in the mid-to-high 20s, with highway mileage around 32 - about a 50% improvement over my Mercedes.
- Handling.  I wouldn't want to rely on the Camry in the Monte Carlo Rally, but for normal commuting it's plenty good.  Steering is neutral, not a boat, but not the calisthenics routine you find in German vehicles, either.  Suspension is typical of a midsize sedan, a little on the cushy side.  On the freeway, it's pretty stable up to - oh, let's say 75 mph.
- Overall fit/finish.  I'm fairly pleased - the LE trim level is hardly luxurious, but I haven't been plagued with any outright failures.  The car is acceptably quiet, no annoying rattles.
-Fold-down rear seats.  One of my biggest concerns about giving up a station wagon was the vehicle's hauling capacity.  There's no question that a sedan offers less in the way of storage space, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I can transport a 10 foot 2-by-4 (several of them, actually) inside the vehicle.
- Amenities.  Nice assortment of storage compartments, cup holders, power supplies, an auxiliary sound jack (iPod compatible), map lights, and what not.  There's a nifty slide-out compartment to the left of the steering wheel that's perfect for dumping meter money into - but it's bloody impossible to see the contents, so I have to fish for coins by feel.

Bad features:
- "Auto" headlights.  My old Subarus all featured headlights that automatically went out when you turned off the ignition - a feature so glaringly simple and useful it always baffled me that other manufacturers didn't adopt it.  Some have, but more often we get the tarted-up version that's on my Camry: the "auto" feature that uses some sort of sensor to decide if it's dark enough to require headlights.  Here in the gray and rainy Pacific Northwest, that's a judgment call which is frequently beyond the capability of the sensor.  Today I drove through a couple of tunnels, yet the headlights stayed off.  Other times, they've switched off and on kinda randomly during particularly gloomy daytime weather.  Of course, I could just manually turn my lights "On" or "Off", but still...

"Hmmmm" features:
- Automatic transmission.  Mine seems to get confused between 2500 and 3000 RPMs and occasionally up- or downshifts at what seem like inappropriate times.  It's not an egregious thing: on the contrary, it's so subtle I have to really concentrate on the tachometer to confirm that it's happening.  But it does happen, and I'm a little concerned about it.
- Upholstery.  My car is, alas, not finished with leather. (On the positive side, my stepson - who had never ridden on anything but leather before - rubbed the cloth seat and happily pronounced, "Oooh... fur!").  The fabric is suitably generic, but already shows some distressing signs of soiling and use.  I foresee seat covers in my future.

Overall assessment:
The Camry has been the workhorse of the Toyota product line for years.  It's a popular vehicle for numerous reasons: the car offers a reasonable mix of performance, reliability, and amenities that make it a compelling choice in the midsize sedan market.

Driving a Camry may not make you feel particularly creative, but you can console yourself with the knowledge that you made a smart - if not unique - choice.
Amount Paid (US$): 19000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2009
Model and Options: Camry LE