Recent Camry thread: Which Camry should I aim for?

Some people are old enough to remember WW2 and still hate on Japanese and European (german) cars. Other people are patriotic enough to BUY AMERICAN no matter what. We don't see it much where I live in Cali, but take a trip to middle America and that's pretty much the rule of thumb.

That's where all those Chevy Malibus are going. lol


...and OP, I think the closest-related car to a 2008 4runner is probably a 2008 Camry.

1993 Toyota Corolla How can u say "NO" its the perfect run around town car


Given the new 2015 models are good looking.

My father was born before ww2 and he still has a dislike for japan vehicles. (japcrap) Having said that he has owned a few motorcycles from japan and still has a Nissan Frontier. The best quality for toyota was pretty much the range of the 3rd generation and a few years earlier. Op, remember these are commuter cars so once you know what you want its all about milage, location and accidents

What about the Subaru forester? Not the new ones but older. It's a car, awd, can go offroad, you can sleep in the rear. Reliable and easy to work on.

The economy car suggestions are so far off IMO. Those are equally reliable, but meant to be boring. The Highlander has more in common with those.

I would equate the 3rd gen with a vehicle like a Cressida or early Lexus GS. Possibly the IS.

In my opinion the 4Runner has a character that the Camry/Corolla models were lacking. I would say, an MKIV Supra, or SW20 MR2.

TOYOTA SPRINTER : aka "GEO PRIZM"

I bought a 92 Prizm with 175 K miles in Reno NV for $500 in 06. It is my DD since then. Amazing quality. I drove across country while front CV axle leaking trans oil (manual) really bad. Made it to my destination without zero issues.
Never ever had an issue.

Now, 250K miles and still going strong. Fuel consumption city: 26 and highway 38 to 41

1st picture: Prizm converted to toyota sprinter (not mine)
2nd picture: My car. Notice 2nd gen 4runner arm rests: I converted all manual windows/locks to power.

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I've got an (original owner) 03 xle camry with the 2.4 4banger and auto trans (5 sd manual available!). Its had 131000 trouble free miles, no timing belt on these, a real timing chain! Gets 28 city 34 hwy, woohoo! Whatever year camry you go for, get the xle model - decked out like the limited 4runners! (except no seat heater but in central texas we only have 2 cold days a year-haha)

Only significant potential issue on the 2.4 are the headbolts, some stripout supposedly cuz they were drilled too short into the heads, don't really know, but check the top back of the engine for water leak evidence. This problem only occurs to about 5% of them, but when a manufacturer makes 400,000 of these a year that can be quite a few out there!

Toyota makes great appliances. That's exactly what I want in my truck. In a car I would look for something with better driving dynamics. Think Honda Accord 4 or 6 cylinder, or a any Mazda product. Driving a car should be fun!

Well Mazda doesn't make anything remotely dependable as a Toyota. So it by definition can NOT be equivalent. The OP didn't ask what car you like best, not to pick on this post, but in general the equivalent would be utilitarian, trouble free and awesome. So I vote for my 79 Chevrolet Caprice!

Get a Volvo 850 Turbo. In the wagon variant, of course. I have one and the 5 cylinder under that hood just goes and goes and goes, and pretty quickly too. It's a tank. The 850 Turbo only came in auto, but it's a pretty robust Aisin unit. Did I mention turbo 5 cylinder?

Mine currently has 160k and runs like a bat out of hell. These things don't ever seem to rust either. I was rear-ended by a Buick going 30MPH while stopped at a RR crossing. I feared the worst in terms of body damage, but all this thing needs is a new rear hatch, bumper, and taillight. Nothing major was bent. The Buick did not fare quite as well with a mangled core support and headlight shattered to oblivion. I can't wait to get the Turbo brick fixed up.

My mechanic has one with 300k that runs like top too. All original engine and transmission with no internal work ever done.

I've been trying to think of which car would be closest to the 3rd gen overall since he made this thread,but nothing had come to mind that fit the bill, and I must say, you are 100% correct when you say the Cressida.

If Consumer Reports can be believed, your statement is inaccurate. But I'm with you, the OP should definately buy a Caprice. Maybe he can even find one with a Landau top.

Mid '90s Volvo 940 turbo, maybe the last ones were '96? The next version, the 960, was OK but had some issues that required work. The 940s were the last of the 'simple' ones. The older 240 was great as well and simple to work on. The problem with those is it is getting hard to find nice examples due to age.