New 2002 Camry SE

The Camry was redesigned for model year 2002. The new car is taller and has a longer wheel base than the previous year. Even though the vehicle is larger, the weight of the vehicle remains about the same. There are many changes and improvements in the new model. The 2002 utilizes an electronic throttle. This should increase responsiveness of the throttle.

A new 4cylinder engine, the 2AZ-FE, replaces the old 5S-FE. The engine now displaces 2.4L rather than 2.2L, has VVTi, and uses a timing chain rather than a belt. VVTi is Variable Valve Timing with intelligence. It allows the engine to produce more power and improve fuel efficiency. Despite the larger engine, fuel consumption is actually lower than that of the 5S-FE. Horsepower is up 24 to 157HP and torque is up 14 lb ft to 162lb ft. The 4 cylinder model is available with a 4 speed electronically controlled transmission with intelligence, ECT-i, or a 5 speed manual. The electronic control of the transmission minimizes gear hunting, or the transmission constantly shifting between two gears going up or down a hill. The transmission will also vary the shift points depending on your driving habits. If you accelerate slowly from a stop, the transmission will shift earlier yielding fuel economy and a smoother ride. Accelerating faster causes the transmission to shift at higher RPMs for more power.

The coefficient of drag, cD, is down to 0.28. cD is the amount of drag generated by wind resistance. cD is measured as a fraction of the mass of the object, so a cD of 0.28 means a force equal to 0.28 of the vehicle?s mass pushes back on it when you drive it. A lower cD means less drag. A cD of 0.28 is very low for a production car, and lower than most other vehicles on the road. This also helps increase fuel efficiency. Only a handful of cars are better, the Mercedes C, Lexus LS430, and a few others.

The outside has been completely redesigned. Although the car looks bolder than before, it is still somewhat bland. The advantage to this is that the car will not age as fast or become outdated like trendier designs. New pull type door handles replace the old levers, giving a better grip while opening the door, especially when wet. The car also comes with keyless entry. The car can be locked and unlocked remotely, but it?s not an alarm system. It also allows the trunk to be opened remotely without a key.

I own the 2002 SE 4 cylinder automatic. The suspension is stiffer compared to the LE and XLE, but it is by no means harsh. It does however result in better handling than the LE and XLE. It has 16" wheels with 215/60-16 V rated performance tires. Though they are performance tires, they work well wet conditions. It doesn't snow or ice around here so I cannot comment about that. In front under the hood, it has a tower-strut brace that increase rigidity of the car and further improves handling. There is also less power steering assist in the SE. This improves road feel when driving. In front, the headlights have black masking on the sides, and there are two fog lights at the bottom. The grill is also blacked out except for chrome trim around it and the Toyota "T" emblem. In back, the car is finished with a spoiler to add to the sporty look. The emblems in back are black.

Inside, the dash is high up and everything is sloped towards the front. This gives a sense of a larger interior and makes the controls somewhat easier to see and reach while driving. The tachometer and speedometer occupy almost all the space in the gauge cluster. The fuel and coolant gauges are set inside the tachometer and speedometer. The gauges in the SE are silver colored. In the right conditions, the sun does wash out the gauges. To the right of the gauges are a clock, radio and climate controls. The clock also has an outside thermometer with readings in Celsius and Fahrenheit. The radio has a built in CD player, AM/FM radio and tape player. It is fairly straight forward and simple to use. There are separate settings for bass, mid-tones, and treble. Three knobs adjust the climate controls, one for fan speed, temperature, and where to vent. The knobs are actually rings because the air conditioner, recirculation, and rear defroster buttons sit on top of the knobs. Under the controls and slightly farther forward is a cigarette lighter type power port. The car does not have a cigarette lighter, or an ash tray. To the left of the gauge cluster is a small pull out drawer. The steering wheel tilts up and down, but does not telescope. The steering wheel is wrapped in leather and is just the right thickness to yield a comfortable grip. There is a small uncovered storage cubby under the dash and in front of the shifter. Behind the shifter are two cup holders that are more than able to hold two 20oz bottles. Behind that is center armrest with storage that is split into two levels. One is a small upper compartment that can hold a garage door remote or some other small items. Under it is a larger compartment. Here you can put your CDs and such.

Above the dash behind the mirror is a storage compartment for your sunglasses and two small lights. The two sun visors have covered mirrors, but they are not illuminated. The visors now also lack the pull out extensions of the previous model. Instead, there are some black dots on the top of the window.

The front seats are fairly comfortable. An electric 10 way adjustable seat is available, although lumbar support is not power. It allows forward and backward adjustments along with seat height, seat cushion tilt, and seat back tilt. Lumbar adjustment is via a knob on the left side of the seat.

On the driver?s door armrest are the controls for the power windows. It allows control of all windows and locking of all windows except the driver?s window. It also has a switch for power locks and the power outside mirrors. The front doors can be opened by just pulling on the door release lever whether they?re locked or not; the front doors unlock automatically. Fortunately this is not the case with the back doors. The back doors also have child safety locks which prevent the doors from being opened from the inside.

In back, there are three seats but it?s scooped for two. The center position is slightly raised higher, and also harder, than the side seats. This is probably to give each person a bit more room by putting the two on the side slightly under/behind the middle person. All three rear seats have three-point seat belts, and the two side seats have headrests. The two side seats have LATCH attachments, two metal loops at the bottom of the seat, and a loop at the top. This is becoming the standard for attaching child seats. The armrest in the middle contains two cup holders that can hold 12 oz cans or juice boxes. There are also pockets on the back of the front seats. The back seats fold down in two pieces. One side folds down one seat and the other is other side seat. The fold down option is lockable on the back of the seat and can only be opened from the passenger compartment.

The trunk is spacious and has over 16cubic ft of space. The trunk is fully lined reduce possible road noise from entering the passenger compartment from the trunk. On the back wall of the trunk, there are two hooks that can be useful for holding light bags. On one side of the trunk is plastic bottle holder than can hold small bottles or 1 gallon jugs. On the other under a cover is a jack. At the bottom of the trunk under a carpet mat and a piece of board is a full sized spare tire.

The ride of the SE is still fairly comfortable even though it's a sport model and has stiffer suspension. After all, it?s still a 4 door family car. It looks a feels ?sporty? but it is not a sports car. The 4 cylinder engine is adequate for daily use in the city and on the freeway and by no means a slouch. The engine is comparable to the engines of competing cars.