New Camry brakes with tradition

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Toyota has invested about $400 million in building a fifth-generation Camry that it hopes will have more widespread appeal than previous models.

The new car will be launched in New Zealand next month. It is longer, taller and wider than the car it replaces. It also has a longer wheelbase.

It is said to be considerably more refined inside and out, with a stiffer body cutting noise, vibration and harshness.

Toyota has used sandwich construction in the bulkhead to further quieten noise from the engine bay.

A 4mm layer of absorbing material is also sandwiched between two sheets of metal in the floor, rear-wheel arches and dash. It has even tuned the noise of shutting the doors, benchmarking the Audi A4.

The brakes have come in for special attention and praise, too, for the first time using Australian design input.

The Camry was built on what is called the Toyota Modular Platform, the key to future Toyota production in Melbourne, including four-wheel-drive models.

The platform is not a floorpan in the tradional sense, but a set of fixed points to which suspension components and the engine box line up. It can be modified to suit different sized vehicles.

A sports model Camry will be available, complete with stiffer springs and dampers. The engine line-up consists of a new 2.4-litre four-cylinder - from the Previa - and the carried-over 3-litre V6.

Toyota is also gearing up for the new Prado, expected to go on sale here before Christmas. It will be unveiled at the Paris motor show next week.

It has been designed in Europe and is slightly shorter and narrower than the present Prado but still uses the ladder-type off-road chassis. It appears more of a bigger brother to the RAV4, with its hard edges rounded off and cladding beefed up, than the heavyweight Land Cruiser. Toyota is expected to carry over the 3-litre turbo-diesel engine but is likely to replace the 3.4-litre petrol engine with a 4-litre V6 that develops 183kW and 382Nm - 51kW and 79Nm more than the 3.4-litre. Other mechanical changes include a limited-slip centre differential and a electronically controlled hill ascent and descent device. Toyota is claiming a world first for the Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), although Jeep uses a similar device on the Cherokee. The descent system is similar to those on Land Rovers and the BMW X5.

The suspension system includes an optional semi-active system and a self-levelling air rig at the rear. Equipment includes power-adjustable leather seats, climate control air-conditioning, dual front, side and curtain airbags.

Meanwhile, Toyota has expanded the Hilux range with two new four-wheel-drives and a new two-wheel-drive petrol double-cab.



Roduct manager Spencer Morris said the 3-litre turbo diesel Hilux SR5 had proved a winner, but some customers were asking for a V6 petrol engine. The new V6 3.4-litre quad-cam unit produces 124kW at 4600rpm and 291Nm of torque at 3600rpm and is mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The 3-litre turbo diesel produces 85kW at 3600rpm and 315Nm at 2000 rpm.

The new additions to the range mean there are now 15 Hilux versions - eight with two-wheel-drive and seven with four-wheel-drive, each with improved specification levels.

Dual front airbags and have been added to the two-wheel-drive SR5 versions, while all SR5 variants now have new sports type seats and air- conditioning as standard equipment.