Can you tell me why ure interested in the new Camry?

Im a Toyota man and have owned a Toyota for the past 8.5 years and serviced at Toyota for the same period of time. Yes for all the factors mentioned above, i agree with you 100%. Ive had an excellent experience with Toyota since 2003. I too was eagerly waiting for the new Camry until i saw the design and only lately came to know about its specs.

Ive sorta decided that there's no way im gonna pay 150K for a car that still uses a 4 speed auto, has only basic specs when other makes are offering soo much more, and has such a shitty exterior design. Yes i may not get the level of service that Toyota gives but i think that design, specs and driving experience are as important as after sales service as well.

Resale values are demand driven and so far, demand for Korean makes are steadily rising both abroad and in Malaysia. The Kia Forte is enjoying good resale value (although not quite on par with the Altis & Civic) but nevertheless i see a bright future for them if they can keep prices low and still give great specs. They have the right intent with improving their after sales service. More service centres are opening up and they are state of the art.

Fyi, ive considered the new Camry, Kia Optima, Passat CC, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 in my search and the Optima seems to be winning the battle for its great design, excellent specs, interior space and cheaper price. Yes i may lose out a bit on after sales service and resale value but at least ill drive a car with the wow factor and enjoy its much better specs. The Optima is also the only car in that segment which comes with 5 years unlimited mileage manufacturer's warranty.

Btw, resale value of most D segment cars dont differ much from each other as someone clearly pointed out before. So if i were you, open your mind to other possibilities and go see the Kia Optima.

Complete specs of the Optima for your perusal:
1) Theta II 2.0L MPI engine with 163HP and 198 Nm torque (Camry 2.0L is 145HP and 190Nm torque)
2) 6 speed automatic Dual CVVT with paddle shifters and Eco mode
3) HID Xenon headlights with Auto Leveling & Static Bending Lights
4) Daytime LED running lights (DRL)
5) Rear LED lights and LED side turn signal lights
6) Auto Light Control System with Escort Lights and washers
7) Electric foldable side mirrors
8) 6 airbags (front, side & curtain airbags)
9) Anti Lock Braking System (ABS)
11) Electronic Brakeforce Distribution System (EBD)
12) Traction Control System (TCS)
13) Hill Assist Control (HAC)
14) Cornering Brake Control (CBC)
15) Brake Assist System (BAS)
16) Rear Parking Assist System with rear camera
17) Speed Sensing Auto door lock
18) Impact Sensing Auto door unlock
19) Auto Cruise Control
20) 18 inch sporty alloy wheels with full disk brakes and full spare alloy wheel
21) MacPherson type suspension with Gas shock absorbers with High Performance Dampers (HPD) with sliding valve
22) Infinity Surround Sound system with 8 speakers & subwoofer
23) 6 in dash CD changer system with Bluetooth, AUX, USB & iPOD connectivity
24) Dual zone auto air con with rear air con vents
25) 8 way power seat (driver) with memory function
26) Push Start ignition with Smart Key
27) 3.5” Color TFT LCD display
28) Premium Leather seats
29) Panoramic Electric Sunroof
30) First Korean car with 5 Star NHTSA rating from America

Of course ppl will be sceptical about the Optima. Its a Korean for Gods sake! U think im not sceptical? If i wasnt i wouldnt be on all these threads talking about the Optima.

But let me ask u this question. What are you hoping to get from a Camry test drive? The new Camry isnt gonna feel much different from the current model in terms of comfort since the suspension setup is the same. Thats wht Toyota does and has been doing for many years. They give comfy seats and comfort tuned suspension to mask its severe lack of specs. They create the wow factor in the cabin and most ppl are blinded. This allows them to price the car much higher thus creating a false image of a premium model.

Keep in mind that im a Toyota fan but over the past year, ive realised that Toyota has been taking us Malaysians for a ride with inferior spec'ed cars while charging us full premiums.

Go check out the specs Toyota puts into their US models. Those are the same specs on offer by the Koreans here in Malaysia. Why is that Toyota can offer those specs in US for much cheaper prices and yet exclude them for Malaysian models and still charge us more? Because they know Malaysians will still accept and buy.

So when u talk about price, look at the specs first. Do you think specs like traction control, hill assist control, cornering brake control, 8 way power seats with dual memory, 5 years unlimited mileage warranty are cheap? How much do you think Toyota would charge to have those specs in the Camry 2.0L?

The current Camry 2.0G (high spec) costs RM155K (11K more than the Optima). It comes with only a 4 speed auto, only ABS, EBD and BA (which even Proton has now) and 2 airbags. The new Camry 2.0L will have the same specs and gearbox setup and probably cost about RM160K. Now tell me if its worth paying RM16K more and getting much less? Take after sales service and resale value out of the equation as the Koreans are improving tremendously in both these areas and in 5-7 years time, these criteria would be redundant in comparisons. Plus the Optima is a bigger car overall with more interior space than the Camry not to mention it has the wow factor which the upcoming Camry wont have for sure.

Ppl may still be sceptical bout Koreans but go check out the Forte sales. For 11 months of 2011, 5,291 units of the Forte was sold in comparison to 5,545 units of the Altis. What does that tell you? When was the last time you saw sales figures of a Korean make coming close to those of a established Jap model? U really think ppl in general are sceptical about Koreans? The sales figures show otherwise.

Analyse all you want but do so with an open mind. Going around assuming that Toyota is God won't get you anywhere. I did that before. Only when ppl start moving away from Toyota will Toyota learn that they need to make major improvements.