Had a full day yesterday with a 2010 LE
. After having driven 6,500 miles on my 09 SE, here is how it stacked up for me:
Sound: engine is quieter
and not as clunky or sound as much like a meat grinder at part throttle just before shifts as my 09 does. At WOT, they sound very similar with the windows up, can't really tell a difference. maybe slight deeper note at 2500-4000 or so RPM, but not hardly noticeable at all.
Acceleration from a stop: The 6 speed tranny really helps give the car some pep off the line. 1st must be a much lower gear ratio. It also shifts very quickly and seamlessly into 2nd. The 2nd to 3rd gear shift was really bad, and had some flare at anything over 1/2 throttle. If they figure out a good shifting program for 2-3 shift improvement, the 6 speed having a lower 1st gear was a MUCH needed boost to the overall driveability.
At WOT I can't tell any difference in SOTP feel in acceleration, other than the initial jump it gets from the lower 1st gear. I honestly didn't/couldn't find the extra HP.
Cruising: They both do almost exactly 2,000 RPM to maintain 65mph, so I'm guessing final ratio and 6th gear must be exact same as the 5th gear in the 09's.
Gear selector: the 2010 has a "sport" position and "up/down" selection for gears rather than the gates of the 09. When you pop it into S, it automatically selects 4th gear and a little LCD gear indicator lights up on the dash. Blipping up and down the gears, it is just like you'd expect from a generic automatic 'override' setup. It wouldn't let me select 1st at all, even from 5mph, it just "beeps" at you and stays in 2nd. It also automatically shifts at redline.
Appearance: I like the new foglight openings (this car did not have the fog lights), but the squared off grille opening and extra dip at the bottom of the grille badly breakup the rounded smooth lines of the rest of the bodywork and looks incorrectly trimmed around the Toyota emblem.
Ride: I think they revised the shocks/springs a bit, it seemed slightly less floaty than the 09 LE I drove. It also displayed some of the 'bouncy/choppy' characteristics of my SE, but not as pronounced as the SE. Without specs, I'm guessing they are somewhat stiffer, but it has been a few months since I drove a base gen6.0 so they might actually be the same. I just remember the 6.0 LE seeming much floatier.
Interior: The 'all auto' feature was nice but the lettering was already starting to rub off and the car only had 110 miles on it. Guess I would just go ahead and rub it entirely off if it was mine.
Console: They eliminated the 'press to open' feature of the cup holder and cubby, along with the chrome accents. Now they just pull open only from the large rounded finger grips. Plus, the door and hinge quality seems even cheaper, which I would have thought impossible
.
Overall my impression was 'same/same'
and nothing much was different enough to make me wish I would have waited other than possibly the 6 speed tranny. But if I had a GEN6.5, I'd be inline for Gen6.0 taillights (amber turnsignals FTW, IMO
), and would be replacing my console ASAP with Gen6.0.
My review of the 2010 LE I4 A6
hmm i think i just need a supra to compliment the camry and i'll be all good.
Linear Mode
