Folks,
Yep, believe it or not, I've joined you street racers and green-light burnouters (if you remember all of my posts about the V6
), and I've jumped into a new V6 SE. In, of all colors, Barcelona Red:
You might recall my blue I4 XLE -- down in my signature, still. Got it on the first day my local dealership sold its first allocation of sixth-generation Camrys.
And, you might recall that I was generally happy with my XLE, with one exception -- I just found my driver seat
very uncomfortable. I just felt it was "hard and bumpy" -- like I was sitting on rocks, instead of in some nice, cushy, comfy seat.
In fact, I spent at least TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS going to "my upholstery guy" -- a guy who operates out of a mobile truck at my dealership, and others. Oh, he was a masterful guy. 27 years of experience. WONDERFUL work. But, we tried and we tried and we tried, and usually wound up just making it worse, and chasing the problems we made down. We finally put it pack pretty close to 'normal,' and I tried to live with that.
I also spent at leat ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS on "aftermarket seat cushions" and other things, like tools to whittle away on one of the old "seat cushion pads" we tried to use.
Nothing really worked that well -- the aftermarket cushions are a nuisance, espencially when you've paid for fancy leather seats. The next thing I was going to try was to get the SE seat cushion pad -- the big, formed chunk of foam that you really sit on -- and the leather seat cover plus seat heater that goes over it. That would have been around $1,500, plus a couple of hundred to install it all. I've generally felt a lot more comfortable in the SE seat than in my XLE seat, so that seemed to be the next big step to try.
But, I wasn't going to spend that dough without "driving an SE" to see if it really did feel good while driving. So, after spending the morning a week ago at the local auto show, I decided to stop at a dealership on the way home to take a test drive.
So, I stopped, and started scouting around for an SE. Of course, I had a sales guy following me in pretty short order. All they had were V6's, and he was game to go for a test drive, so off we went! I wanted to drive a V6, anyway, to see what all of you people have been talking about.
Well, dang, that's pretty nice, isn't it?
I never considered the SE in the past, because I wanted "quiet, smooth ride" instead off kidney-pounding "handling." But, we went over a street with expansion strips every ten feet, we went over quite a few different pavement conditions, and the ride wasn't that bad at all. Plus, we went along a country road that had some twisties and some elevation changes, and the handling was great fun.
Of course, the sales guy wanted to sell me a car, and I was game to let him see what kind of deal he could come up with -- I could always walk away. So, "let's kill an afternoon," eh?
Obviously, the deal was done, and off I drove with the SE. So, let's move on -- what was it about the SE that led me to bail out of the XLE?
Well, here goes:
1. The SE seat. Hands down. I've had "lots of bolstering" in previous cars, and I guess I really, really prefer it. The XLE has essentially "none." The SE is just an entirely different seat. I find it a
LOT more comfortable -- more "padded" feeling, fine bolstering, and just far more "form-fitting."
2. Interior color. The XLE had the "bisque" color -- as light as you can get. My previous cars have had dark interiors, even full black. Oh, I thought the light-colored interior was very "Lexus-like," and a neat change. For at least a month or two. Afterward, it was very simple: I prefer black over anything else, and my next car will have a black interior. And it does:
I'm quite happy with it.
3. Three-spoke steering wheel. I guess the XLE was my first "four-spoke wheel." It drove me nuts! I guess for most of my adult life, I must have had three-spoke wheels, and my usual position while cruising on the freeway is grabbing it with my left hand, right on the left side of the lower spoke, where it meets the actual wheel. Kind of "like the tiller of a ship," I suppose. But, you sure can't do anything like that with the four-spoke wheel! So, I'm very happy now that I can actually steer the car the way I have always preferred to.
4. The V6 engine. Yeah, it's pretty nice, isn't it! Along with the six-speed transmission, it's a very impressive drivetrain. I suppose it goes without saying that the power is abundant and effortless, but that's not what grabs me so much -- it's more how the V6 is much quieter all the time than the I4, and I guess just the extra heft of it all truly transforms the ride of the car.
Those are the main things. In the end, what I found just remarkable is the change in the ride compared to the I4 XLE. The V6 SE just "soaks up the bumps" like the I4 XLE couldn't even begin to do. I swear, the difference between the I4 and the V6 is virtually along the same lines as the difference would be between a Corolla and the I4 Camry. Just day-and-night different. It's like the I4 kind of "bounces around" down the road, compared to the V6 which feels PLANTED, and has the heft to soak up the road imperfections, rather than tranmitting them to the car's interior.
The handling, of course, is considerably better than the XLE -- while I thought the XLE was still quite competent, the SE is obviously far more tuned for handling than the XLE is. Yet, the ride is
NOT rough and tough -- again, I found that it soaked up the bumps and road imperfections quite well. Perhaps it would be an entirely different story with an I4 SE -- I could see that getting much rougher. But, with the added heft of the V6, it's a combination of fine handling and an entirely comfortable ride.
I've been watching the tachometer, and I've seen nothing but competent, nearly-imperceptible shifts. So, it's an impressive drivetrain and an impressive combination of ride and handling -- "quite an automobile." I'm an older guy, "heading towards retirement," and my intent has always been for the Camry to be something I could drive into retirement, and for quite a while beyond then. No doubt about it, it'll be a much better time spent in this SE than it was in the XLE!
Enough droning on for now -- let me know if you've got any questions about the differences I've seen between the two cars, and I'll be glad to keep on going!
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